Pressure rises at AGHS as Juniors prepare for college applications next fall. Junior year is arguably the most important and rigorous year of high school, according to students and AP teachers, as many factors go into the college application process.
Some Juniors at AGHS take at least one Advanced Placement (AP) class in order to earn college credits or to inflate their GPA. Students are also busy with the task of completing the required 20 hours of community service, taking the SAT or prepping if they choose to, and doing extracurricular activities to help stand out on college admissions.
“I feel a lot of pressure to pass all my AP tests while also trying to get 20 hours of community service,” Claire Henze (‘27) said.
Students who enroll in advanced math and english their freshman and sophomore year go into AP Language and either AP Pre-calculus, AP Calculus AB, or AP Stats starting junior year.
Other AP courses offered junior year include AP Seminar, AP United States History, and a variety of AP sciences. The increasing variety of APs make it more challenging for juniors to keep up with other factors of their life, such as extracurricular activities and clubs needed in the college application process.
Alondra Sanchez (‘27) takes 3 APs and 1 dual-enrollment course this year. She’s also in cheer at AGHS, participates in 3 clubs, has a part-time job over the weekend, is involved in leadership, and engages in community service.
“I have 2-3 hours of homework every night. My stress has definitely increased since sophomore year because of the workload getting harder. It was a hard transition just because it’s a really big difference,” Sanchez said.
The popularized idea of going to college can be recognized through the number of students in APs increasing over the years at AGHS.
“When I first started there were only 20 [students], now there’s 140 students [in APUSH],” AP United States History teacher Kelli Peters said.
Throughout generations junior year has been seen as the toughest year of high school.
“I definitely felt pressure. I felt stressed. I knew junior year was the big year colleges looked at,” Peters said.
Pressures to excel isn’t something new; juniors across generations have had high expectations during college preparation.
“I was valedictorian, that was important to me. I was president of one club, vice president of another club. I was on the executive board of a club for all of Northern California community service organizations. I did all of it,” AP Language teacher Amber Derbidge said.
Despite these similarities, getting into college has become more competitive after COVID. Enrollment rates at prestigious universities have decreased. Before COVID, the University of California Los Angeles had an acceptance rate of 20.43% in 2017, and in 2025, the acceptance rate decreased to 10.77%. And for Cal Poly SLO, they had an acceptance rate of 34.6.% in 2017, which then dropped to 29.75% in 2024. (Ivy Coach) (College Tuition Compare)
Acceptance rates have decreased as more students apply and attend college(s).
“I always say dream. If you want to go to Stanford, apply one hundred percent. But also look at the admission rates, look at the reality, and make a plan B. Make sure you apply to a level of state schools,” College Career Center Technician Trisha Oksner said.
Oksner also states how the test-optional patterns for the SAT and ACT caused the number of applicants to rise. Besides these changes taking these tests off students’ plates, the movement increased competitiveness for colleges.
“During COVID when kids couldn’t get to a testing site because they were all closed down, colleges didn’t require it. Well now, [the removal of SAT requirements] kind of took away one of the more challenging barriers to entry. So now way more kids applied,” Oksner said.
At the same time, Oksner explains that the requirement of community service at AGHS could be beneficial in order for students to explore future career opportunities, easing pressures. Community service can encourage students to focus beyond college applications.
“I had a girl back at Nipomo who thought she might be interested in marine biology, but she wasn’t sure. She volunteered at the aquarium in Avila, and she is now getting a PhD in shark studies,” Oksner said.
Although stress is prevalent for juniors this school year, the college and career center has alternatives and resources available for students struggling to manage too many things at once. Other options are important to consider if students find themselves overwhelmed with the many factors of college preparation.
