<p>Senior year sucked for me. My dad died and I shelled through like 13 college applications and had to deal with a lot of IB testing crap as well as the SATs and financial issues, trying to maintain grades and a long distance relationship, in addition to teachers at school being generally uncooperative and friends afraid to speak to me out of fear of offending me. I broke down in class constantly. My dog also ran away late-senior year (he has since be retrieved but just a few months ago). Although senior year ended nicely – I emerged valedictorian, accepted to 12/13 schools including a bunch of Ivies – it was by far the most emotion-ripping and stressful year of my life. I don’t care if you think all that academic crap is bragging – I went through a lot of totally unnecessary BS.</p>