<p>Anyone have suggestions for combatting senioritis? </p>
<p>S has worked very hard, earned good grades, participated in lots of ECs and got in ED to his first choice college. It seems he and a lot of his friends seem to be slacking now that the 'hard' part is over. (His grades are still good though)</p>
<p>Is this common and how can I impress upon him that the 'hard' part is not really over...</p>
<p>I had the same worry about my son (who is now a junior in college) when he was a senior. He also was a hard worker in school and very involved in ECs. I now realize that this is totally normal, and it does not mean that he will not work hard in college. My daughter is now a h.s senior, accepted ED, and is starting with senioritis too. There are many factors - relief at being accepted and not having the worry of a poor grade leading to a rejection, a feeling of "outgrowing" the high school environment, and the realization that this is the last time they will be with this group of friends and everything will change next year. The senioritis will probably escalate further as June approaches, but I wouldn't worry about it especially if his grades are still good.</p>
<p>The pressure on these kids to perform well in school is unrelenting. I think that most breathe a huge sigh of relief when accepted to college. For most, slacking off in the final months of senior year is not an indication of future performance. </p>
<p>This year, my S's school, recognizing how seniors can "drift off" in the final months, will be piloting a seniors project program. For April and May, seniors can follow a personal interest or do an internship in the field of their choice.</p>
<p>At our school most of the kids are doing IB and/or AP. For the kids applying to Uni in Australia or the UK, there is absolutely no slacking off, their year is just beginning- they have to perform well on final exams or there is no college for them at all.
Since that is the norm, senioritis is less an issue, even among the American kids who are not so concerned about scores on external exams.</p>
<p>I would be more worried about burnout affecting performance in college than a mild case of senioritis myself. At least for the latter, the parents are still around to monitor and cajole a bit, for the former- the kids are on their own...</p>
<p>I agree with the posters above. My S, accepted ED last year, definitely slacked off. I did remind him that if his grades got too low, his acceptance could be rescinded. Well, they were no where near that, but he definitely didn't keep up the level he'd been at previously. He was definitely near burn out, and so a little senioritis was not so bad. He worked very hard his first semester at college, and got fantastic grades in tough courses, so I can agree that the senior trend does not mean a problem for college.</p>
<p>The message that D's HS (headmaster, dean, GCs) gives to the parents and to the seniors is not to even consider senioritis. Absences are limited to 5 unexcused. After that, points are deducted from grades and enough absences will prevent a senior from graduating. When our S was accepted to a UC four years ago, he was so worried that his acceptance could be rescinded, he had the best semester ever. D is more self-motivated, so we're more worried about her planning too far ahead (talking about what to pack already!) than slacking off. Plus, there are always the AP exams in May . . .</p>
<p>Little Mother - You have brought up a good point about the AP exams in the context of senioritis. My son had 9 APs altogether and 5 in his senior year. In our school, students are REQUIRED to take the AP test for every AP course they have, whether they need the credit or not, or they will be dropped a full letter grade. My son did not need or want college credit for some of the courses he was taking (Psychology, Politics, English), as he is a computer science major and already had AP credit for two history classes and an English class from 10th and 11th grades. He earned 5 on his Calculus and both parts of Physics (which he needed) but lower scores (two 4s and a 3, I know these are good but he is the type who could get 5s pretty easily if he focused) on the other three tests. I can understand his lack of motivation for doing perfectly on the other three, as he did not need superlative scores for any reason and he was already admitted to college. This is a good example of a slight bit of senioritis which did no harm and is perfectly normal and understandable, in my opinion.</p>
<p>I've actually encouraged a little bit of senioritis at my house for some of the reasons MotherofTwo and Little Mother listed. I suggested to my daughter that this was her first, and perhaps only (if she does pre-med) chance to learn for learning's sake without any real consideration of grades, just learn as much as you can and the grades will take care of themselves. Skipping school is not too much of an issue unless she becomes ill, their school routinely takes off 2 weeks in the spring plus senior trip plus band trip - she's barely going to be there with excused absences.</p>
<p>My son also has mild senioritis, but I'm actually glad he's slacking off a bit. I've seen him mature so much this past year and, like I said in another post, he's mentally moving on to college. And why not: he's been accepted at the school he wants, he's got enough credits to actually graduate from high school now, and he seems more relaxed (although he never really did show stress over anything). I'm laying off. If he gets A's and B's, I'm not going to push like I have in the past ("What! How could you get a B????"). He needs a respite, although from his current level of activities most people would never know it's a bit of a respite for him.</p>
<p>I think our HS faculty understands the "problem" and begins to back off on the homework load the last few grading periods. However they only go so far. Last year there was an honor roll student who didn't graduate because he super slacked off and failed his final English course!!! </p>
<p>Senoiritis has been a phenomenon for many years. I remember how difficult it was to concentrate my senior year. Most of the better students have been working very hard for more than 3 years, the SAT's have been taken, suddenly they mail in their last college application and that seems to be the final thing they can control so their work is done. I find it very understandable.</p>
<p>Our high school has a strict attendance policy and the principal (like the headmaster at Little Mother's school) sends the message that the high school education is not over yet--don't blow it. This might be because last year we had about 25 seniors who did not graduate with their class out of 450. Many of these were honor students. I know at least one of them (an AB student) who was to attend college on a football scholarship. He was devastated to say the least that he could not march with the graduating class. (As was his mother.) Most of these students were doing great at midterm. Perhaps this case is extreme, but it was very sad.</p>
<p>The original poster, Newsgirl, says her son's grades are still good but she is a little worried about senioritis. I think most of us who said senioritis was normal and perhaps desirable were referring to students like him who earn top grades not worrying too much about slipping a little here and there. These students realize that high school is not over yet, but still allow themselves a little relief from the stress they have been under all through high school. This is obviously a far cry from the students at Randomthoughts' school who flunked senior year.</p>
<p>I only wish my son could back off a little bit. This has been a gruelling fall for him. But after IB exams in May, it will be over. Just a few more months of studying, math projects, English orals, Biology something... then a break. Oboe tapes and compositions are on their way, essays & applications done. I have a good friend whose daughter graduated last year, finished the Ib and got an acceptance in the U.K. She is on gap year now...working for a local paper and completely in charge of the arts column, participating in drama and music events. Seems like a great thing to do. A real practical break.</p>
<p>Well I feel better after reading these posts... agree that flunking is the extreme and am not worried about that.</p>
<p>I am encountering lots more late nights, seeing friends, watching movies (not just on weekends) that sort of thing. He still cares very much about classes he likes, but not working so hard in classes he doesnt like.</p>
<p>Newsgirl: that about sums up my S last year. And as I said, he's doing fine this year. i really think that in his mind, he'd checked out of HS in December, but for all his senioritis, he only managed to drop his rank one spot.</p>
<p>My apologies. I was addressing senioritis in general.</p>