17-year-old Reva Sobti knows the struggle to pass AP exams is real but acknowledges that thankfully their end is near
Dear burnt out, weary, exam-surviving warrior!
It’s that time of the year, which every student has been waiting for since the dreaded school year started. That’s what I keep telling myself as I prepare to descend into – excuse my profanity – the hell that is exam season.
For most, “April showers bring May flowers”, but for students, the saying goes more like “April crams bring May exams”. As most of you are cruising into your high-stakes exams, finals, APs (Advanced Placement courses), IBs (International Baccalaureate), or whatever else you’ve got going on, maybe you can agree with me that keeping the stress at bay is nearly impossible.
No matter how much you have prepared, I believe most students would agree that it never feels like enough. With exams, finals and grades to worry about, it’s no wonder we feel like swans; trying to stay cool on the surface while desperately working to stay afloat. Unfortunately, not even ChatGPT knows how to deal with this predicament, so perhaps I can offer some relief in solidarity to all my fellow burnt-out teens.
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Under the surface
Contrary to the belief of some adults, students these days are stressed for good reason. With the increasingly competitive nature of college admissions, the limited job market and the rising cost of living – on top of the impending sense of general doom most Gen Z and Gen Alpha students feel – teens these days sense the pressure and anxiety getting to them.
According to 2025 statistics on US high school students from Cross River Therapy, with locations all over America, 45% of high-school students admit to feeling stressed everyday in school. Additionally, 65% of students aged 13–17 worry about producing satisfactory grades. The pressure has not only caused 75% of high-school students to stress over academics, but 50% of middle schoolers (ages 11–13) as well. This sets the US at number one for most stressed students globally. At least we’re number one in something…
Jokes aside, our stress is more than just a statistic: it has real implications. Harvard Summer School explains why stress can be so detrimental for students: “If you’re stressed all the time and your body produces too much cortisol, it can lower your immunity, raise your blood pressure, and impair your cognitive performance.”
Teens are already going through many hormonal changes due to puberty, so adding stress simply does not make for a good mix.
Organisations such as the National Education Association have – for good reason – condemned SATs and other high-stakes exams for being “inequitable and ineffective at gauging what students know”. The American School Counselor Association says that counselors “advocate for the use of multiple criteria when educational decisions [are being made] based on student performance”.
Not only do such exams take a heavy emotional toll on students, they also don’t provide an accurate or holistic view of the capabilities of a student. Ironically, they are still used to define the entire student profile.
Advice from real students
Like many high-achieving students, I aspire to attend a top institution for higher education, but with this ambition and drive come consequences. There is not a day when I am not worried about my grades, my extracurriculars, upcoming tests or whether all this effort and sacrifice is worth it.
It is at times like these where I need to remind myself that, no matter how much I don’t want to hear it, these tests don’t matter in the long run. It’s annoying when everyone says this, because it feels like they are diminishing my hard work and effort. I can dedicate myself to straining for perfection, but at what cost?
What I really mean when I say “grades don’t matter” is that the work ethic you build along the way in pursuit of academic success is what truly matters, not the grades along the way.
I know I’m not alone. I sat down to discuss this very issue with my friends at school after barely surviving our ninth exam. In case you don’t want to take my word for it, maybe some advice from other students may resonate a little more. No matter where in the world you’re reading this from – we’re all in the same boat.
One 11th-grade student said that it is hard to control the actual stressors in her life, so it is easier for her to focus on “staying active and eating healthy during finals week”. Another 11th-grader said that he liked to focus on how, once testing in school is over, he would “have much more time to hang out with friends and family, which was a big motivation to work harder”.
Exams and finals can be hard on everyone, but we don’t have to allow the stress that comes with them to dictate our lives.
Does it end?
While I wish I could help with some of the stress by taking some of your tests for you (not really!), what I can do is encourage everyone to stay strong and keep fighting. But if you’re also ready to check out from this school year, as I am, don’t worry – summer is right around the corner. In the meantime:
- Stay hydrated
- Eat nutritious food
- Take walks
- Reach out for help if it gets too overwhelming
Good luck everyone! And to answer the question – yes, it does end.
Sincerely,
Reva
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