By Ayla Mulvey
Round Table reporter
It is common knowledge that senior year is the most exciting, but stressful time of a teenager’s life. High school students have been working hard for three long years trying to get good grades in hopes of applying, and being accepted, to their dream school.
Some students after they graduate take a break for a year, especially those who graduate early. There are mixed feeling on taking a year off of school after graduating; some people think that it helps and some don’t.
With taking a leave from school, students can forget important facts and pieces of information that they had already learned. Some people take a “gap year” because they are tired of school or maybe they want to add a meaningful activity to their college application.
There can be downfalls to taking a “gap year”. The student may end up deciding not to even bother furthering their education; it could be harder for the student when they finally do decide to apply to get letters of recommendation from a teacher or guidance counselor. Sometimes the teacher or guidance counselor may not remember the student very well to make a good recommendation letter for them.
When senior year starts many students start it off well, but then many students get senioritis, which is where the student stops caring and doesn’t do any of their school work or homework because they are just ready to be done with school. Some students start senioritis as early as the first term of school, which is not good news for their grades or college applications.
Getting senioritis can result in the student’s grades dropping. Many students think that after their junior year they don’t need to worry about their grades for college, but that’s not true. A person’s grades senior year are just as important as their junior year’s grades.
Some causes of senioritis are boredom, parental apathy, the fear of change from high school to college and the excitement of graduating.
There are ways to stop senioritis. A few ways in which a teenager can resist the urge of senioritis is to set expectations throughout the course of their senior year.
Expectations a student sets for themselves can be anything. Something simple, like, what grades the he or she would like to get during their senior year, or something as specific as meeting all the requirements to apply to their top choice college.
Also by thinking about the future and what benefits the student will be getting out of maintaining their grade can help keep the senior motivated during the school year. In addition, setting small goals throughout the year may help to make sure the student stays focused on what needs to be done. Any little thing that can be done to help stop senioritis will help during senior year.
Even though many students get senioritis their senior year,it is avoidable. All seniors want to make sure they stay on top of their grades during their senior year so it doesn’t affect them getting into college.
