As fourth quarter comes to end, many seniors find themselves swamped with homework, tests, finals, and AP tests. The reputation of a second semester senior is usually relaxed and not having much homework. This reputation is wrong.

Seniors think their last year in high school is coming to an end, but they actually have a busy schedule. They recently decided which college to attend, danced the whole night at prom, and prepared for the AP tests. With graduation around the corner, seniors can’t slack off now. They still have a backpack full of work to do.

As a senior, I thought fourth quarter would be the easiest, like many other high school students. Watching seniors graduate last year, it never seemed like they were overloaded with homework. It seemed like college was the only thing they could think about. This, combined with their lack motivation, made it seem like they didn’t have much homework.

“Fourth quarter has been hard for me mostly because it seems like teachers are trying to fit a lot of assignments in at the end of the year,” said Hannah Radeke, senior.

Personally, I thought since we only have a month left of school, my classes would be winding down. That teachers would give us less homework and “understand” our senioritis. It turned out to be the exact opposite. I feel as if I am receiving harder material and even lengthier projects, though this might just be a case of senioritis. Haleigh Monyek, senior, shares a similar opinion.

“Not everyone is in AP classes, and people underestimate the workload of fourth quarter when it starts,” Monyek said.

Delaney Walsh, senior, agreed. According to Walsh, she felt teachers would assign less homework, going into second semester, because of all the work she had completed last semester.

“I think that fourth quarter has a reputation for being easier than all the rest, but actually it’s super tough,” Walsh said.

Homework, tests and APs all contribute to the toughness of fourth quarter, and many seniors have found this quarter to be loaded with more homework than expected.

“It’s challenging because teachers increase the workload,” Monyek said. “They have been teaching us the material all year long and they want us to show the AP graders what we’ve [seniors] got. They would rather over prepare us than under.”

In addition, other students feel teachers will assign more homework for seemingly less important reasons.

“I think they’re assigning more [homework] for completion points to raise our grades and some[teachers] aren’t,” said senior, Melinda Vitális

Monyek is currently taking AP Calculus and states she has to work on a multiple choice packet, study for quizzes, complete two free response questions, and also find time on her own to study for the AP test.

Similarly, Walsh is also AP Calculus and has about an hour of homework every night.

“I can only imagine what others with three to five exams must be feeling,” Walsh said.

In addition, many AP tests were taken the week after prom. In result, I think students will have less time to prepare for their tests because they have other homework to finish and it is also the weekend after prom.

The lack of motivation in seniors can make them feel like they are being overloaded with homework. “I think senioritis is inevitable,” Vitális said.

“Now that I have committed to a college, it’s hard to find motivation because I feel like all my hard work has already paid off, and the rest of school at this point doesn’t matter too much,” Radeke said.

Although, we feel overloaded with homework, I think seniors need to hold on a little longer, in order to finish the year off strong. Finishing the year strong will allow seniors to look back and know they did the best they could.

“This quarter has been crazy, but it will just make graduating so much more relaxing and satisfying,” Walsh said.