Missed deadlines, concern from parents or teachers, and a total loss of motivation are all symptoms of senioritis.

For some students, contracting senioritis is a gradual process, often the result of reaching the end of high school after years of tons of tests and assignments. Senior Ryan Briese, who describes himself as having senioritis, recounted the moment when he realized he was losing steam on a major research project.

“I think it had to be one of my independent projects for Mr. Childers, because it was the second (independent project) I did, so third quarter. And like I was still doing it, but the process, the rate at which I was doing, it was slow and could have been better. It kind of like, dropped,” Briese said.

Briese’s change in academic habits was largely the result of a change in focus leading up to graduation. Having already been working for years to try to save money for the future, his concerns about being prepared for the practical side of becoming an adult started overpowering his concern for his grades.

“I feel like I’ve shifted my priorities towards making money for the future, buying a car, buying a house or saving for an apartment or a house, worrying about what I need to do after I graduate,  rather than currently what I’m doing now in school,” shared Briese. “(I’m) trying to focus more on the future base of where I am, because at this point, I’m going to graduate. So I just need to figure out what I need to do in my life in the future, rather than now.”

Briese views senioritis as more of a mentality that results in dropping grades, rather than the changes in grades themselves. For him, senioritis is mainly about not turning in assignments on time, but ultimately he usually manages to complete his work to keep his grades up. Other students’ cases of senioritis manifest slightly differently, such as Senior Alejandro Morales.

“We can start off with grades. My grades have been on the floor like straight ‘F’s. I’ve been working, I’ve been working on them because teachers have been getting on me about it. But you know, still a little bit of laziness,” Morales said. “I take my time with it. Class wise, I mean, sometimes I don’t pay attention in class because I’m talking to my friends. Sometimes I don’t go to class at all.”

One cause of senioritis for both Morales and Briese was the increase in events for seniors during the fourth quarter of the school year. Schedules began to filled up as prom, senior picnic, and field trips happened in rapid succession. Seniors, including Briese, are all extremely aware that these are their last high school moments with their friends.

“My mind is not focused on schooling when I’m there, (because) at this point, in senior year, I feel like most seniors are focusing on like, oh, well, I never see any of these people again. So let me try and do as much as I can with these people before school ends,” Briese said.

Other students, like Senior Emily Nagassar, have found focusing on high school coursework increasing difficult as the transition to college life rapidly approaches. Nagassar, who takes online classes at Valencia college through dual enrollment, finds that she is far more motivated to complete her college work.

“Now, adult life has allowed me to mature a lot more and realize, hey, high school classes are just baby classes, I’m going to get started with my own life. And not only that, but comparing high school to college, you can see a difference in maturity and the rate of education and how fast you learn.”

Through dual enrollment Nagassar has also been able to take courses that were more directly related to the topics she hopes to major in. She explained that while she does eventually finish the work she needs to in order to earn her desired grades, some courses are just not as interesting to her in subject or structure.

“My grade was an F in like one or two of my classes, but I will look at that grade and motivate myself to say ‘Hey, you know what you’re striving for. You know that you want to be valedictorian, you know, you gotta keep pushing, and you want to secure that number one spot and also, like make that speech that I’ve always wanted to do since I was a little girl’,” explained Nagassar.

These academic comebacks, though, take a great deal of organization in order to meet the final deadlines before grades are set. In order to bring his grades up before graduation Morales has a few steps to take.

“Definitely get a schedule, get everything okay, definitely get all the assignments down that I’m missing, write them all on a piece of paper and just start to take them down class by class. Also getting to sleep on time because I’ve been going to sleep really late,” he shared.

While Morales shared some practical tips for trying to catch up, Nagassar provided some reminders she has for herself when it comes to staying motivated at the very end. Senioritis, according to Nagassar, is a type of burn out; these tips help her overcome it.

”I am reciting my motivations constantly to keep focus on the end goal,” she shared. “What I recommend is taking time for yourself and balancing your tasks for the end of the year. Most importantly, I always remember that I have worked extremely hard and it is okay to take periodic breaks. I deserve it.”