Welcome to our three part blog series we are calling; What Next? We will be taking a look at a few things to do and not to do while you are waiting for those final college decisions. In the next couple of weeks be on the lookout for posts on Looking for Scholarships and Practicing Gratitude. This week we want to deal with that dreaded high school epidemic: Senioritis.
So the applications are filled out, the essays are written and the fees are paid. Now you are waiting for decisions. It is natural to feel like high school is coming to a close and that you are ready to move on. (Don’t worry it is also natural to feel like high school is coming to a close and you aren’t ready to move on. And it is perfectly natural to feel like you are and are not ready to move on at the same time!)
One of the traps students fall into at this point goes above and beyond just feeling done with high school. Senioritis in its worst form results in students giving up in class, checking out of activities and generally slacking off. We want to present three reasons to avoid this trap.
1. Second semester matters.
You may be waiting to hear from Dream College, and Dream College may be thinking about you too, but they may also want one more look at your academic record before they put you in the ‘Accepted’ pile. Imagine the reaction of a college admissions officer who requests a current grade report in February and sees that those A’s you had first semester are suddenly C’s. Additionally no admissions officer will be impressed to find that you no longer have AP Physics on your schedule, or that suddenly you have an extra study hall. Remember that colleges have your senior schedule, and you must report any changes you make. Do you really want to tell Dream College that you dropped all the rigor in your schedule second semester? Don’t let a couple of months destroy your hard work throughout high school.
2. Colleges DO withdraw acceptances.
There isn’t a college counselor on the planet who hasn’t seen it at least once.
Student X gets that acceptance to Dream College and promptly falls into a Senioritis spiral. Her grades turn into a disaster, and by the end of second semester Student X has C’s and D’s where there were once A’s and B’s. Final transcripts are sent and in mid-June Student X gets a devastating phone call. Her acceptance to Dream College has been rescinded, and suddenly Student X is not headed to college in the fall. For more information on this check out the Huffington Post’s Article; How to Avoid Having your College Acceptance Rescinded. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/20/avoid-college-acceptance-rescinded_n_6507536.html
3. How you finish matters for what comes next.
So you have your biggest game, match, performance of the year coming up next month. The best way to be successful is to sit at home and do nothing...well, of course not. Now is time to refine your preparation so that you have a successful outcome. We have said it over and over; even more than where you go to college, what you do at college is the best determiner of your success. You wouldn’t spend six months doing nothing and expect to go on stage and perform beautifully, or to go on the field and play well. High school is preparing you for the rigors of college academics (and it will be harder), so now is not the time to slack off. Finish strong and you will be ready for what comes next. For more information check out what Peterson’s has to say on the subject. https://www.petersons.com/blog/college-prep-and-the-perils-of-senior-slu