Who’s Got Senioritis?

Whos Got Senioritis?

Note to the reader: This is a co-opinionated article that shows the different views of two writers, Patrick McCarter and Grace Dempsey.

Patrick’s Opinion:

Senioritis. It is a well-known epidemic affecting seniors everywhere in America. Senioritis occurs when students no longer care about schoolwork because they have already been accepted into colleges.

But in actuality, senioritis may not have as much validity as some believe. Even though seniors know they have been accepted into college, they can still be rejected if they do poorly during the second half of the year.

For instance, I applied with Early Action and I was accepted in the first two weeks of December, around the beginning of the second quarter. That college still wants to see my second quarter grades to make sure I continue to work hard. Though I do not agree with the idea of a senioritis epidemic, I do understand where it stems from. The thought of college is an exciting prospect for most seniors, and an acceptance letter only heightens this thrill.

Mrs. Carter shared her valuable insight about her thoughts on senioritis: “In the past, seniors were really engaged up and through February vacation. They were excited to be seniors, excited to be in class, and they did their work. Now it seems seniors walk into high school with senioritis on day one. Every year I see it get moved back. It’s really tough for kids to learn and it’s tougher for teachers to teach when kids are already checked out on day one.”

When asked about his opinion, senior Eric Fahim said, “I have had it since freshmen year.”

It seems this epidemic just gets worse and worse. Senioritis knows no bounds. In many cases, senioritis can begin in junior year and results in even more wasted time and inefficient learning.

Grace’s Opinion:

 I agree with the concept that senior students tend to “give up” after their college acceptances. Although senioritis has been affecting me since the beginning of the year, I have still found ways to complete my work and keep my grades up. However, I’ve recently been accepted to college, and my motivation is consistently withering away. After talking with some students and teachers at Nashoba, Patrick and I have found opinions that both agree and disagree with ours.

When Mr. Austin, the engineering teacher at NRHS, was asked in early February about his views of senioritis, he responded that students were already being affected, but it’s been no different this year than in the past.

Another senior, Max Drugge, claims to have a similar opinion. “For me, senioritis started about mid-junior year. You don’t really want to do anything, but as soon as you get that acceptance letter to college, it all goes downhill from there.”

 “I haven’t done anything since I applied to colleges in November or December,” agrees Brenden McMullen.

Some claim to have had this disease longer than most. “I’ve had senioritis since freshman year,” says Chris Pokorney. Interestingly, when interviewed separately, Eric Fahim responded the same exact way. 

We observed another response, which involved cooperation between teachers and students when it comes to the workload and level of difficulty in classes. “Senioritis sure is present here at Nashoba, but at the same time teachers understand that where it’s our senior year, we want to slow down so they don’t give us as much homework and adjust the workload… I think they get it,” says senior Tyler Hopkins.

Nina Hoag feels the same way. “I definitely already have Senioritis. In some of my classes, we just don’t do anything and it’s kind of relaxing, and I’m excited to graduate but at the same time I’m not,” she states.

Although this phenomenon generally gets a negative reputation, Ana Martinez Reynolds has a contradicting outlook, saying, “Senioritis is a lot of fun because by the end of senior year everything’s so bittersweet, so it’s awesome just get your mind off of reality for a little bit and just be lazy together with your class.”

Altogether, senioritis is looked upon with a wide variety of viewpoints. Regardless of your opinion, senioritis still continues, so whether you’ve suffered from it all along or just at the end of senior year, it is present in high schools everywhere.