While college student Brianna Rose is hopeful artificial intelligence will stay out of her nursing and midwifery career aspirations, others are uncertain about the future and if university is the right path.
"They want to have job security and are thinking, 'What am I going to do if I go to uni and get a degree, and then can't do anything with that'," Ms Rose said.
The year 12 student at St Francis Xavier College said students were feeling the weight of expectations ahead of an uncertain future after college.
"We know that AI is so prevalent, whether it's going to take the jobs that we want to go into," she said.
Ms Rose said students "placed a lot of pressure on themselves" to succeed but was grateful she was part of the Canberra college system where end-of-year university entrance scores are based on a body of work from year 11 and 12.
The Canberra Times spoke to some of the college students, about adjusting to college life, what concerns them as teenagers in 2026 and their advice for future students.
Thomas Griffin said for himself and his peers, the negative side of social media was one of the biggest stressors.
"Being in an online space with so many other people it can be very negative," he said.
"You're comparing yourself to so many other people."
"With my peers I've seen a lot of people go down bad pathways because they've been comparing themselves to others, or do not have as much confidence."
The future is also a key consideration, both from external pressures and from students holding themselves to a high standard.
"We're in such a critical phase where we're basically defining our future with what we do these couple next couple of years," he said.
"Our ability to deal with that pressure sort of reflects in our studies and everything."
Paige Davis said she was worried at the start of year 11 because students had gone to different colleges.
"I also think it made it a little easier to become friends with everyone," she said.
Tapiwa Gochayi said there was pressure to decide what to do after college and to see if your grades "back that up".
But discussions with mentors have increased his awareness about different university pathways, he said.
Violet Nichols said she sees lots of students her age following the crowd.
"We often stick with the same people or do the same things, and never try anything outside the box," she said.
"I feel that we need to do our own living and just not be afraid that people aren't judging us if we're going our separate way."
Jack Moyle said it took him a while to find the right balance in college.
"Making sure I was still playing sports and hanging out with people, having that social aspect of life while being able to focus on my schoolwork," he said.
"It took a little while, but you kind of get the hang of it," he said.
Mr Moyle said his school cohort was in year 7 and 8 during COVID-19 lockdowns which had an effect on the relationships with his peers and early on in high school affected work ethic.
The college students were participating in activities to build their wellbeing skills before the exam period started.
Principal Sandra Darley said it was important for the students to be focused and settled before their exams.
"Wellbeing is part of our whole school approach to learning," she said.
Ms Darley said they had run the college event for a number of years and had seen "greater engagement in learning and students who are better prepared for examinations".
The school is working on a whole school wellbeing framework, Ms Darley said.
"Which is about students and staff learning about wellbeing literate leadership."
