By Ayla Mulvey
Round Table reporter

It is common knowledge that senior year is the most exciting time of a teenager’s life, but it can also be the most stressful. High school students have been working hard for three long years, trying to get good grades in hopes of applying and being accepted to their dream school.

Some students, especially those who graduate early, take a break for a year after they graduate. There are mixed feelings on taking a year off of school after graduating; some people think that it helps and some don’t.

With taking a leave from school, students can forget important facts and pieces of information that they had already learned. Some people take a “gap year” because they are tired of school or maybe they want to add a meaningful activity to their college application.

There can be downfalls to taking a “gap year”. Students may end up deciding not to even bother furthering their education; when they finally do decide to apply, it could be harder for students to get letters of recommendation from a teacher or guidance counselor.  Sometimes the teacher or guidance counselor may not remember students well enough to write a good recommendation letter for them.

When senior year begins many students start it off well, but then many students get senioritis, a “disease” in which inflicted students stop caring and don’t do any of their school work or homework because they are ready to just be done with school. Some students catch senioritis as early as the first term of school, which is not good news for their grades or college applications.

Getting senioritis can result in students’ grades dropping. Many students think that after their junior year they don’t need to worry about their grades for college, but that’s not true; senior year grades are just as important as junior year grades.

Some causes of senioritis are boredom, parental apathy, the fear of change from high school to college and the excitement of graduating.

There are ways to stop senioritis. A few ways in which teenagers can resist the urge of senioritis is to set expectations throughout the course of their senior year.

Expectations students set for themselves can be anything. Something simple, like what grades they would like to get during their senior year, or something specific, like meeting all the requirements to apply to their top choice college.

Thinking about the future and what benefits they will get out of maintaining their grades can also help seniors stay motivated during the school year. In addition, setting small goals throughout the year may help to make sure students stay focused on what needs to be done. Any little thing that can be done to help stop senioritis will help during senior year.

Even though many students get senioritis their senior year, it is avoidable. All seniors want to make sure they stay on top of their grades during their senior year so it doesn’t affect them getting into college.