Students, staff discuss severity of ‘senioritis’

Hadley Hoskins
Editor-in-Chief

senioritis_computer — Art by Tania Perez-Landerio

“Senioritis” is a term used to describe a loss of motivation in seniors as graduation approaches.

The word is not only recognized by the U.S. Department of Education but is also used frequently among high schoolers– especially those who wish to explain their lack of motivation during their senior year.

“It’s the excuse that people that procrastinate use– it’s actually probably still the minority [of students],” counselor Ken Winningham explained, adding, “The majority of kids probably still get their grades and get it done. It’s just harder.”

Students agreed with this, saying they noticed this start as early as the second semester of their junior year.

“I watched my brother graduate, and I realized how close he was to being done, and then how close I am to being done,” senior Lauryn Riefle said.

Senior Macey Fischer added planning for college added to this feeling. “When you’re getting ready for college, you realize high school isn’t as important, so you withdraw and don’t try as hard,” Fischer said.

This feeling can have a variety of effects, most notably a lack of motivation and an increase in procrastination.

“[Doing assignments] feels harder than it used to,” senior Rose Mossinghoff said.

“I’ll have kids that come to me, and they’re like, ‘I want to get this done.’ They just never get around to it,” Winningham said.

This lack of motivation, Winningham said, can lead to a dramatic drop in grades in some cases. “I have seen seniors tank… people with 4.0 [GPAs] ruin their 4.0 their last semester of high school,” he explained.

Winningham said even though there is a perception that it’s okay to lose motivation senior year, some colleges won’t accept that. A grade drop or a change in course rigor can have more detrimental effects than expected. Scholarships can be lost, or in extreme cases, colleges can even rescind admission.

“A lot of times they’ll come to me and say, ‘I want to drop all these classes, and I want to take these easy classes,’ and colleges won’t let you do that. If a college sees you’ve changed your schedule, they’ll want to know why,” Winningham said.

Winningham explained that despite the perception that it’s okay, or even normal, to let grades drop senior year, this isn’t the case. “That’s a narrative people tell themselves; it’s not actually true,” Winningham added.

Students struggling with senioritis should remember how hard they’ve worked so far to motivate themselves to keep going, Winningham said.

“This is your investment; this is all your hard work; make it count… You’ve invested 13 years into your education; you don’t want to blow it,” Winningham said.