As the 2025-2026 course selection period ends, many students debate their plans for next year. The small window to turn in Course Request Forms (CRFs) does not improve  this feeling of uncertainty. This process can make students feel like they are mapping out the rest of their lives rather than forming a plan for what next year will look like. Freshmen and sophomores, in particular, have trouble with selecting courses  due to a lack of knowledge of what they can or should take. Often, the most help a student can receive is not from a teacher or counselor but from an upperclassman who can give a first-hand account of how a certain class really is.

Starting a new school and juggling tons of new classes is incredibly daunting as it is. Freshmen attending the school for less than six months are being asked to choose their classes for next year with virtually no time or information to do so. Freshman Haya Malik explained how the newly introduced time crunch for CRFs did not give her the necessary time to meet with her counselor before she submitted her CRF.

“It’s a bit stressful because as I’m doing [CRFs], the counselors are only going to talk to me after I submit them, and I just wish that we could talk to the counselors before then, so we could know more about what we’re taking and how that will impact our future,” Malik said.

 The CRF stress is multiplied by endless course options and diploma requirements for sophomores heading into the notoriously challenging junior year. Sophomore Shaina Broudy discussed the anxiety-inducing choice between the International Baccalaureate (IB)  and Advanced Placement (AP) tracks.

“I feel like they’ve told us [the IB Programme] is going to be hard, but I don’t know what to expect,” Broudy said. “I mean, they’ve warned us that it is a lot of homework, but I don’t know what that entails… I don’t know the specifics of it. I also don’t know how it compares to the work we’re getting this year. I feel like they haven’t said much about that, so it’s just like, I don’t know what to expect.”

Fortunately for these younger students, many others have gone through this system before them and have tips and tricks to make navigating CRF season easier. Ally Shenk, a senior, explained how the difference between IB and AP courses becomes clearer only as you begin taking those classes. 

“Before taking AP and IB I didn’t know much of a difference,” Shenk said. “It was really when I started taking both classes [that] I knew which one would be more beneficial to me with getting college credit and also just the intensity of the class.”

College applications, as Shenk mentioned, are another stress factor for many students. Students are not necessarily only choosing courses, but they are also attempting to appear their best in  their future applications. 

Broudy explained how it was necessary to take elevated classes next year to keep up with peers.

“Arlington feels very competitive,” Broudy said. “It’s stressful, and I’m worried [that] if I don’t take the hard classes, I’m gonna look stupid [on college applications]… The most pressure I get… is just pressure I’m putting on myself to take [the IB].”

On the flip side, Malik feels her teachers are discouraging her from taking the more intensified classes she wants to take because they think many students cannot handle this stress. Malik disagrees. In addition to this, she expresses her frustration with the lack of support staff members have given her.

“A lot of teachers were actually discouraging of taking a lot of intensified classes, and the counselors are probably the ones who know the most about it, but we weren’t able to talk to them,” Malik said. “A lot of regular teachers and GP teachers don’t really know a lot about courses in general, so it made it a bit confusing.”

Although teachers may not be as supportive as some would like, seniors and upperclassmen can advise you about choosing your courses. Shenk shared advice for freshmen and sophomores on course selection and balancing what you like to do and how that interest can benefit you on college applications.

“I would say explore different classes you are interested in but also try to find a path and stick with it because a lot of colleges like continued interest,” Shenk said. “For example, I took engineering in freshman and sophomore year and IB design tech junior and senior year.”

Overall, course selection is stressful for all students. It is important to keep a perspective on course selection as it compares to the rest of your life. Contrary to popular belief, course selection is not the end of the world or a cause for vast amounts of stress. However, according to student opinions, the staff as a whole could do a much better job of managing CRF season.

 “A lot of classes were pretty different than I expected,” Shenk said.