Senioritis – A supposed affliction of students in their final year of high school or college, characterized by a decline in motivation or performance.
However, is Senioritis real? Abby Tincher, an academic advisor at Southern New Hampshire University, said that Senioritis is real. Yet, this phenomenon requires further investigation. I talked to a senior in our high school to get her input:
Senioritis is definitely a thing and it hits hard in about February. You just become SUPER lazy with school. I’m definitely ready to graduate!
— Jennifer Adams
Some symptoms of Senioritis include grades dropping, incomplete assignments, procrastination, and a loss of interest in school and classes. The main symptom of Senioritis includes loss of motivation. A lot of students have an “As long as I’m passing!” attitude with their schoolwork.
There are, in fact, consequences to Senioritis. A lot of seniors might regret what they have done later in life. Senioritis can harm a student’s immediate future by impacting college. It can impact the transition between high school and college. The National Association for College Admission Counseling states how difficult freshmen year of college can be, and that Senioritis only makes the transition worse. In addition, financial aid can be lost. Students whose grades have dropped have lost anywhere from $1,000 to $3,000.
Often, Senioritis starts after students have been accepted into college. Despite that, what many students don’t know is that colleges can take back acceptance. There is usually a clause included in their acceptance letter. If the student’s grades are low, the college can retract their generous offer.
The main way to address Senioritis is to identify the symptoms. Then, the student can take steps that put him or her in the right direction to overcome Senioritis. Nevertheless, the main way to overcome Senioritis is motivation. Set goals (short-term and long-term) and maintain a positive attitude. Students should keep reminding themselves of the end goal, being graduation. If a student is having trouble with his or her motivation, he or she can create a reward system after accomplishing each goal. Changing the student’s environment is also good to help kickstart the motivation. Another way to overcome Senioritis is to be well-organized. Being unorganized leads to procrastination, and that only makes Senioritis worse. Dividing work into manageable pieces makes being organized easier. When a student feels like he or she is crashing down, it is important to take a quick break. Though, a student should not let taking a break lead to slack off.
Now that we know that Senioritis is real, there are ways to avoid it. The main step is to get involved in what the student enjoys. This not only helps the student stay occupied but stay interested in what he or she is doing currently. The student also needs to think about his or her future. The student needs to keep refreshing on why they are here, and what the long-term goal is.
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