Freshman year is the hardest year of high school, according to Counselor Patricia Yorke.

“I believe ninthgrade year is the hardest for students because it’s a new environment and there are high expectations from them,” says Yorke, who has been counseling students for 15 years.

Freshman Kahlia Jones says ninth grade has been a tough year for her so far. “The hardest part was adjusting to the new size of the school” after coming from middle school.

Laureel Stokes also knows the difficulties of ninth grade all too well: “The most difficult part of ninth grade (so far) was keeping my grades up and getting used to the new environment.”

But not everyone agrees that ninth grade is the hardest: Senior Sharda Spear says, “Eleventh grade is the hardest because you have to worry about the ACT and signing up for scholarships.”

Yorke says high school years are some the most important years of your life. They determine the next steps in life; such as whether a student goes to college or straight into the work force.

Each year in high school is a new experience and a new challenge, Yorke says.

In ninth grade, middle school students come into high school nervous and scared, worrying about what is ahead., Yorke says.

In tenth grade, students start doing harder assignments and begin to worry about taking the ACT the following year, Yorke says.

In eleventh grade, students face national tests such as the ACT and the SAT and they begin to think about applying to college.

In the twelfth grade, students are faced with senioritis and the stress of trying to get into college.

So each year has a certain amount of stress, Yorke says.

Senior Makaila Doggett says, “Ninth grade was the hardest because it was just so new to me.”

Doggett points out that students all face their own personal challenges during high school. Some go through hard personal and emotional experiences that have nothing do with what grade they are in, she says.

The bottom line: There are a lot of factors that determine what the hardest year is, but everyone has their own opinion, Yorke says.