A 17 year old wakes up one day feeling unusually unmotivated. No homework has been done from the night before, and they feel the sudden urge to skip school for the rest of the week. Their attendance has been dwindling, and their grades are starting to slip.
Anxious about why this is all happening, they seek a medical diagnosis.
The doctor’s conclusion: senioritis.
Senioritis, a common term used to describe a decline in motivation or performance in a student’s final year of high school, is a very real and difficult thing to deal with. Due to a combination of college applications, stress, and a sense of tiredness after three long years, senioritis is a big part of students’ lives. Although it is not a real medical condition, several seniors are subject to this feeling throughout their last year of high school. ¨Yes its 100% real,¨ says Laura Hawksworth, ¨It shows up the most around break times and at the end of the semester.¨
Normally a case of senioritis will likely hit its peak during the last few months before graduation, but some seniors are already feeling its frustrating consequences. ¨This year hit me harder than any of my previous years,¨ says Masha Panova, a senior currently experiencing this difficult phenomenon. ¨I dont know if its because of the classes or just because i dont want to work. But this year finding the motivation to do my work has been harder and harder.¨ Another student, Julia Dragan, feels similarly, claiming that her senioritis has already made this year more difficult than previous ones.
No student is truly safe from senioritis. This feeling really seems to plague many students during their final year of high school. In a worst case scenario, a senior might suffer from a decline in grades, a scarcity in attendance, or even a severe lack of motivation to do anything at all. This is not necessarily the case for all seniors though. Some may experience senioritis on a more moderate level: turning assignments in late, or not studying as much for tests. Regardless of what level students may be experiencing it, senioritis remains a prevalent issue (one that may not even have a proper solution).
Something that could potentially help, would be to cut seniors some slack. Reducing homework, or extending a couple deadlines for college applications could all be things that would help give students a bit of a break during this difficult time senior year. Unfortunately, this kind of solution is quite unlikely, so until a day arrives when it does happen, seniors will simply have to continue to face the harmful consequences of senioritis.
