On no – do you have it? Do you have Senioritis? What – you haven’t heard about this syndrome? Senioritis can be on a spectrum from mild to serious. It is a syndrome that doesn’t affect the elderly, but impacts high school seniors. It can happen at any time during your senior year, and the symptoms are a general slacking off in responsibilities related to high school academics. It can begin with just forgetting to read last night’s assignment to not turning in assignments. In most cases, senioritis can be quite mild, and likely will only result in getting no more than an eye roll from your parents or teachers or perhaps a stern talking to about your priorities. However, more serious cases can result in much more disastrous repercussions.
Let me tell you about two cases of Senioritis of Charlie and Terry. Both students are good students – making mostly As and Bs throughout their high school career. Charlie has a job and also participates in the school band. He loves football games on Friday nights and loves to play video games. Terry is on the yearbook staff, and she loves to draw. Both have many friends and have enjoyed their time in high school.
Charlie started to let a few things slip in his fall semester. He was busy playing at the games and traveling with the team. At first, it was just a forgetting to do a write up on a book report. He apologized to his teacher and asked if he could make up the assignment. She said yes because he had always been a good student, and he made up the work quickly. Then in his math class, he forgot to study for the test and didn’t do so well. Maybe he could do some extra credit, but that didn’t happen. He would have to work harder next time.
Terry had done everything she was supposed to and got accepted early decision at her first choice college. She was pretty excited. She too started to let some assignments slip. She thought it was ok because she already accepted to college. It was time to let go and have some fun.
Does either of these students sound familiar? Have you had these thoughts or said to your friends – “hey, it’s our senior year, it won’t matter!” or “I’ve already been accepted, I am all set!” (ok – maybe not those exact words, but something like them). If you answered yes, then, I am sorry to say you have senioritis. The good news is it still fall, and there is still time for it not to have a serious impact.
If you are experiencing some of these symptoms, it is time to realize what the consequence might be and get back on track. You might think your senior grades don’t make a difference, but they can. There is most likely a paragraph in your acceptance letter and/or your financial aid package that says something like: “your acceptance is contingent on your successful completion of high school in good standing” or “you must maintaining the Grade Point Average (GPA) you have up-to- this point.” What that means is after you complete high school, your school is going to send a copy of your final transcript to the college or university you are planning to attend. The college or university is going to review it and make sure you have graduate high school and maintain your GPA. If you have not maintained that GPA and you have had a significant drop in your GPA (or for some reason failed to graduate high school), the college can do the following: