As students begin their second semester of senior year, the senioritis plague often spreads throughout high schools.
Senioritis affects seniors after they have completed college applications and thus have lost most of their motivation to do schoolwork.
Grades and work — who needs them when college is so near.
Some teens are surprised that they cannot find the motivation they used to have because they are so ready to leave high school.
“Senioritis has hit me unexpectedly this year, actually,” says Alexis Christy, a senior at Jonathan Law High School, in Milford. “I didn’t foresee having such a lack of motivation, but I think it’s just being so eager for college and feeling so frustrated with high school that’s done it.”
This lack of motivation seems to be brought on by the anxiousness to go to college after being accepted.
After that college acceptance letter arrives in the mailbox, seniors feel as if a weight has been lifted off their shoulders. Some feel less pressure to earn good grades.
“The biggest factor for me is being accepted into college,” says Elizabeth O’Brien of Easton, a senior at Joel Barlow High School in Redding. “I’ve focused on looking forward to college, not worrying about high school.”
Although many seniors seem to suffer from senioritis, some claim that their grades have not been greatly affected.
While seniors may feel less pressue to go the extra mile academically, some say senioritis is no excuse to blow off schoolwork entirely.
“I try not to let my grades suffer from my senioritis,” says Caroline Grew, a senior at Trumbull High School. “I do all of the work given to me, but now I do it in lunch periods or homeroom so I have more free
time.”
One reason seniors keep their grades appropriate is because colleges still have the right to see second semester grades. If a student’s grades suddenly drop, colleges have the right to withdraw the
student’s application.
Students also keep their grades high in order to please people such as teachers and parents.
“Most of my teachers expect the same amount of work, regardless of senioritis,” says Brian Gagnon, a senior at Shelton High School. “However, they aren’t shocked when someone doesn’t do their work.”
Depending on the teacher, the quality of work expected may vary. Some teachers maintain their workload throughout the year and expect the same amount of effort from students. Others, however, understand
senioritis and are more lenient when students neglect to do work or hand in work of lower quality.
Parents also have a similar view on senioritis as teachers do. While most parents continue to be strict
about their child’s grades and the amount of effort they put into their work, others do not feel the need for their children to try as hard in school as they once did. As some students take the decreased discipline from their parents as an okay to lower their efforts in school, others feel it is their responsibility to keep their grades up in fear of colleges withdrawing their application.
Students of other grades are also aware of , and may even be affected by senioritis. Although these students may not have applied to or been accepted by colleges yet, they still feel less motivated out of
general laziness or low work ethic.
“I feel like by the middle of the year, you just lose interest and get tired of your classes,” says Jordan Kovacs, a junior at Shelton High School. “The lack of variety in the schedule makes your classes get
boring, and if you’re bored, you aren’t going to want to do work that doesn’t interest you, and then you find yourself counting down the days until graduation.”
Senior or not, many students suffer from the common symptoms of senioritis, mainly laziness and lack of effort. Although it may be easy to completely neglect all work once accepted into a college, it is important to some to stay motivated and to continue to excel.
Written by Sheetala Balasubramanian, of Orange, a senior at Amity High School in Woodbridge and Andrea Pringle, a junior at Central High School in Bridgeport
