A new semester offers a fresh start, but for many students, it also presents marked changes in their lives. While some adjust easily, others find the transition challenging.

Although most students do not notice any extreme differences between the two semesters, the class of 2013 has long been anticipating the start of the new semester.

“Being a second semester senior is fantastic. I love the freedom and the lower amounts of stress that [come] with it,” Piyush Prasad (12) said.

From supporting classmates at sports games to lounging around in the Sledge, many seniors have more opportunities to de-stress now that college applications are out of the way. Since the new semester offers more leisure, some students find it difficult to continue focusing on their studies.

“It’s very relaxing, but it’s also tough for me to motivate myself to do work,” Joshua Tien (12) said.

While the seniors have just finished college counseling, the juniors were given a general overview at their first meeting on Tuesday. Exploring topics such as SAT’s and college visits, the students reviewed the given handouts and took notes while the counselors informed them of the details about the application process.

“I think that the college counselors are very nice, but just the idea of college is heavy on your thoughts,” Aaron Lee (11) said.

The class of 2014 will continue to attend college counseling meetings during extra help every Tuesday to receive guidance on how to apply to their dream schools.

Even though there are not major changes for the underclassmen, some students believe that they are beginning this semester with a heavier workload than last year and that teachers are less lenient than before.

“It already feels more challenging than semester one because our teachers expect us to be more comfortable with our classes,” Matthew Huang (10) said.

Similarly, Helen Wu (10) believes that the teachers have higher standards during the second semester.

“It’s more difficult because they give a lot of assignments which they expect to be done with the highest quality,” Helen said. “Since I have more extracurricular activities like the dance show and music competitions, I have less time to do work, but it’s still expected to be better.”

In addition to the regular assessments assigned by teachers, students have also started to prepare for other exams that occur near the end of the school year, such as math and science Olympiads and AP tests.

History teacher Mark Janda expects “a growing anxiety as AP exams approach,” but he believes that the students can all achieve their goals.

As the semester progresses, students will be continuing their academic work, participating in school events, and even receiving college acceptance letters.