Junior year.

It tends to be the entrance year for things like AP and other college credit classes; it’s the year where everything comes together and the year where teachers start treating you like an adult rather than a kid.

“I failed two classes in my sophomore and freshman year,” junior Vanessa Rosa said. “Now I have to do Spanish I and II this year, in order to meet my graduation plan. I also failed chemistry, and that sucked because I had to do summer school.”

Rosa says that credit recovery is just a part of the stresses of junior year. Senior Tyler Hunter says his junior year was easy.

“I decided to push my AP classes all to my senior year, so my junior year was easy,” Hunter said. “I had to make up some semesters in credit recovery, but other than that, I enjoyed my junior year.”

Rosa says most of her junior year friends take several AP classes, such as AP US History and AP English Language & Composition.

“Junior year is where AP classes are really introduced. You can take them your sophomore year, but that’s not as common,” Rosa said.

Both Hunter and Rosa say junior year shouldn’t be so heavy on AP classes.

“It’s a horrible idea; shoving all your AP classes into one year,” Rosa said. “I get trying to get it all over, but the stress that comes along with it is just incredible. I hear juniors all the time complaining about how stressed they are, and how unwilling they are to do schoolwork because they’re just so overwhelmed.”

“AP classes should be spread out more, take a few each year, that sounds much better than trying to get through one year with five [AP classes],” Hunter said.

Rosa says AP classes aren’t the only stress she’s had to deal with, as with college coming up fast, she says she feels unprepared.

“There’s a lot thrown at you when you enter junior year, I’d say you’re more unprepared as a sophomore going into your junior year than an eighth grader going into high school,” Rosa said.

“Junior year is that last stretch up the hill for most people,” Hunter said. “Senior year is just like tumbling down a hill. They’re different, but both need to be taken a lot more seriously than the lower classes.”

Do lowerclassmen have what it takes to handle being a junior? Rosa says they all have the ability to get through the year.

“Get a head-start when you can,” Rosa said. “Start studying. I haven’t studied a single day this year, and I’m behind in every one of my classes this year. Just please do your homework and study. I know it’s cheesy to sophomores and freshmen but if you do those things, then you won’t just meet the criteria for the class, you’ll be above it.”

Despite the hardships of junior year, Rosa says it has been her favorite year of high school so far.

“I’m an upperclassman now, you have more responsibility, turning into an adult, it’s just a whole new world that I couldn’t be more excited for,” Rosa said.

Hunter has some words of advice as well: “Make sure you turn your [homework] in, cause if you don’t, I promise you’ll fail your classes, and senior year will be rough, cause you’ll be stuck in credit recovery or summer school,” Hunter said.

“[Junior year] is not something you have to be afraid of, It’s just something you have to be ready for,” Rosa said.