Updated on May 6th, 2021
Once a student’s senior year is well underway, it’s common to feel excited. However, some students actually find this time challenging, ultimately developing a case of senioritis. Their motivation may start dropping fast, leading to declining grades, skipping classes, changes in their mood, and other troubling issues.
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But what is senioritis? And, if your student has it, how do you deal with senioritis?
If you want to make sure your student can finish high school strong, here’s what you need to know about senioritis, including what senioritis is, how to identify it, and what to do if your student is struggling with senioritis.
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Is Senioritis Real?
Many students and parents wonder, “Is senioritis real?” While it isn’t a formal medical diagnosis, the symptoms of senioritis are, for all intents and purposes, incredibly real. What students are struggling with isn’t made up, and they aren’t typically simply using senioritis as an excuse to avoid their responsibilities.
What Is Senioritis?
When it comes to a formal senioritis definition, Merriam-Webster states that senioritis is “an ebbing of motivation and effort by school seniors as evidenced by tardiness, absences, and lower grades.”
In many ways, it is similar to general academic burnout, where students struggle with the stress of handling school-related responsibilities or other academic career demands; it is simply a variant that impacts high school seniors specifically.
With senioritis, students – usually those in the latter half of their senior year of high school – have trouble motivating themselves to handle academic-related tasks. This can include completing assignments, studying for tests, or even attending classes.
In some cases, it’s spurred by the fact that the end of their high school experience is drawing to a close, decreasing the sense of urgency related to maintaining a high-caliber academic performance. This is especially true for students who have already been accepted to a top-choice school and have done enough to qualify for graduation.
In others, it’s based on exhaustion or burnout. The student has been so focused on meeting critical academic standards, taking part in activities that boost their college application, and similar concerns that they aren’t maintaining a healthy school-life balance.
There can be other causes as well. Fear of graduating and moving forward could play a role. Similarly, a student believing that, due to past academic performance, graduating won’t be in the cards no matter what they do could lead to a similar decline in motivation.
Is Senioritis Serious?
Regardless of the cause, senioritis can be serious. In some cases, senioritis symptoms can signal other legitimate mental health concerns. For example, the student may be suffering from anxiety or depression – both of which are official medical diagnoses – that’s manifesting as senioritis.
Even if it isn’t related to an underlying condition, senioritis can be harmful. It may lead to a significant decline in academic performance, resulting in a range of consequences. The student may not qualify for graduating, causing them to have to attend summer school or repeat their senior year.
At times, it could lead them to become ineligible for their top-choice college. This is particularly troublesome as college acceptance letters are usually conditional. That means, if a student doesn’t meet expectations, the offer can be rescinded.
Additionally, they could lose access to scholarships or grants. Like college admissions, scholarships and grants may be conditional, and a falling academic performance may lead to the rescinding of an award.
In some cases, there are social or professional implications. Their connections with friends or family members may suffer, or they may begin having a similar attitude about their job or volunteering activities, causing them to stop participating.
Ultimately, senioritis is serious. Along with potentially being related to a genuine mental health condition, it can dramatically change the course of a student’s academic career, harm their relationships, and more.
Signs and Symptoms of Senioritis
The signs and symptoms of senioritis can vary. However, in nearly all cases, significant shifts in your students’ activities or mood are usually involved. For example, they may begin missing classes, have trouble focusing, or be excessively tired. Falling grades can be a sign, as well as pulling away from extracurriculars they once enjoyed.
Overall, some of the most common senioritis symptoms include:
- Falling academic performance
- Declining school attendance
- Stopping extracurricular activities
- Skipping work or volunteering hours
- Withdrawing from friends or family
- Personality changes
- Shifts in emotional well-being
- Exhaustion, tiredness, or sleepiness
As mentioned previously, many symptoms of senioritis can align with other mental health conditions. This can make it hard for anyone other than healthcare professionals to separate short-term senioritis from conditions that may require medical treatment.
How to Deal with Senioritis
Figuring out how to deal with senioritis may seem difficult. However, by using the right approach, it’s possible. If you and your student aren’t sure where to begin, here are some tips that may help.
Get Help
First, if you suspect your student isn’t just suffering from senioritis but may have a mental health condition like depression or anxiety, seeking out assistance from a medical professional is always the best choice. This ensures they get the care they need, allowing them to regain their stability and move forward.
Even if a mental health condition isn’t suspected, counseling can help with senioritis treatment. It can help your student determine why they are losing motivation and making various choices, shining a light on underlying issues that may need addressing.
Adjust the Pace
If your student is trying to figure out how to cure their senioritis, there are steps they can take. One of the biggest is to assess their responsibilities and reprioritize, allowing them to achieve better school-life balance.
Students shouldn’t stop trying to do well academically. However, that doesn’t mean that changing their pace isn’t a smart move, particularly if academic burnout or intellectual exhaustion are substantial parts of the equation. They should identify areas where they should focus and cut back on non-critical activities, giving them some space to breathe.
Encourage Fun
Making time for recreation is important. According to Dr. Stuart Brown, “Play brings joy. And it’s vital for problem-solving, creativity, and relationships.”
Students shouldn’t give up everything that makes them happy for the sake of school. Instead, they need to find a balance, ensuring they are performing well as students and living their outside lives.
Set Achievable Goals
Setting attainable goals is another good idea. This helps students organize their responsibilities and determine a reasonable path for handling what needs to be done. It can also shine a light on tasks that aren’t crucial, making it easier to find places to cut back, if necessary.
Stop Obsessing Over College Admissions
It’s wise for students to not overly fixate on college admissions or their after-high school academic plan. Obsessing about whether they’ll get into a top choice school can add stress and make their senior year harder.
It’s also crucial that parents adopt the same mindset. If a parent continuously pressures their student for details about college admissions, it can ramp up their student’s anxiety, making what can be a difficult period worse.
Create a Plan
In many cases, having a solid plan for applying to college, landing scholarships, and completing the FAFSA can help students stay grounded. Scheduling critical activities over time prevents the college transition from becoming overwhelming, and that can make a difference.
Be Supportive
As a parent, if you suspect your student has senioritis, being supportive does help. Talk to your student about the situation. Find out what’s giving them trouble. See if there is anything you can do to make navigating their senior year easier.
Is paying for college getting your senior down? Then it’s time for scholarships! Scholarships can make any school more affordable, taking some of the stress out of being a high school senior. If you and your student want to learn more about finding scholarships, sign up for our free college scholarship webinar! Take a trip over to http://thescholarshipsystem.com/freewebinar to reserve your spot today.
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