How To End Senior Year Strong

Senior+Lia+Sarria+working+on+her+homework.

Senior Lia Sarria working on her homework.

Arianne Cendon-Ruisanchez, Editor

As the second semester progresses and slowly comes to an end, Seniors begin to feel the side effects of “Senioritis” as they figure out where they’re going to go to college and begin to mentally prepare for the big change coming their way.

They’re now celebrating their acceptance or coping with the rejections, but either way the motivation for keeping up with their grades has slowly began to fade.

With an overwhelming amount of assignments assigned each day, students are finding it easier to make some popcorn and let the work pile up as they press play on their favorite movie. The anticipation of speeding through the last semester to get to college has a detrimental impact on all last year students.

Here are some tips on how to cure your Senioritis and end Senior year stronger than ever before.

Tip #1: Grades Still Matter!

Keeping your grades up is not only important to maintain academic scholarships and college acceptances, but it also ensures graduation!

Seniors tend to believe that their college admission fates are sealed after the acceptance letter arrives. However, colleges usually have a clause that allows them to withdraw their offers, even months after acceptance.

Many colleges don’t receive final grades until June or July, so if the final report doesn’t align with the information in the application, students may find they’ve lost their spot at the college of their choice.

“Although it is an extremely stressful time of the school year for us, I think it’s extremely important to maintain my grades the best I can,” said senior Marjorie Amaral.

So, make sure you keep up with the good work because it’s not over until you receive your diploma!

Tip #2: Take A Break From Your Phone

If you make a list with your assignments due dates for the week you can easily go back and check what you have completed and what you haven’t, so you stay in track.

Senior Sophia Sullivan recommends limiting screen time to get your work done.

“Put your phone in another room when you’re trying to get work done. After 20-25 minutes of working hard, reward yourself, but seriously set a timer because 5 minutes can easily turn to 2 hours,” said Sullivan.

As much as we don’t like to admit it this generation is addicted to their phones, so if you have a lot of work to do put your phone down. You will not only finish your work faster but you will also concentrate more!

Tip #3: Stay Motivated

To avoid boredom, try to make yourself busy with something that interests you. This will help you stay focused and may give you a head start on choosing a major. Getting an internship or a job, or participating in an extracurricular activity can also help you stay busy.

Amaral uses exercise as a way to stay motivated because it helps her relieve stress and keeps her mind off her worries.

“Trying to stay active can be difficult, especially during these times. I try to set everyday goals for myself in order to stay focused and motivated,” said Amaral.

The clearer your goals are, the easier it is to maintain your motivation.

Tip #4: Don’t Stress

Stress can have a huge mental toll on people, thus it is important to regulate the stress by balancing school work with simple pleasures.

“I always try to take a step back from whatever I’m doing and relax. It really helps me have a mental break from everything and it puts me at ease,” said Sullivan.

After all, you’ve worked hard to get into college, and you deserve to relax a little. Graduation is nearly a month away — we’re almost there!