PANDEMIC: Cover your mouths and carry hand sanitizer because you don’t want to catch senioritis.
By Malik Alexander, Staff Writer
Our final months have arrived and the finish line that is graduation seems only meters away. Seniors find themselves at a loss for motivation while the desire to work hard vanishes. With application season over and the impending stress of college reduced, a new stress arrives. For some, it is entering the adult world and leaving home to begin their life. For others, it may be to simply graduate. Sound familiar? Senior year has left many of us tired and lazy; homework is left undone, and studying becomes an unfamiliar activity. Three years of hard work halted by a sigh of relief taken all too soon. Senior year is no time to take a breather and slow down; in fact, it is a time to give it your everything and sprint all of the way to the end.
If you think three years of hard work will make up for the last semester or two of slacking off, you may be wrong. According to the National Association for College Admission Counseling, over 33 percent of colleges revoked admission offers in 2014; 70 percent of those revocations were due to final grade reports. “We look at all four years of applicants’ grades, and the fourth year is not exempt. In fact huge slips in G.P.A. (Grade Point Average) make us question a student’s work ethic,” Kat Cohen, a college admissions counselor stated. While you may not lose your spot on a campus, other consequences can be expected. Because most schools provide aid based on merit, financial aid is often affected. This may mean scholarships or expected financial assistance could be lost. Because these merit-based aids rely on GPA, students whose GPAs drop significantly during their senior year will have to pay for it—literally. While you may not be attending a 4-year university, or any form of higher education, graduating alone can be a concern. The United States Department of Education found that 25 percent of high schoolers do not graduate on time. That does not include those who never receive a diploma. Of that 25 percent, 12th grade course failures account for 70 percent of delays.
I handed out a questionnaire to a group of seniors on Poly’s campus and what I found was not at all surprising. When asked if he believed he had senioritis, Miguel Toner (12) agreed with “heck yeah!” along with the 15 other seniors who all believed they had senioritis. Stress seemed to be a big issue for many of the seniors. “My stress has really increased over the past three months as we have been getting heavier into the senior [capstone] project,” Frankie Lizaola (12) stated. For some, stress has actually been relieving. When talking about stress, college bound Ally Huerta (12) discovered that most of her stress was dominantly in the beginning of the year. “My most stressful time this year was when I was filling out my college apps,” she said. Stress has been a continuous battle for Simon Morris (12) who, if not stressing over one thing, stressed over another. “The beginning of the year I felt a stress all related to college, whether it was applications or deciding where I even wanted to go, and as applications closed, a new stressed opened up: AP tests,” he described.
As the year went by, procrastination peaked as many began losing motivation. “My motivation has dropped dramatically this year; much of my stress has to do with the fact that I have been procrastinating a lot more,” Ally Huerta (12) claimed. Several of the seniors felt a negative change in worth ethic, and many would find themselves not managing time well or having difficulty doing their work.
I wanted to see how teachers and counselors perceived this problem, so I handed out a questionnaire similar to the one seniors had received. None were skeptics of this “senioritis,” as many were very familiar with it. , “I have students who are working so hard and continue to put in every effort, then, I have students that have checked out,” Mrs. Lindsey Chavez, Senior AVID teacher and coordinator, stated, regarding her students and their work ethic. “Parents shouldn’t put stress on their kids to takes specific courses and go to certain colleges,” senior English teacher Ms. Kim Marlow responded, when asked about ways to help fight stress. “I have talked to many of my students and stress is a serious issue, especially for those college bound,” Mrs. Danielle Sovine, a guidance counselor, claimed. “Kids were dropping classes when they began struggling,” Spanish teacher Mr. Alex Figueroa noticed. “Teachers can only really frontload their lessons so spring is less of a workload,” he further stated, regarding what teachers can do. A general consensus amongst the teachers and counselors was that students should try to fight procrastination as much as possible because getting behind in work only increases stress. All of them understood the brutal pressure that we are under but found it now to be an excuse for cutting class and slacking off.
I would not be writing about senioritis if I did not have it. I self-diagnosed myself on August 24,2015. I had told myself I would finish strong, do all my homework, do well in my classes, and study for all my tests—resolving to evade all forms of senioritis. However, maybe a month into the school year, I signed myself out for the first time, and let me tell you that it was not the last. I dropped classes and fell behind in work only months into the school year. I did not procrastinate with my work. No, I never even did it. My grades suffered, yet oddly enough, I never stressed. Application time came, and I applied to 12 schools, all I was so very confident about. The semester ended and all of my slacking finally paid off: my first F. I had never received an F before, let alone a D, so you can imagine my anger and confusion. As admissions decisions began rolling in, I received my first acceptance; as I began reading the fine print, the word “CONDITIONAL” seemed to jump at me. As the others came, they all contained the same word. I began to take a look at where I was. Could it be? Malik Alexander, a college bound student, not going to college? Could I not be walking with my senior class? Like an anvil that had fallen on my head, the stress came—complete with panic attacks every other grade check. I began to fear what could be. So, I began coming up with a plan to set myself straight. I began doing my homework, studying for tests, and extra credit ultimately became my best friend.
Still unsure if you have it? Symptoms may include the following: having more than one senior ditch day, slipping grades, untouched homework, and a feeling of a lack of motivation. Take a look at Aeries, what do you see? C’s, D’s, F’s? How many unexcused absences do you have? Wondering if there is a cure? There is none! But do not lose hope because keeping focused and fighting procrastination can make senior year less stressful. Just remember that you are almost done, and that there are only a few more weeks left until we are free. Do not forget all of the hard work you have put in these past years. Don’t give up now.