The moment senior year begins, something strange starts to happen. Homework feels optional, motivation disappears, and suddenly everyone is counting the days until graduation. This mysterious condition is known as Senioritis, and almost every senior seems to catch it. 

According to senior Davion Washington, he’s not sure his Senioritis is caused simply by being a senior:  “I think I feel less motivated this year primarily because I’m tired. This year in particular has been stressful due to the intense workload from some of my classes. For example, my pre-calculus class takes a majority of my time after school to complete the assignments.” While some students feel like their workloads are easier in their senior year due to taking easier classes and teachers assigning less homework, others think that this year has been more stressful due to the fact that college applications were due at the beginning of the year. 

Senior Vaughn Iyoha found that his Senioritis arrived later in the year.  He said, “​​College pressure forced me to lock in for a period of time, but now that that is past, I feel much less inclined to complete work.” So some students only experience Senioritis towards the end of the year, and for some, it is a full-year experience. 

Besides college decisions impacting the timing of Senioritis, it also impacts whether students feel overall relaxed or not. Washington said, “I haven’t committed to any college yet, but when I do, I have a feeling I will start to relax significantly.” Iyoha also said something similar: “After college decisions, my stress decreased while motivation increased. I had less pressure, but I perform better under pressure, so naturally I’m performing less.”

Overall, it seems that seniors, no matter what stage they are in the college process, all experience some variation of Senioritis. Whether that’s turning assignments in late, becoming lazy with their work, or just simply feeling burned out, Senioritis is a disease that affects almost everyone.