Tips for Avoiding Senioritis

SENIORITIS: This is a series of symptoms which show up year after year in High School Seniors. What is seniorities? It is the result of trying to balance extracurricular activities, a social life, college admission, and perhaps a part-time job. Somewhere along the way, home work begins to seem less important event.

As college acceptances start to roll in beginning in December of each year, students are getting accepted to college, they seem to feel a relief and put school on the backburner. After that, high school seems even less important. School work begins to slide—and so do their grades. The diagnosis? Senioritis.

Senioritis is easy to catch and hard to get rid of. It can also be endanger your plans for the future as colleges who see this happening to students can rescind their offers of admission, put students on academic probation, or change financial aid packages because of it.

Let's look at prior cases in prior years. At Wilkes University (PA) they gave some studnets merit-based financial aid based in part on class rank. Four students that year were awarded one merit level based on their class rank at the point of application, but their final transcripts showed that their class rank had fallen to such a level that they no longer qualified for the original merit level. The damage from seniorities ranged from $1,000 per year to over $3,000 per year in merit aid. In another case, nine (9) students had their acceptances withdrawn by the University of Washington, in the summer months between graduating from high school and beginning the fall freshman year.

A less obvious consequence of slacking off senior year is being less prepared for the challenges of college. Freshman year can be tough, even for students who kept up with their course work throughout high school. Imagine entering college with rusty study skills.

The habits that students learn early on life are often carried over into later stages of life and into college and the professional world. Therefore, students need to be aware that motivation cupped with hard work will always win out over basic intelligence.

What are the ways to cope with SENIORITIS?

Plan Ahead.

EAch student probably already knows what activities they want to be involved in this year. They know that college applications are due within weeks, especially if they are going to the early action or early decision schools.

TIME MANAGEMENT is the key here. You want to make the most of your time with friends and family, without pulling your hair out, or falling into a depressed state of mind.

The best tool for seniors is to have calendar or day planner. Just like professions who have busy tasks, writing down all of the deadlines for applications, papers, tests, and so on will not only keep you organized, but keep your time managed better.

You also want to calendar in other activities such as your sports, drama or band rehearsal schedules, work schedules if you are working, any SAT or ACT test dates (though these should already be finished), any last minute college visits, and any other activities you might have to schedule.

Check your calendar daily. If you have a paper due, and a the big game is the night before the due date, plan to finish the paper a few days ahead of time. You won't have time to get it done the night before because you'll be leading the team to victory!

Don't obsess.
Don't spend the whole senior year obsessing about college admission process. Focus on you...being a good student and citizen, making wise choices for the betterment of your brain, body, and spirit offers more benefit for college admission strategy than some plan crafted to impress college admission officers.

Don't get involved in activities just to impress colleges, they might not notice. Do the things you love and drop activities that you're just not that committed to. Colleges are more interested in seeing you do the things you enjoy.

The senior year can be sad and exhilarating at the same time. This is your year of "lasts". It is the "last" year to be a child. It will be the "last" first day of school, the "last" High School football game or school dance. However, with the closing of your childhood years, comes the opening of a window. The window will give you a whole new world you nevr before knew, and it will be in this time that you will be embracing and looking forward to graduating and starting a new life at college.

Seniors should talk about their feelings which will probably range from fear of leaving high school to the stress that the college admission produces to excitement about the new experiences a new experience at college will bring. Talk to are your friends and your parents. If you are having a lot of anxiety or suffering emotionally, talk to your guidance counselor, and other adults whom you respect.

Celebrate their senior year! Have fun! Its been a long road, and you should do as much as you can to not only keep up your studies, but to enjoy it... there is no other year like this one!