Senioritis is starting to appear in full force, and while many seniors may feel that it set in earlier than the second semester, the de facto start comes when the last college application is sent in and the first semester ends. The idea that many cling to is that with the applications done, and the midyear grades finalized, there is no more pressure on them to perform, as their college decisions are now totally out of their hands. For the most part this is true; colleges will not be able to tell that you skipped all of your English assignments or stopped studying for those math tests when deciding to accept or deny you. But that certainly doesn’t mean that you are home free.
More and more colleges are choosing to rescind acceptances to students at the end of the school year when final transcripts are submitted and second semester performance is poor. The news may be terrible, but it is certainly not shocking. Colleges have so many applicants to choose from, and thus no reason to accept students who are so apathetic about their work that they don’t even finish on at least an average note. Even so, colleges send out letter after letter informing new graduates that they have lost their opportunity to matriculate at that school, leaving them without options and in an extremely precarious position.
That isn’t to say that the end of senior year shouldn’t be enjoyed, and that seniors shouldn’t loosen up as they near the end of their high school process. In fact, it is probably one of the best times to do so. But it should not get to the point that your future is put at risk. Rather than checking out and completely ignoring the work that is being assigned, put out enough effort to maintain your grades, and decide how invested you are in the material that you are covering. For the rest of your life you will get to choose how you spend your time, and learning how to prioritize it now is a valuable skill. Also, maintaining a decent work ethic is necessary for college, so it can only benefit you to do so. So go out, enjoy yourself and your life, and make sure that you are covering your bases at the same time so that you aren’t blindsided by something such as losing your acceptance to a college.
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