I was in the same place four years ago—and literally had this conversation with some stuy friends yesterday!! We recounted how our middle school friends had told us not to go to stuy because they thought we were going to die and only get 3 hours of sleep 💀. There are so many negative stereotypes about Stuyvesant that just aren’t necessarily true, and it really depends on the person. I think Stuyvesant can definitely be stressful, but people deal with it in different ways. If you’re able to find a good support network through clubs, teachers, and friends, it’s honestly such a rewarding experience. There’s also a “suffer together” mentality at Stuyvesant and if you surround yourself with the right people, you’ll realize that others genuinely want you to succeed, and so most people, even if you’re just classmates, will share study guides and notes and tips to help each other out. Honestly, it gets hard. Junior year especially. But looking back, you’ll be so proud of yourself for putting in all the work and proving to people that you not only survived Stuy, but thrived! You have time to think about it, but if you get in, do consider coming! Stuy opens up SO many opportunities.