Curious about what parents of 2017s and earlier experience has been and any tips for ensuring a kid finishes strong. I’m sure this is covered in the general parents forum, but I trust my BS peeps more!
Asking for a friend, of course… 
Oh, we definitely experienced this. Other than holding one’s breath until said child crossed the graduation stage with diploma in hand (and some pep talks and threats), I’m not sure I have any good tips. If the senioritis isn’t combined with more risk-taking behavior, I think there is a little room for some senioritis without any consequences.
Also, my kids found that the long awaited, more relaxed pace of senior spring was a myth.
I would say threaten them with the military, but that obviously wouldn’t work for us.
My kid was so afraid of getting his appointment rescinded that he worked harder than ever that last term. Also, a discipline issue caused the school to move one of the miscreants into our son’s overly large double after Christmas under a sort of house arrest. ChoatieKid was petrified this kid would do something stupid that could implicate either him or his roommate and jeopardize his appointment. He begged for a transfer out and ended up living in the basement of the freshman dorm his final trimester. No senioritis for him, so no words of wisdom from me.
ETA: Now that I’m thinking about it, though, sending pictures of the family pet in a roasting pan might be sobering… You know, “Better shape up and end strong or Fluffy gets it.” Could work.
Fear of God… Definitely. Photokids had seen seniors ( over the years ) get into trouble right before Commencement and many weren’t allowed to walk. One kid got into trouble the night before and he had family traveling in from all over the place- including both sets of very old grandparents . BSs don’t fool around… that’s for sure. Instead of a wonderful family celebration , the parents of this kid had to leave all their out of town guests at home and remove their kid from campus.
For the most part- I think most kids in the homestretch want to finish strong. Most kids do and not just because they fear the wrath of their parents… I always found it to be a wonderful ( albeit bittersweet) time to be on campus…
but I will admit that I did threaten my kids if they decided to go too far with the whole “fun” thing. 
Is sophomore-itis a thing? Also asking for a friend… [-(
LOL, @chemmchimney
I think it’s worse for the kids who get in early in December to the school of their choice. They really have no reason to work hard and its all about NOT doing the wrong thing rather than doing the right thing and trying to maximize performance.
@chemmchimney : my kid had the sophomoreitis too…
But happily it seemed to create immunity to senioritis. She may have worked harder as a senior than ever before.
I did worry about it a little, since she received the EA acceptance that she really wanted in mid-December, but, by some magic, it wasn’t an issue and she had a strong finish. I have to say that the EA decision was a great stress-lifter, especially before the holidays. I feel for the kids and parents who have to wait for March and April decisions. Waiting is hard!
GMCkid is taking a class at Cate called American Wilderness. It culminates in a week-long rafting trip - which happens the very last week of school before graduation. Open only to Seniors, I think it’s a genius way to take any potential shenanigans off-campus and bury them deep in the wilderness
Mine had Junioritis and then Senioritis collecting first C grade(s). :((
@payn4ward: Current Senior or already graduated?
@GMC2918: In a similar fashion, George School has Senior Prom the same weekend as Graduation…I think to minimize risk of bad decisions/shenanigans.
I thought prom was where all the major shenanigans occurred. No?
Not exclusively a prom, no. 
@SevenDad DS1 has already graduated and is a freshman at UT. oh, he went to local public school not BS.
I think his rejection from deferred school was due to grade downfall.
@chemmchimney The answer to your question is: Yes. And Junior-itis, and Freshman-itis. 
Years ago it was called the Senior Slide.