Why High school senioritis is dangerous and how you can combat it

Senioritis. You have probably been hearing about this word ever since you entered high school. Every year, seniors in their spring semester are so excited to graduate that they get senioritis and begin slacking in their classes.

In this blog, I will discuss why you can not get senioritis during your senior year spring semester of high school and some tips on how to stay on top of all of your school work. With winter break right and the start of a new year right around the corner, you need to stay focused and keep yourself in a learning mindset. You are almost to the finish line, don’t give up now! You should finish submitting all of your college applications over winter break and complete your last months of high school strong!

How Senioritis Can Affect Your College Admissions:
1. Rescind college admissions offer: After your senior year, you will send your senior year spring transcript to the college you committed to. At this time, colleges like to make sure that you are still doing well in your classes. If you suddenly started getting C’s and D’s when you normally get A’s and B’s, this can be a major red flag for colleges. Some colleges may even rescind their admissions offer because their offer was tentative on your final senior year grades. You need to make sure that you continue to work hard in your classes and get good grades!

2. Watch your social media presence: Going off of my last point, I’ve seen numerous students have their college admissions offer rescinded because of something that they have posted on social media. Be mindful of what you are posting on social media, because even if your accounts are private, what you post online is forever. 

3. Loss of college scholarships: If you were awarded scholarships, you will most likely need to maintain a certain GPA or certain grades in order to continue to qualify for your scholarships. If your grades start to drop because of senioritis, you may no longer qualify for your scholarship, which may affect your ability to attend the school if you do not have that money.

4. Waitlist decisions: If you are waitlisted for schools, you have the option to send in a little essay updating the college admissions officers about what you have been up to: updates, classes you’re taking, activities you’ve recently joined. I was waitlisted at a handful of colleges and so I sent in these supplemental essays updating them about my grades and new activities that were not included in my original application. If you are waitlisted at schools, you can not have senioritis because the college admissions officers will notice when re-reviewing your application, which may lead to your rejection from the college!

5. Failing high school classes: Not keeping up with your grades during senior year can also lead to failing classes and losing college credits. If you are taking AP/IB or community college classes, you will need to pass these courses in order for the units to transfer to college. I took a bunch of AP courses in high school that I was able to use in college to skip out of lower-level college courses and start at a higher level. This is very important if you want to save money by potentially graduating early or if you want to double major.

Tips to Prevent Senioritis:
1. Take time for yourself: Set up time when you are doing homework and then make sure to also set aside time to continue your hobbies, take a hot bath, watch tv, and relax! When I am done my work for the day, I like to sit down and watch shows on Netflix.

2. Participate in senior year activities: During my senior year, we had school-sponsored activities that only seniors could participate in. You should attend the senior activities, even if they are all online right now. If there are movie nights, game nights, or other activities, you will want to have these memories in the future when everyone separates for college.

3. Take Photos for Memories: You will want to remember these times in the future, so don’t forget to take photos of everything.

4. Continue pushing yourself academically: If you have been taking difficult classes thus far in high school, continue these kinds of classes throughout your entire senior year. If you suddenly start to take easier classes, that may cause you to be lazy in the class because it is considered “easier.”

​Overall, take each day as it comes. The spring of your senior year is a time for memories and reflection. Your life will never be the same as it was in high school, so take the time to reflect and cherish the friendships that you have made. Keep up the hard work in your classes because you are almost to the finish line, but you are not done yet! Don’t let your grades fall, continue studying, and keep up the hard work!

RACHEL

Rachel is the founder of Study Hall College Consulting. Rachel graduated from UC Berkeley where she double majored in Cognitive Science and Legal Studies. For more college application and essay tips, check out our Study Hall College Consulting website at: shcollegeconsulting.com.