How the Coronavirus Pandemic Affects High School Juniors More Than Seniors

by Alexandra Moody

As a junior in high school, we have all had our fair share of hearing the Class of 2020’s sorrows regarding the coronavirus pandemic and how it has affected their class most of all.

“No other class is experiencing the pain that we have right now; our entire senior year was just taken away from us. Prom and graduation are out of the question. We are the most affected by all of this,” they say. But is that true when being compared to the junior class of 2021?

Last September, I took the initiative to sign up for my SAT and ACT exams. I set them up back to back, registering my SAT for March 14th and my ACT for April 6. With this, I had planned to give myself enough time to study and prepare, but also giving myself enough time afterwards to be able to take it again. Now with that, we are currently unsure if we will have the chance to even take it once before college application season rolls around.

Sure, some colleges are going test optional, but a great deal have yet to announce that they will be following in their footsteps and doing the same. This puts forth an obvious struggle. Most students will take advantage of the test optional deal and only apply to those colleges, all in hopes that they would get in. Most juniors have yet to take their exams, giving them the current ineligibility to apply to other schools.

Aside from our exams, what about the students that relied on their athletic ability to get into college? “Recruits can now start taking official visits starting August 1 before their junior year of high school.” (NCAA recruiting rules). Colleges can scout athletes starting August 1, to students who are beginning their junior year. This is fine for football, softball, volleyball, xc, swim, and basketball athletes who compete in the fall and winter. But most spring athletes who play soccer, baseball, or track and field, didn’t even get halfway through their seasons before it’s untimely cancellation. Most schools in America closed down the week of March 8th. Personally, my school’s track and field season was cancelled after only three meets, one of which being a regular season meet, one Saturday invitational, and one JV which half the team didn’t attend. One of our athletes had the full ability to go to state. But now, his season was ripped away without warning. Because of the preparations that America refused to make, many other student athletes like him don’t get their last race, their last pitch, their last save, or their last kick they had hoped for. None of that.

Call me insensitive, but hear me out. Seniors, who complain about their prom being taken away, got their opportunity of prom last year. Seniors, who complain about their final sports season being taken away, got three other seasons, and their opportunity to be scouted.

Spring senior and junior athletes both only get three seasons. Seniors and juniors both only got one prom. The only difference between a junior and a senior right now is graduation.

Seniors definitely have it hard right now, no doubt about that. But telling the other classes they have no right to be upset is unfair. Personal opinion: a high school juniors’ next year is shattered and on edge, a future much less promising than that of a current senior.