Driven by college admissions expectations and peer influence, rising seniors are enrolling in more challenging classes and Advanced Placement (AP) courses, according to Director of College Counseling Lisa Summergrad.
“The class of 2025 feels very academically driven,” Summergrad said. “They’ve been asking questions about college since they were ninth or tenth graders, so I’m not surprised to see this energy coming out of them.”
Dean of Students Paul Murray is concerned about the number of courses Juniors are enrolling in and urges students to prioritize their mental health and well-being.
“I always am wary when students go beyond our recommended AP Courseload, mostly from a mental health standpoint,” Murray said. “You need to be a person first before a student, and if students keep overextending and piling things on themselves, it becomes unmanageable.”
Stephanie Altschul ‘25 notes that this class is very unusual because many students are taking four or more APs, which is higher than the recommended two or three.
She plans on taking a whopping five APs and is already stressed about her exam schedule for next year after experiencing the challenges of preparing for three AP exams this year.
“Taking three APs has been really difficult because I get really down on myself for putting off work and taking time to rest,” Altschul said.
She advises rising Juniors to allow themselves time to rest and recover rather than stress about their unproductivity.
“My biggest tidbit of advice is that if you’re going to procrastinate, which you will, let that time be restful, and allow yourself to recuperate so that you don’t get burnt out halfway through the year,” Altschul said.
However, as an avid learner, she is also very excited about her new schedule. “I wouldn’t be doing this if I wasn’t invested in it, but at the same time, it will be a ton of work,” Altschul said.
Altschul plans to manage her intense workload by dropping the fall play and limiting her extracurriculars, a sacrifice that some cannot make.
Altschul recognizes the same motivation in her class and finds it as a source of inspiration.
“I think it’s great that everyone in our graduating class is so academic and so focused on academic achievement. It’s really great to be around people who are interested in learning,” Altschul said.
AP English Literature Teacher Kenley Smith has also noticed how ambitious the rising Senior class is, which she finds is both admirable and concerning.
“Because you have a class that is largely, as a whole, very ambitious, there is a lot of concern of how people will stand out,” Smith said.
She recognizes that more students have come to speak with her about AP English than in previous years, which she believes is a smart strategy for students to get a more holistic view of what the class entails—and what the course load will look like.
The problem, she said, is that students tend to take classes because they want to boost their resume or stand out from their peers, rather than because they have a genuine interest in the material.
Lucas Williams ‘25 has not fallen victim to this kind of peer pressure but sympathizes with students who have fallen victim to this competitive atmosphere.
“I personally don’t really care what other people have to say about me, but a lot of people are getting peer pressured into doing the hardest courses they can,” Williams said.
Summergrad supports Williams’ attitude and urges students to make decisions that feel right for themselves.
“It’s really a personal journey and knowing what’s right for you is really individual and those decisions shouldn’t be made by looking over others’ shoulders at what they’re actually doing,” Summergrad said.
Williams encourages students to seriously consider the difficulty of the courses they are enrolling in.
“We had seven people drop out in the first two weeks of AP Calculus and we weren’t even doing the harder stuff yet,” Williams said. “We got a pop quiz on the second day of school. You really start moving right away.”
Claire Fleming ‘25 plans on taking AP Calculus and AP English Literature, but she is prepared to drop a challenging class if necessary.
“Everyone has this assumption that colleges expect you to take the hardest classes and those people are aiming for these crazy selective Ivies,” Fleming said.
Williams feels that while he intends to challenge himself with his course load, he cares less about the selectivity of the school he’s admitted to and more about its fit for him.
“I’m doing all that I can handle, and if I can’t even handle all the work in high school, why would I try to go to a college that’s going to give me all that,” Williams said.
Fleming encourages students to consider how connected they are to the material of the classes they are enrolling in and focus less on what they think they should do.
“If you feel this kind of pressure, if you want to take hard classes and you want to have that kind of resume, take ones you’re actually interested in,” Fleming said.
Summergrad hopes that students will challenge themselves with a rigorous schedule, but not to the extent where they become burned out.
“It’s about that balance of challenging yourself with more rigor, but not to the detriment of your grades or your coursework,” Summergrad said.
Smith encourages Juniors to use the upcoming year to figure out what classes they are genuinely interested in, rather than taking the hardest ones.
“If you take no joy from labs, why are you taking two sciences? If you take no joy in languages, why are you taking an AP class in languages?” Smith asked.
She echoes Summergrad’s call to individuality, motivating students to think about themselves and their interests before the interests of college admissions or their peers.
‘“You’re the person who’s going to have to sit in that class for a year. It’s a long time if you don’t like it,” Smith said.
Murray agrees with Summergrad’s message, urging students to search for success in ways outside their report card.
“We want students to have a not only a successful Grade 12 year but also, and more importantly, a fulfilling and happy one,” Murray said.
