In the second week of school, Arrowhead juniors were given a presentation during study hall by their guidance counselors, coercing them into scheduling their junior conferences.

When presenting, the counselors said the conferences are held to discuss students’ futures. Every junior is expected to schedule one with their respective counselor.

The conference should be scheduled during one of the student’s study halls or lunch period. A parent or guardian is also expected to be there. Junior conferences will be conducted through April.

Some students, like Martha Kobiske, say they are excited about this.

“This doesn’t really scare me at all. I’ve had the plan for psychology for a few years now and have always felt really confident in my plan,” says Kobiske.

Kobiske says she hopes to narrow down her choices for colleges at her conference.

Other students, like junior Madelyn Dunham, say they are freaked out by the responsibilities looming, and that they hope to find some clarity from their junior conferences. Dunham says she knows she wants to study sports communications.

“When I didn’t know what I wanted to do it freaked me out a lot because I didn’t know what classes to take,” says Dunham.

Now that she knows what she wants to do, Dunham says she is looking for assistance in choosing colleges to apply to.

Dunham and Kobiske both say they believe Arrowhead has a great variety of classes, and it helped them explore different opportunities.

Kobiske says that taking Arrowhead’s psychology class has only deepened her interest in the topic, and she can’t wait to explore it more.

Both students say they plan on attending a four year college after graduating high school. They will be attending the Arrowhead college fair on September 27th to see their choices. Representatives from over one hundred colleges will be at the fair.

“I went [to the college] fair last year and it helped me so much,” says Dunham.

Despite this, Dunham says it can still be difficult to choose the perfect college for you; one college may have your major and another might not.

But choosing where to apply to college isn’t the only responsibility juniors have.

“This is the year that colleges pay the most attention to our grades, and we have to do the ACT as well as other tests the colleges will look at. We have a lot going on this year,” says Kobiske.

Dunham says it’s also hard because juniors are watched so closely.

“I think there is a lot of pressure because more is expected of us, and colleges are watching us and starting to get interested in us,” says Dunham.

Some students find the process of applying and getting into college much easier than others. Dunham says that she’s been having trouble. On the other hand, Kobiske says she is not.

“My two cousins have answered most of my questions and told me that it isn’t as stressful as it looks,” says Kobiske.

Kobiske says that she’s lucky because she’s been able to use her cousins as a crutch. One is a doctor, and the other is going into the field of psychology, just like she is planning to.

Junior year can still be very exciting, Kobiske says.

“I enjoy helping people out and I’ve always thought the field [of psychology] was cool, even when I was younger. It’s exciting to be getting closer to doing what I’ve always wanted to do,” says Kobiske.