Everyone has heard of the term: senoritis, the lack of motivation in senior year. “I already feel senioritis because all of my college applications took it all out of me and made me want to be done with school even more than before,” senior Leah Kellert said.

According to Odyssey.com, senioritis can be seen as laziness and a lack of studying, repeated absences and a dismissive attitude. “The only known cure is a phenomenon known as graduation,” accoridng to Gina Brennan on Odyssey. However, senior year is not the time to start slacking.

There are reasons why seniors need to take the high road and stay focused and committed. First is academics. Colleges expect seniors to take a similar level of rigor in their senior year classes and perform at a level as seen in the prior three years. This is especially important for seniors who are deferred from their colleges.

Typically the college will request a first semester transcript and a student’s performance could mean the difference between an acceptance and rejection. “Because of the way the offer of admission often occurs halfway through the senior year, [admission] is contingent upon successful completion of the senior year in a manner that’s consistent with how a student applied,” Stephen Lee, associate vice president for enrollment management West Virginia University said to source.

Additionally, all seniors must submit final senior year transcripts to their chosen college. Colleges have the right to revoke an acceptance if the college feels the student’s senior year performance does not reflect the student’s record that they were accepted on. According to Money.com, schools have the right to revoke their decision. “At most schools it affects less than 1 or 2 percent of admitted students. But it does happen every year,” Kaitlin Mulhere of Money.com said.

Senioritis may lead seniors to sleep in and find reasons to miss school. Unless a student has a note and they arrive less than 20 minutes late to class, they will be marked tardy. Students with three unexcused tardies in a class equals one unexcused absence for that period. The policy is that if a student has more than a certain number of unexcused absences, the student may not be able to participate in graduation. No one wants to miss this important ceremony that enables students and their families to celebrate the accomplishment of graduating high school.