happy+healthy
senioritis
how serious is
SENIORITIS?
by Jasmine York
During my senior year, I was super excited to go to senior dinners
and participate in skip day, senior pranks, prom, college tours-you
name it! Once the college acceptance letters started rolling in, my
motivation drastically decreased. I was “over” high school and like
many seniors, was suffering from senioritis.
Understanding “taking it easy” vs. “slacking off.”
“Senioritis” is the tendency for high school seniors
to let their excitement about graduation overshadow
their commitment to their classes. It’s pretty common
and usually pretty benign. But students with a bad
case can suffer some serious side effects. Here’s
what to watch out for and a few ways to “tame” it.
Learning to “tame” senioritis will not only equip teens to juggle
multiple responsibilities, but it’ll also keep them in good standing
with colleges and prepare them for real-world challenges to come.
Students who have senioritis typically turn in subpar classwork.
They’re convinced they can “afford” to slack off, since they’re so
close to the finish line. But some colleges are saying otherwise and
are now penalizing seniors whose academic performance may have
been affected by senioritis in these (and other) ways:
Parents have the responsibility of helping their teen put things into
perspective and not blow all their years of hard work. Helping teens
set boundaries will give them permission to enjoy their last year in
high school without slacking off.
“I would just encourage them to finish strong. A lot
of girls don’t realize that if their GPA drops, in some
cases, they can’t rush for sororities.”
- Samantha Pieper, counselor at Saint James School
Removal from honors program. Students who’ve been
accepted into a college’s honors program must maintain their
academic performance or be removed.
Loss of scholarship dollars. Merit-based scholarships
place a heavy emphasis on GPA. If a stude