If there is one redeeming quality about embarking on the grueling battle that is an AP class at Staples High School, it is that once the AP test is over in early May, the class essentially goes into cruise control for the rest of the year. Assignments are rare, and most teachers put on a movie and let their students relish in the free time that was once filled with FRQs and multiple choice practice. 

For juniors taking a bulk of AP classes, May and June feel like a walk in the park when it comes to their workload. 

But as the age-old saying proclaims: better the devil you know than the devil you don’t. The feeling of dread that greeted me as I sat down to write on demand essays in AP lit felt debilitating at the time. It never got any easier, but after a while it became predictable. There is nothing predictable or familiar, though, about the daunting undertaking of beginning the college application process. I would gladly write an essay about poetry written in the 18th century every week if it meant I wouldn’t have to enter the arena of college applications, armed only with a vague sense of direction about my future. 

I have found that while it has been satisfying to return my textbooks and say goodbye to AP classrooms for the time being, the space that was once filled by my AP classes has now been taken over by an anxious sense of urgency when it comes to college applications. 

In the midst of my junior year, I was so entrenched in my classes that the furthest horizon I often saw was the end of the week. Anything that was due afterwards just simply did not take priority. This applied to the college application process as well. At least in my case, the common app essay and supplementals were pushed to the back burner, as they were tasks that would be taken care of when I had more time on my hands in some distant future.