Again this year, I asked graduates of the IB Diploma program to visit with this year’s seniors – either in person or by video chat – to give advice on how to complete their high school careers without putting undue stress on themselves.

It’s a lot to deal with – extended essays, internal assessments, college applications, the onslaught of exams at the end of the year, finding and applying for scholarships – and to every senior who hasn’t been through it, it can seem overwhelming!

This year, the visiting graduates outdid themselves, providing a variety of answers to common questions, depending on each graduate’s experiences. And yet, there was consistency in most of their answers, so that the overall wisdom gained by the seniors was helpful moving into this year.

Some of the advice that I heard most frequently was:

• Schedule time every day to work on something, and prioritize the work so that you’re not scrambling at the last minute.
• IB truly prepares you for college, especially when it comes to writing. You will hate all of the writing you do as a senior, but when you get to college, you’ll find it’s easier to pump out a 2,000-word essay in a day.
• College feels easier than high school, because while you have the same amount of work to do outside of class, you only spend about 3 hours a day in class, so you have more time outside of class to complete your work.
• When applying to schools, find the school with the right program, not the right name. And if you can, visit the campuses of those colleges, so you can see if you’ll like being there.
• Ask multiple people to edit your essays: college students, friends, anyone whose feedback you respect.
• If possible, get things done early. That way, it’s not hanging over your head.
• Don’t simply rely on counselors for scholarship information. Do your own research, especially what’s offered by each college.
• Don’t just apply locally. International schools have programs just as good as those in your home state. Take a risk.
• Don’t fill your resume with a lot of activities. Focus on what you enjoy.
• Overall, to stand out in a college application, you have to have done something completely different from others. So look at your life, and figure out what makes your life experience different. Then articulate that in your application essay.

Hopefully, the seniors saw the same patterns I did with the advice, and will take it to heart. I know they will all be successful, even though their plans don’t work out the way they originally thought they would.

I just wish the seniors had as much faith in themselves as the graduates and I have in them. For now, all we can hope is that their minds are a little more at ease.

I wish I could say that all of this effort was completely selfless on my part, but honestly, it warms my heart to see all of these graduates again, even for a brief time. I sincerely enjoy seeing them grown up and full of true joy in the lives they are creating for themselves.

Thank you so much to the graduates who helped out this year:

Lea, Shreya, V, Jonathan, Karvi, Anita, BP, Alex, Amogh, Sahana, Michael, Saman, Edward, Veronica, Michelle, Jess, Natasha, Christina, Shivam, Shruti, Sarah, Kevin, Sophia, Kelly, Holden, Sravika, Apurva, Lauren, Angie, Laila, Adi, Ryan, Mehul, Daniel, and Sat.

Your advice helped so much more than mine would. It’s nice to know I can still count on you even when we’re miles apart.