Many of the long weekends that were hallmarks of first semester at New Trier have been replaced with school days due to the construction schedule.

With so few breaks during the school year, such as Rosh Hashana and Columbus Day weekend.

Seniors feel overwhelmed with their college admission process, though, their stress doesn’t seem abnormal to faculty members.

In prior years, these long weekends were used by seniors who were either just beginning their college application process, or by seniors who were visiting schools they were committed to.

For all students, losing those days off is a major source of stress, as Bella Miller, senior and rower on the New Trier Rowing Team is acutely aware of that stressed “Because of my official visits to colleges for rowing, I’m missing a lot of school. Without the days off, it’s difficult to catch up on what I missed.”

With the academic rigor of senior year, along with extra-curriculars, missing just one day can cause a huge amount of catch-up work that many seniors have a hard time keeping up. The stress level among seniors seems to be at an all time high.

“I think the level of stress is higher than it should be because there are no breaks and less opportunity to make important visits,” senior Carly Cao said.

However, post-high school counselor Deborah Donley sees this year’s students has having just around the same amount of stress they always do, year after year, when college applications come around.

Donley doesn’t see much difference year to year. “Students seem fine. Remember, they are often stressed about the unknown aspect of the college process when they see us.”

Although post-high school counselors may not be the best indicator of student stress levels, the general trend of stressed Trevians seem very manageable to the college counselors.

Of course, not all seniors are stressed; it seems also to depend on each individual’s schedule, and how much work classes give correlates to the amount of time students spend on their college applications and college visits.

Senior Owen LaCava, who is on the less stressed side of the spectrum, said “I have three free periods: 7, 8 and 9. But I still get stressed. My extra two hours of free periods make sure I get homework and college applications done, but then it’s like, what will I do with all my free time?”

Not all students have three consecutive free periods, so they have to rely on the few long weekends left in order to fit in college applications and visits.

The four day long Columbus Day Weekend, usually the second weekend in October, has been replaced this year with an early release on Friday, Oct. 9, and a late start on Monday, Oct. 12.

Traditionally, this was a time where many students visited prospective colleges, especially ones that were farther away. Senior Gabby Sirazi said, “It is really frustrating because Columbus Day weekend would have been the weekend to go college touring, but now I have to miss my actual classes to go, which is way more stressful.”

Donley, on the other hand, disagrees. “Missing the Columbus Day weekend does not have such a large impact on visits, since that Saturday is traditionally an ACT testing date that many fall semester seniors utilize.”

Donley encourages students to take a few days off for important school visits. “Seniors are welcome to take school days to visit colleges, however, they need to adhere to New Trier attendance policies and notify teachers accordingly, be responsible for missed work and quizzes or exams.”