Dear Carson, How do I get good grades my senior year?

During their senior year, many think it’s time to slack off because it’s “the last year of high school” or “colleges don’t pay attention to my grades this year anyway.” What many juniors turning seniors don’t know is how important senior year actually is. There is no time to slack off because not only should you be worried about graduating, but you should be worried about what colleges see on your transcript. In order to get good grades your senior year, you should follow these steps:

• Stay Focused: with the many distractions of senior year, it can be hard to stay on the right track. Make sure you know what your end goal is, whether it’s to go to college or to graduate high school.
• Don’t procrastinate: I know since you think it’s your senior year you have time to slack off or you have the idea that teachers don’t care. It’s completely the opposite. More attention is paid to you because you’re a senior. Procrastinating is never a good idea, especially your senior year.
• Turn things in on time: one late project could ruin your grade and when colleges check your transcript and see you aren’t doing so well, they take that into consideration.

Dear Carson, Is it okay to get a job my senior year?

It is absolutely okay to get a job your senior year. Getting a job will help you pay for college and all the senior activities which can be quite costly towards the end of the year. Having a job would also take some stress off of your parents and put more responsibility on yourself.

Dear Carson, How do I make friends?

Making friends can be a hard task for some, but, when you find your friends it can make experiences so much better. Here are some tips to help you:

• Find someone with a similar interest: Finding someone similar to you helps create a common ground. This way you and your new friend have things to talk about.
• Join a sport or club: Joining a club or sport creates instant friends. Your teammates or club members start to become your family. It is a great way to interact with new people while also having something to bond over!
• Go outside your comfort zone: While finding people with common interests might be easier, you never know the kind of friendship you’ll have with the person you least expected.