stressed out senior

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-28-1999
stressed out senior
12
Fri, 10-27-2006 - 4:11pm

My DD was very stressed out last night and I don't know if there's really anything I can do to help her.

She is taking very hard courses this semester, AP Calculus, Anatomy, PHysics, Spanish IV and an English course called Violence in American Culture that really seems like a college course to me. I may have even forgotten one. Her progress report showed that she has all A's and B's so far, but she seems overwhelmed w/ homework & tests.

Then she has a part-time job which she has to have to pay for her car ins. & gas. Usually she works on weekends, but they got a new manager who seems to have no common sense, IMO because the mgr. scheduled her for 2 nights next week during the week from 3:00 to 10:00. That would mean she would have no time to do any homework unless she started it after 10:00 p.m. , which isn't really a good idea to me. Last night she worked 5:00-10:00 and she was still tired, but at least she had the chance to get some HW done after school. I told her she will just have to speak up to let the manager know she can't work so many hours on a school night. She has been working there since the beginning of the summer and I'm sure she is a good worker so I doubt they will fire her and if they do, she can always find another job.

Plus there is the whole college app. thing, not being sure where to go or where to apply, etc. She did visit one branch of the state univ. today. The funny thing is that she doesn't like science very much, yet she wants to be a nurse. I don't see it, but I'm not going to argue about it. I suggested that if school work is too much, she could drop a course, because she would still have enough credits to graduate. She doesn't think that would look good, but it wouldn't look good if she doesn't get good marks either.

Oh yea, and she is supposed to start tutoring some younger kids after school because she is in National Honor Society and they have to do community service. Plus there are the usual social activities that she wants to do.

I don't know if there's much I can do to help. I remember my senior year being kind of fun and not so stressful. I think we had to take one less course or maybe I just never found high school that difficult. I didn't even think college was hard.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Fri, 11-03-2006 - 12:10pm

DH and I have discussed the 'car thing' often. Neither of us had one during college, much less high school!

But sometimes I guess you do have to go with the crowd because times change. I worked in HS, for example, and simply borrowed the family car because my mom didnt work outside the home-thats less likely to happen nowadays

I, personally, wouldnt have a problem with her working until 10 and then doing homework. My kids seem to be at their best about that time(my freshman still must be in bed at 10 but I know I let up on the other two their junior years)

I only went 1/2 day to school my senior year as did DS1 so dd probably needs to be clearer with the manager about her scheduling and needs; she may think dd is half day or even older and out of school-who knows?

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-19-2003
Fri, 11-03-2006 - 12:44pm

Indeed I live in Canada and tuitions are much lower here. Average annual tuition is around $5000 Cdn per year. Probably the most you'd pay is for University of Toronto which, depending on the program, could run about $10,000 a year. I don't know the figures in the US but my perception is that they are much higher -- sometimes 4X as much.

It also helps that in Canada we are highly urbanized -- most of us live close to or in a major city. It is rare that people have to travel great distances to attend university and therefore pay for room and board. If they do, its a choice vs a necessity. I live north of Toronto and my kids have 3 excellent universities to choose from within distance of public transit and probably twice as many community colleges as well as private institutions.

So yes, here you can work a whole summer and pay for your tuition and other expenses. I don't know your daughters situation but maybe its time to give up the car? I mean the only way to relieve stress is to simplify and often that means something has got to go...

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