Senioritis is a term that is loosely defined as, “describing the lack of motivation felt by students who are reaching the end of their courses” (Southern New Hampshire University). It’s the phenomenon that many students face in their last year of high school. Juggling all the requirements of senior year can be overwhelming. 

As a graduating senior myself, I understand the struggles of staying on top of deadlines and keeping track of everything. My hope is that this piece will alleviate some stress as well as make the challenges of senior year easier to manage. 

Many people can agree that Junior year is the hardest  due to the SAT or ACT, and increased extracurricular responsibilities. However, senior year has its own challenges.It could be all of those things on your plate, and more. It’s your last year of high school, you’ll want to have fun, but schedule conflicts often get in the way of that.

I’m here to tell you that you don’t have to throw in the towel. It is still possible to do all the things you want to while still maintaining your grades, having time for family and friends, and for yourself. With the help of Mrs. Miller we will break down everything that you need to so that you can breathe easy and rock your senior year. 

Here Are Some Things To Focus On:

Finish Up College Applications (Or If You Haven’t Started Yet – Get On It!)

Getting your application into the college you’d like to attend early is extremely important. Not only does it mean you have one less thing to worry about later, but you’ll also have time to fix mistakes. And, depending on the school’s policies, you could qualify for scholarships. “At this point in September, there are hundreds of students who are already ahead of those who haven’t put in their applications at UNLV for money,” said Miller. “That means, if Coronado is ahead of us, and all of their students have put in their applications for UNLV, they’re all ahead of us in the money pot. So any state schools that they’re interested in going to, they should have already, if not, apply for them right now,” Miller said. 

Scholarships, Scholarships, Scholarships 

Finishing your applications means you have freed up time to focus on applying for scholarships!

It’s important to get on them as soon as possible because sometimes the money offered is in a big price pot and you want the best possible chance at being rewarded. “The Public Education Foundation has their scholarships open. They should be applying for as many of those local scholarships as they possibly can,” Miller said. 

Now all of this on top of still going to school, working, and everything that life requires out of you can be overwhelming. How can you manage all of that?

Use a calendar and actually look at it. 

The best thing you can do is write everything down, and write it down in multiple places. It’s time consuming but having all of your college essays, appointments, and important deadlines in order will help with the stress of remembering everything you need to do. A good rule of thumb is to color coordinate different calendar topics (school, personal, work, etc.) so that at a quick glance you can tell what the event/deadline is quickly. 

Keep a spreadsheet of the scholarships and colleges that you’ve applied for.

College deadlines are fastly approaching and it’s important to stay on top of them. It’s best to note whether or not the application you completed was an essay or non essay, when you applied and the date and, how much it’s potentially for. Note these things as you go. My favorite tool to use for this is Notion. It’s very similar to google sheets but it gives you more freedom to personalize. Personally, I have two separate spreadsheets, one for college applications and another for everything else for my senior year.

Utilize the College and Career Newsletter

FAQ’s, Volunteering opportunities, college applications, financial aid … you name it. Mrs. Miller has put together a power house center that is designed to make this process as easy as it can be. If you have questions that you can not find the answer to, you can also visit her in the counselor office.