The road to becoming a contender for a desired college was a long one that started the moment seniors set foot in Northwood during their freshman year. It’s been a tough past few months for the seniors, what with the endless nights of perfecting their Common App essay, stressing over that typo that they should have caught and preparing tirelessly for interviews, but the seniors managed to get through it.

“I’m definitely relieved that college apps are over and that I finally get a chance to somewhat relax in high school,” senior Henry Jia said. “However, I’m still a little nervous about decisions.”

Yet, there seems to be something other than nervousness in the air. Telltale symptoms such as “Severe Boredom Disease” and “Skipping School Syndrome” are all indicative of senioritis, a common term used to refer to the lack of motivation many senior students tend to feel during the second semester of their senior year.

Dealing with senioritis can be difficult, but by continuing to engage in hobbies such as sports or reading, staying connected to friends and talking with guidance counselors about loss of motivations, seniors can successfully handle senioritis and make the best use of their last semester of high school.

“Playing baseball helps with preventing myself from losing motivation because the hard work that I put in to prepare for the season translates over to my school work,” Jia said.

Seniors should continue to maintain their grades to some degree, as many colleges will check on accepted applicants’ spring semester grades to ensure students are continuing to demonstrate academic achievement. A sudden drop in grades is common among second-semester seniors due to senioritis, but by staying organized and creating short-term goals, seniors can continue to succeed in school while still participating in activities they love.

It can be equally beneficial to pick up new hobbies or learn new skills. Many students often feel that they lacked the time to pursue new hobbies while maintaining their grades and participation in extracurricular activities; this last semester offers seniors a valuable opportunity to spend time learning something they are passionate about.

Equally as important as dealing with senioritis, however, is preventing it, particularly for underclassmen.

“For both current and future juniors, don’t plan on taking 5 AP classes your senior year, since I can guarantee you will burn out,” AP Chemistry teacher Jane Yoon said. “Especially with the last-minute SAT or ACT, activities, interviews and essays. Make sure to know how much you can handle.”

Unfortunately in most cases, senioritis is something that simply cannot be avoided and must be dealt with. Most students are not particularly used to extreme boredom, especially after cramming for four consecutive years on never-ending projects and staying involved in numerous extracurricular activities. However, when dealt with properly, senioritis need not be the cursed disease that teachers tell horror stories about.

“I also experienced senioritis when I was younger, and it even lasted until college,” Yoon said. “For seniors, I would actually say to enjoy it. You only get to experience senioritis once, and everyone deserves to take that break and relax, as long as it doesn’t interfere with responsibilities too much. You definitely earned it.”