As seniors, we’ve come to the point of high school where grades seem to become pointless, classes feel drawn out, and we leave the school feeling exhausted. Since most of the seniors have already heard back from colleges, what’s the point in putting in as much effort for school anymore? Having fun with friends and family seems to be of greater importance than focusing more on coursework as we’re about to leave after this final semester of high school. Do seniors really struggle with putting in effort during their last semester, or is it more of a senior glide?   

After interviewing many seniors, I’ve come to find that many of this year’s seniors that feel as if they are “gliding” are actually taking easier courses in comparison to prior years. Those who used to take 4 AP classes Junior year are now taking either one, two, or none. And many seniors have already finished their required classes so they’re taking extra fun classes such as painting, music of social justice, psychology, etc. 

A senior that feels more like she’s “gliding”, Sabrina Hertel, states “This year I don’t feel as much pressure to do the work and I don’t really have as much of it, so it doesn’t take me long to finish homework and maintain my grades”; revealing that she mainly feels as if she’s gliding through the rest of the year because the coursework is lessened and less stressful. Sabrina had also come to mention that she’s taking courses that are much more enjoyable this year and are applicable to her future career path, therefore she doesn’t feel as if it’s actual “homework” since she’s enjoying it.

However, many seniors also feel as if they’re becoming extremely burnt out. For most students, you have to maintain a certain GPA in order to keep your enrollment in a certain college or university. If colleges see that your grades have dropped drastically after they already accepted you, they can revoke their admissions offer. This is a scary thought that ultimately motivates students to continue doing their classwork, but there’s still a lack of drive for students wanting to do their homework.

After writing so many essays for colleges during the first semester of senior year while also trying to maintain grades, the typical senior is just waiting for the end of the year and doesn’t want to put much effort into any of their coursework anymore. Even so, many students that I’ve talked to about senior sliding have started to skip more and more classes as the year went on. Having hybrid and online courses is a big factor in this, as most students are able to submit their work online. Most seniors I had talked to revealed that they don’t really want to end up going to school for only a couple of in person classes, and they’d rather just do the work online or catch up on another day. 

Even if the majority of seniors’ grades haven’t dropped this semester, their drive to complete coursework definitely has. “Senioritis” occurs especially towards students interviewed that are still taking AP and honors Classes. Senior Lydia Riehl feels as if going to her AP classes is “like a chore”, as opposed to how it used to feel more exciting and new while entering high school. Seniors aren’t looking forward to attending classes and staying focused while they’re at this point in the semester, they just want to go to class, get the necessary points on assignments to maintain their grades, and then go home. 

Ultimately, seniors’ grades aren’t reflecting exactly how they feel nearing the end of their high school career. Though some students feel as though they’re easily gliding through and look forward to taking some of the classes that will benefit them in the future, most students are simply waiting for the end of the school year so they won’t have to complete any more coursework. The majority of students feel drawn out, and will complain of feeling “burnout” or similarly a “mental” senior slide, but will continue to push through and do the bare minimum work in order to maintain admissions and finish off their last semester of high school on a high note.