As seniors prepare to apply to college, one of the most stressful factors among many is the November fourth deadline. On November fourth all seniors’ grades were locked and sent to the schools they are applying to. Seniors have been working hard to keep their grades up and do as much as they can to prove they are hardworking and worthy of acceptance to the colleges they are applying to.

“I think it’s a nice relief because I don’t have to worry about [grades] and I feel like grades always go up after a while and November’s not a while, but I was also stressed because I needed my grades to be really good, so I was working myself really hard the first couple months,” said Bailey Harrigan.

Like most other seniors, Harrigan takes AP classes such as AP Psychology, AP Macroeconomics, and AP Calculus. Since these classes are college-level courses, seniors have been working extra hard to improve their grades before the deadline. “For my AP gov grade I was doing test corrections in order to get that grade up,” said Sydney Smith.

Both Harrigan and Smith said they were studying more than usual and doing extra work to bring their grades up as much as possible. They said that their teachers have been very helpful and understanding too.

However, not all teachers are taking into account all the extra work students are doing while staying on top of all of their classes and extracurricular activities. “Don’t give me a test the day before November fourth,” said Gillian Wenrich.

Mr. Jordan Lavender, a Spanish teacher at Hopkinton High said he is “Making sure that [students’] grades reflect what [they’re] doing in class so there are no surprises.” He thinks that it is a good thing that grades are being locked so students are able to see what is being sent to colleges.

While many students think that it is stressful, they agree with Mr. Lavender. “I feel great. I have all A’s and I know they’re going to change after this so I’m feeling good,” said Wenrich.

“I feel good about the grades I have right now,” agreed Smith.

Lavender said that he hoped that “Since [Spanish] is not a core subject, maybe the stress is less than other classes.”

He agreed that the best part of grades being locked is that students do not have to stress about it anymore. The downside is that some students hoped they could raise their grades more before the deadline.

“If I end up doing better in any of my classes by the end of the semester it’s not like my schools will see,” said Harrigan. “I was struggling in AP Calculus and now that’s what the schools are going to see.”

Colleges are also receiving students’ GPA scores which is an added stressor for students. A lot of GPAs dropped due to COVID and the effects are hurting students now, whether it was their grades that took a toll, or their motivation.

“It was awful. I ended both semesters with a C in geometry because I just had to basically teach myself at home because I couldn’t really ask my teacher for help,” said Harrigan.

“I was just trying to learn stuff and put it on the test and then forget about it,” said Smith. “As long as I was passing I wasn’t going out of my way to learn.”