Seniors across campus are debating whether it is even possible to have senioritis, given Williston’s rigorous academic and athletic schedule.
The class of 2024 has finally made it to the much-anticipated “senior spring.” With such little time left until graduation, seniors are in their final stretch of high school.
Historically, seniors during this time of the year feel less pressure, since they have no more college applications to do or assessments to study for. Although, does anything really change in workload or schedules?
Just like every other grade at Williston, seniors have three to five classes a day and mandatory afternoon programs. They also have to continue doing study hall if they are not on high honors. Not only do seniors’ schedules stay the same, but they also must continue doing the same amount of homework and assignments for their classes as they did in the fall and winter.
Some may think that during senior spring their grades do not matter, but according to Director of College Counseling, Emily McDowell, grades are still important, just in case a student wants to switch colleges or is still waiting to get into college.
“They count in the sense that should you want to transfer or are waitlisted somewhere; colleges will look to the senior grades in those instances,” McDowell said.
Teagan Duffy, a senior, expected senior spring to be different in terms of how many commitments she still has.
“Coming back from March break, I was really excited to just skip to all of the fun stuff and warm weather activities, but I was confronted with the reminder that school still exists, the afternoon program still exists, and there are so many things that require an abundance of energy,” she said. “It doesn’t really seem like anything has let up in terms of demand.”
Symptoms of senioritis, according to snhu.edu, include grades dropping, missing assignments, procrastination, and loss of interest and motivation in school.
Alexis Caines, an alum from the class of 2023, did not feel she was able to have senioritis until the very end of her senior year at Williston.
“As much as all seniors want to be like, ‘Well I’m checked out now’ as soon as T3 starts, it’s not easy to do with our schedules til the end of April or even May,” Alexis, a freshman at Temple University, explained. “There’s so much going on with other events or sports, so then the small amount of free time given is spent doing work. Once we got into the last three weeks I started to be like ‘Okay if I don’t turn in this assignment, what will my final grade be?’”
In 2023, Northwood High School, in Pittsboro, N.C., conducted a study to see how many seniors in their high school had senioritis. The study concluded that 78 percent of seniors admitted to having senioritis.
Manuel Gonzalez Hudson, a post-graduate, won the senior superlative “Most likely to have senioritis” earlier this year. He admits he is ready to graduate and move on to college.
“Since I have only two or three tough classes, it’s not as bad, but I am eager to leave as soon as I can,” he said. “I don’t do as much homework or study as much as much as I did last year. My GPA is lower than last year.”
McDowell believes that Williston seniors can overcome senioritis with hard work and a positive mindset.
“Senioritis is a choice, not an actual virus,” she explained. “Remember that each of these last days counts and you want to end on a good note and be proud of the work you have done.”