While a typical senioritis vaccination should last a student all the way until the second semester of senior year, it has been powerless to stop the early onslaught of senioritis.  This epidemic has struck McLean earlier than it has in the past and student’s grades and hopes of getting into college are paying the price for their inability to withstand what they are unprepared for.

The reason this is becoming a big issue is because it is so early in the school year.  Senior slacking, more commonly known as senioritis, is in most cases not a big deal.  In fact it is almost as common in the life cycle of a high school student as graduation itself.  However, there is a time and place for senioritis, second semester, for good reason because an early outbreak could cause problems.

The early epidemic is taxing on some, but for most it is a welcomed early start to what the second semester will bring.  With many students already having applied for college and some even being accepted into college already, there is little motivation that remains

“Since I have already sent my applications and know where I’m going to college I’ll probably stop having any motivation at all for school.  Although they can always say you can get “unaccepted” I will still have no ability to focus or work hard in any of my classes,” senior Charlie Fitzner said.

Senioritis has become such a regular practice that even teachers sometimes accept the inevitable.  Some are careful about assigning important work on days that are deemed “senior skip day”.  After all, to a certain extent it is wise to do this because if one student misses an important day than tough, whereas if the whole class misses it then there is not much that can be done.

However, there are some remedies that can keep senioritis at bay, the most common one of these being student’s AP courses.  These courses still demand attention because a lack of effort in these classes could result in a ‘F’ while the same lack of effort in another class could still produce a high ‘C’.  Also for students who do not want to go through the hassle of taking the class again in college, passing the exam is another incentive that motivates students.  This could help the student graduate college earlier or leave extra time to pursue other studies rather than taking a repeat course.

Nonetheless, senioritis is common but does not have to be a deadly epidemic.  With moderation it can be a welcomed occasional “sick day” for students.  The best way is just to assess how much senioritis a student’s course load and college applications will allow them.  If seniors are not careful this epidemic could be troublesome to many student’s chances of getting into their desired college.