Thoughtfully defined by the Urban Dictionary, “Senioritis is a disease affecting seniors that’s symptoms include laziness, lack of motivation and excessive absences in school.” Sound familiar? Coming back to school from winter break senior year presents many bittersweet moments. The last semester walking around campus, sleeping over with your best friends after a night out at the best bar and ordering in Chinese food at 3 a.m. Alongside this, however, students often struggle with maintaining their work effort during the last lap of college. You still must try to avoid giving up all the hard work and flushing your GPA down the toilet.
Take a look at the ten senioritis cases to avoid and spark some motivation.
1. No Attendance Policy = No Attendance Necessary
Sounds legit right? No roll call? No pop quizzes? No need to go to class. You’ll get the class notes from someone else, right? Plus, it’s a lecture hall and your professor won’t notice. Wrong. Bad idea all around. Whatever you do, do not get into the habit of missing classes just because the professor does not check attendance. “I knew my senioritis kicked in hard when I started casually missing classes for no reason. I wasn’t getting penalized, so I wasn’t worrying but when midterms came around and I realized I didn’t know any material I started to panic and severely regret my decision,” Boston College senior Dasha Possokova said. Once you start, missing class becomes an easy trap to fall into. However, the repercussions outweigh the benefits. Be smart, go to class and take notes. I promise you will be better prepared for your exam that way.
2. New Dress Code
Remember freshman year when everyday entailed a fashion show? Nowadays, your outfits revolve around a rotation of different sweatpants and hoodies. “I do not remember the last time I wore jeans to class. I am in a permanent state of groutfit (grey outfit, usually in sweatpants material) mostly because I am no longer trying to impress anybody but also, it’s just comfortable. I definitely think it makes me more inclined to watch Netflix all day rather than study though,” Boston College senior Elene Tsokilauri said. Although there is no dress code in college, putting effort into your appearance projects a sense of confidence and professionalism that professors and students admire.
3. Pro Procrastinator
Starting homework any day earlier than the day its due sounds crazy come senior spring. Although the five-page paper sounds like a breeze and you know you can whip it out overnight, stop saving Mondays exclusively for The Bachelor and start prepping your work for the week. During the time that you procrastinate until the last minute, remember to take a breather, pull out a calendar and regain control of your schedule. Inevitably, when you stop procrastinating, you end up giving yourself more time to do things you would rather be doing anyway, without the impending stress of work.
4. Sunday Funday
Sundays used to be made for catching up on all the homework and getting ready for the week ahead of you. However, when senioritis kicks in, Sunday no longer serves for reading emails and highlighting class readings. Instead you find yourself at a party or bar watching the game with friends drinking beers. Of course, you need to relax and have days off, but don’t forget to set aside time to get ready for the week ahead. Even if you have a job, don’t overlook the importance of classes.
5. Where Is The Library?
Looks like we may need to unpack the campus map and locate the directions to the library again. Group projects, papers and homework will not do themselves. Even if you go to the library for a few hours a week for a quiet place to do work, be proud of that effort. “I used to think chilling in my room with my best friends and skimming readings was effective but then it got to class discussion and day after day I was so lost. I decided to stop putting in half effort and finally reunited with the library for one last semester. It’s crazy how much you can process in a short period of time when you actually sit down and focus,” Florida State University senior Sasha Brun said. I doubt sitting in the dorm room with all your friends makes for the best study spot, so take the time out of your day, in between classes or after dinner.
6. Avoiding Professors
Your last semester of college might involve both fun classes that you signed up solely for entertainment but also that one last difficult class for your major. You might think that since it’s your last semester, you’re over office hours and you just want to skate by doing the bare minimum. Don’t make that fatal mistake. Reach out to your professors, talk about the future. You may be surprised by how much you will learn from a professor you were not expecting to be impacted by. “I didn’t expect to learn so much from my professors about the career path I was taking. They have been so helpful in the process of applying to jobs and figuring out whether to apply to grad school or not,” Boston College senior Micayla Casella said. More importantly, professors are great resources for possible jobs, internships and many enjoy writing recommendation letters when they build connections with their students. Opening yourself up to new wisdom and maintaining relationships with professors you already built will be a memory you will cherish.
7. Overpowering Need To Party
“It’s Tuesday!” Yes, you’re so right, that is in fact a great explanation as to why you NEED to go to the bar and get drinks with the boys. Sorry Friday, but Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday just rolled in and stole your thunder. When waiting until the weekend to get drinks and go out seems crazy, taking a breather might benefit you. I’m not saying that you should not go out with friends, enjoy every second of being a senior and soak in all the freedom but, going out every day during the week “just because” is a disappointing look. Instead of aimlessly drinking beers, go to restaurants, movies, golfing or shopping.
8. Invest in Campus Activities
You are never too cool or too old to donate your time to volunteering, go attend the club meetings and all the senior parties and events that your university offers. You will never have freedom like this again so use your time for things you will never have the chance to do again. If you need a jolt of motivation, many campus organizations have projects and experiences that will shine on your resume and show possible employers that you are a team player and one to excel outside of the office.
9. Reflective Course
Many universities offer a senior seminar course of some sort that serves as a reflection period and to prepare students for the next big chapter. “My Capstone course was super impactful to me and really gave me a chance to reflect on my time at BC, my relationships with my family and friends and in general the person who I’ve grown into. We did a lot of introspective writing in journals and discussions with our class about our future that I truthfully had not thought about before,” Boston College graduate Clark Newlove said. Although you may think of a reflective course as a waste of time full of corny exercises, the reflective courses can really change the direction of your future and where you see yourself after college.
10. Nostalgia
You look through your camera roll back to freshman year and wonder where all the time went. Four years fly by in a second. You think school goes by fast in high school but in college, the feeling magnifies. Students often get caught up in the moment and forget to really enjoy each and every day on campus. Don’t start thinking about the past and dwelling on old mistakes and don’t get caught up in the stress of the future. You will never have freedom like this again, so cherish it deeply and take every opportunity that your college can offer you.
