For many high school students, stress has become a normal part of everyday life. Between difficult classes, endless homework and trying to maintain a social life, many upperclassmen constantly feel overwhelmed. The work gets harder, teachers expect more from you and suddenly everything feels like it matters more. It’s not just about finishing homework anymore. You’re also thinking more about your future, like what college you want to go to or what you want to do with your life. At the same time, artificial intelligence has become a bigger part of some student’s academic lives. Many students now use AI to help them study, brainstorm ideas or even complete entire assignments. Because of this, AI is changing the way students experience stress in high school.
As an upperclassman, your schedule is usually packed with tougher classes like honors or AP courses. These classes take a lot more time and effort and they are not something you can just breeze through. On top of that, you might be involved in sports, clubs or even a part-time job. Then there’s studying for big tests like the SAT or ACT. Trying to juggle all of this can be exhausting, and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed or burned out.
Winta Tinsley is a junior at Forest Hills High School, who is graduating a year early talked about her experiences with stress. “At the beginning of the year I was so stressed out with APs and college applications. Balancing everything was so difficult especially because I am taking extra college courses after school to build how many credits I have.” Winta also stated how winter break was the most stressful time of her life this year due to college applications, figuring out if her college essay was good enough and if she wants to go away or not. “After I submitted all my college applications my life definitely got a lot easier.”
Alyssa S, a senior from Thomas Edison High School, states that “junior year was so much more stressful than senior year. I took the SAT three times so all that studying definitely took a toll on me. Especially with 4 AP classes plus honors classes. But yeah, junior year was so much worse than senior year.”
“I will admit though, after I submitted everything college related, senioritis hit real hard. I mainly used AI for everything, especially AP assignments,” a Forest Hills High School graduate claims. “I mean, I got 5 on all the AP exams so why does it matter?”
Even though AI can make things easier at the moment, it can also be a problem. If you depend on it too much, you might not actually learn the skills you need such as how to write, think critically or solve problems for yourself. That could come back to hurt you later, especially in college or at a job where you’re expected to do things independently.
“I know for a fact a lot of my students are using AI to complete their assignments, especially because most of them are online. You can really see the difference between homework grades and exam grades. The kids who use AI to do their homework get 100 but the exam grades are not that great, if you know what I’m saying,” a teacher from Forest Hills High School shared honestly.
At the end of the day, high school stress is real and it hits upperclassmen the hardest. Between tough classes, busy schedules and big decisions, it’s a lot to deal with. AI can be helpful, but it shouldn’t replace your own effort. Finding a balance, while still doing your own work, is probably the best way to get through it without feeling completely overwhelmed.
