Seniors struggle with senioritis as graduation approaches, suffering from lack of motivation, procrastination and poor mental health.
“My senioritis has been gradually growing ever since the beginning of this semester. Somehow, just class work is not appealing to me anymore. Like at this point, I don’t want to do more work,” said Areeva Uranga, a graduating senior.
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, “senioritis is an ebbing of motivation and effort by school seniors as evidenced by tardiness, absences, and lower grades.”
Dulce Ballinas-Cajero, Del Mar’s College and Career Specialist, defines senioritis as students in their last year of high school who feel they don’t need to work as hard as before. Cajero states this may occur because they have already been accepted into college or think they have already done everything they need to graduate.
Students may feel they don’t have to try because they already have been accepted into college, but Cajero states senior year still counts.
“All students get conditional acceptance letters, which means they get accepted to the school, but if they do not meet the application requirements, that acceptance can be taken away,” said Cajero.
Cajero said that after Del Mar sends a senior’s transcripts to the college they plan on attending, the college reviews them to ensure the student earned a C or higher in all A-G courses. If the student fails to meet the A-G requirements, the college can rescind the student’s acceptance.
“Students just let senioritis take over and say, ‘Well, I have a D, I’m passing my class.’ It may count towards graduation, but does not count towards college,” said Cajero.
Cajero recommends that students create study groups or reach out to a trusted adult if they’re having difficulty focusing.
Uranga copes with senioritis by using a wellness app to mediate stress levels, which a friend recommended. She also uses her desire to graduate with friends as motivation to finish strong.
“Just seeing them, like, just become successful, like that motivates me to continue, because I’m like, ‘Oh, I just, I want to be with them, ’” said Uranga.
