“Senioritis” — A Mysterious Disease!
There is a mysterious disease that many high school seniors magically catch in the Fall of their senior year – a disease known as “senioritis”. Students wake up in their senior year and realize, “…this is the last year of my high school experience – it’s the last year I can spend with my friends!” and ,therefore, socializing with their friends and spending time on activities other than academics become their primary focus. If this happens to a high school senior, especially if they are planning to go to college, it can cause some significant problems. This disease occurs often and spreads easily. We need to understand the warning signs and be sure that the student realizes that now is the time to really focus on making responsible, mature, adult decisions.
The good news for you is that by following our recommendations and “insights”, you will basically be done with your application process by Thanksgiving of your senior year! This allows you to be free to enjoy your senior year and all the activities that go along with it. However, you must stay focused, follow your game plan and do NOT miss college deadlines! Following these steps will enable everything to get done in a less stressful and more organized fashion allowing you to have time to enjoy your friends and social activities.
The major activity that needs to be completed is to get the application “process” finished. This includes getting high school transcripts to the colleges and getting the appropriate standardized test scores to the schools. For those of your doing common applications (the “Common App”), get all your Common App and related activities done. You need to prepare for and finalize all standardized tests that will be done this fall (including a final SAT or ACT test if needed). Also, don’t forget teacher recommendations and college interviews! Whew! Although there is a lot to get done, by creating and following a game plan you will get through it.
Our recommended informal target for completion of these application activities is Thanksgiving. (PLEASE NOTE: IF you are applying “early” — such as Early Decision and/or Early Action — the deadlines are even earlier! Adjust accordingly). If you don’t quite make it, it’s okay, but still try to shoot for that date! However, if you do meet this informal deadline, you will have a lot more time to enjoy your friends and social activities while waiting to hear back from the colleges in the acceptance letter process.
Finally, there is another important side effect of senioritis – falling grades. You need to realize that colleges count your grades in both the fall and spring of senior year in high school. You must continue to stay focused on improving your GPA and you definitely do not want to have a semester that shows grades that are significantly lower than previous years. Even after being accepted, colleges can, and will, look at your transcript and evaluate your performance. In the acceptance letter, colleges will include language like “your offer of admission is contingent upon receipt and review of your final high school transcript”. This contingency provides the college with the opportunity to pull their offer of admission if they feel you have not maintained adequate academic standing – so stay focused!
You will have plenty of time to enjoy your senior year, but don’t sacrifice your future! Stay focused on your goals and get through it. Please do not become a student that catches senioritis – it is a disease that can easily be avoided through intelligent planning and diligence.
