You know you have hours of homework in each class, two tests throughout the week, and a few missing assignments. You know last year at this time you were scrambling to get it all done.

  But now, you just can’t find the motivation.

  Most of us in our fourth year at Granite Bay High School know this feeling. The mental block that hits us when we begin to hear back from colleges. The obstacle we all like to identify as “Senioritis”. Some would say it is debilitating and prevents students from caring about their work ethic at all.

  “Senioritis prevents me from fully applying myself,” senior Ellie Wilson said. “It just makes me anticipate the end of high school more, instead of really caring about what’s going on now.”

  Senioritis leads to a decline in motivation and performance in students’ final year in high school. For many, what strikes people the most is the realization that your current grades are unimportant.

  The main focus for students, for the majority of high school, is college. So in the spring of our senior year when we begin to hear back from colleges, our determination to be successful with our grades declines greatly.

  “We as seniors know this term doesn’t really matter, because colleges don’t see these grades,” senior Tanvi Yadlapalli said. “We have no incentive to keep trying.”

  Students getting into colleges they applied for reduces their need to continue trying, since it seems the “end goal” of getting into college has been reached.

  With this so called “condition”, finding intrinsic motivation can be hard. Students that would like to keep their grades up, but can’t seem to find a good reason to, have to find different ways to motivate themselves.

  “The worst part about senioritis is how lazy you become. I’ve even lost motivation to do my extracurricular activities,” Yadlapalli said. “I do a lot of yoga at home before I start my homework just to calm my mind.”

  Teachers at GBHS notice when students are affected by this slump, and have to continue finding ways to encourage their students to keep going.

   “I try to motivate seniors by keeping class interesting, fun, and utilizing activities that get them up and moving around,” English teacher Christy Honeycutt said.

  Honeycutt teaches seniors everyday, and is able to first hand experience the situation many seniors are faced with.

  “The number one trait I see in those with senioritis is apathy,” Honeycutt said. “Many of them consider themselves ‘done’ with high school as soon as they start getting acceptance letters.”

  As we approach the end of the year, more and more students are noticing the defaults in their study habits. Those who plan on continuing their education are hoping to get their spark back by the time they begin college.

  “As seniors we know our grades aren’t seen, however your college grades will set your future,
Yadlapalli said. “I know that I can’t really slack off in college.”