You might have gotten through your first two years of high school without too much trouble, and then, seemingly out of nowhere, junior year arrives, and everything changes.
The work is suddenly harder, and every test feels much higher-stakes than it ever has before.
If that’s how this year feels for you, you’re not imagining it; high school is designed to be this way. This page will help you:
Many things contribute to junior year stress, like:
One of the most well-known sources of junior year stress is academic pressure. One report found that the pressure to get good grades affected around 68% of students.[1] If you’re feeling that pressure right now, many others across the country are in the exact same position.
There are four main areas that contribute to overall academic pressure.
Junior year is the year many will take the SAT or the ACT, and the pressure that comes with studying for them is hard to ignore. SAT stress and ACT prep can take up a huge amount of your headspace, and they are major contributors to junior year stress.
Instead of a single test, your GPA is built from every assignment of every semester. That’s what makes GPA stress feel so relentless. You may feel as if there’s never any room for an “off day” because it all adds up, and that can be exhausting to deal with.
It can help to remember that a single low grade rarely changes the overall picture much, since the whole semester usually counts for more than any one assignment.
Advanced Placement (AP) classes are designed to push you, with the work set at college-level difficulty. Taking AP classes can help your application and even earn you college credit. That’s why so many students load up on them in their junior year.
But the trade-off is a serious workload. Several AP classes at once means more homework and studying on top of test prep and everything else you’re dealing with. This is one of the most common reasons junior year feels a lot more demanding than the years before it.
If your course load feels like too much, consider talking to your school counselor or parents about how you’re feeling.
Junior year is when college planning kicks in. You’ll be:
That’s a lot to handle, all while you’re trying your best to deal with the academic pressure from tests and studying.
If you break college planning into smaller steps, like researching one or two schools a week instead of all at once, college planning can feel a lot less overwhelming.
Junior year signals a time of major high school transitions. While it brings real pressure, there are habits that can help you handle it. None of these suggestions require extra money or special equipment, and they’re things you can start doing on your own today.
When you’re stressed, sleep is usually one of the first things to suffer, and missing it makes everything else feel harder.[2] You’ve probably noticed the difference in how you study when you’re well rested versus when you tossed and turned the night before.[2]
The trick here is to try to keep your sleep times fairly consistent, even during the busy weeks. You can improve your sleep schedule by putting away phones and other electronics earlier than you normally do, as the blue light from these devices can make it tougher to fall asleep.
A consistent wind-down routine, like reading for ten minutes instead of scrolling, can also make it easier for your body to settle.
Other things, like following a healthy diet and exercising regularly (see the next item on this list), can also help you get enough quality, restorative sleep.
Exercise is one of the most reliable ways to reduce stress, and you don’t need to be part of a school sports team or join an expensive gym.[3] You can:
This is a great way to reduce stress and even spend time with your friends. Just ten or fifteen minutes of movement can slow down a racing mind and change how you feel.
Tasks come on strong in your junior year, and it’s easy to start feeling overwhelmed before you’ve even sat down to attempt them. The key is not to let that feeling take over everything you do. One strategy you can try is breaking the larger projects down into manageable chunks.[4]
For example, instead of thinking “I have too much to do,” pick one area of the project and focus on getting that part completed. If you write out a short list of the individual steps, in the order you’ll do them, a big project can feel a lot more manageable than one giant task.
As you complete each chunk, it can help build enough momentum to finish the entire project.
Stress always feels more difficult to deal with when it seems you’re the only one going through it. Talking to friends who are in the same position as you can be a relief on its own, and you may be able to learn something from them.
Friends and other classmates may have already found ways to get themselves through the workload. Ask how they’re coping, what’s worked for them, and try applying their strategies to your own situation.
Talking to trusted adults around you during this time can help, too. Parents and teachers have all been through the ups and downs that junior year brings. They may have advice for junior year stress that can help you get through this tough stretch.
Mission Prep is here to help you or your loved one take the next steps towards an improved mental well-being.
Learning how to handle stress now is important, as these are the skills you bring with you into adulthood and every stressful stretch after this one. When stress isn’t managed and is left to build, it can leave the door open for something more serious to develop.
Two areas in particular are worth understanding and identifying here:
Burnout is what happens when stress goes on for so long that you start to run out of the energy needed to do your daily tasks. It feels a lot stronger than just being tired; in fact, it’s more like a deep exhaustion that makes even small tasks feel like too much to handle.
Signs of burnout include:[5]
If you’ve noticed a number of these signs, it’s something that’s worth sharing with a trusted adult. Many people experience burnout, and an adult who’s been through it before can often spot the signs and offer advice on what to do next.
Burnout can build slowly, so it’s easy to attribute the early signs to just being busy. But if you realize it’s burnout early, it’s usually much easier to deal with.
Academic anxiety is when worry about school becomes constant, rather than just the occasional worry that might surface around a big exam or deadline. You might feel on edge about your work most of the time, even when you’re supposed to be relaxing.
Signs of academic anxiety can present as:[6]
Like burnout, academic anxiety may not be something you can push through alone. Talking to a trusted adult can help you decide what to do.
Mission Prep provides treatment for teens experiencing various mental health conditions. Mental Health support is a phone call away – call 866-901-4047 to learn about your treatment options.
See our residences in Southern California’s Los Angeles & San Diego areas.
View our facilities in Loudoun County, VA within the DC metro area.
If you’ve noticed any of these signs have been present for a while, it could mean you’d benefit from some extra support. At Mission Prep Teen Treatment, we treat various mental health conditions using evidence-based therapeutic approaches and innovative interventions to foster sustainable change for adolescents and their families.
We offer a variety of customized treatment programs. Whether you or your teen could benefit from residential treatment at one of our locations in California or Virginia, or something more flexible like an outpatient mental health program or virtual telehealth to treat their mental health concerns, our team can help.
Mission Prep Teen Treatment accepts insurance and is in-network with most major providers. We are happy to help you check your insurance coverage for mental health care.
Contact us online or call 866-901-4047 to speak with a caring member of our team who can answer any questions you might have. Reach out for a free, no-obligation conversation.
"*" indicates required fields
100% Confidential
No Commitment
Instant Results
Are You Covered for Mental Health Treatment?
We’re in-network with many providers. Call us at 866-901-4047 to verify your benefits and find out how much your plan will cover
Find out if Mission Prep is right for you by reaching out to us and speaking with one of our admissions representatives.
