As the school year comes to an end, with less than a month left before the class of 2026 graduates, classes are wrapping up and motivation is declining — even in the face of upcoming finals and AP exams. Every senior claims to be afflicted with “senioritis”, but what does that truly mean?

According to Southern New Hampshire University, senioritis is characterized by a noticeable lack of motivation. This lack of motivation likely stems from the proximity to graduation and a desire to begin the exciting next chapter of one’s life.

Additionally, according to EBSCO, the COVID-19 pandemic, hitting hard in 2020, worsened the affliction of senioritis greatly. Remote, often asynchronous schooling caused students of all ages to feel lazy and unmotivated. These feelings especially impacted the graduating classes of 2020 and 2021.

With May 1 being the official college commitment day, seniors often begin to feel as if they can coast through the remaining weeks. There is a belief held by many that the bare minimum necessary to graduate is sufficient in the final weeks.

However, what many students may not realize is that colleges have historically rescinded admissions and scholarship offers if a student’s grades drop significantly. Colleges expect students to uphold the standard set by the grades presented in their application. Therefore, a grade of a C- or lower is often flagged by colleges as grounds to consider rescinding offers.

Many students may be asking how to prevent this affliction and loss of motivation. While there is no singular solution that will work perfectly for every student, the National Society of High School Scholars offers a number of ideas. Most importantly, students must focus on completing the most daunting tasks first.

The NSHSS states, “getting smaller, easier tasks done right away actually gives you a false sense of progress but leads you to keep pushing off the tasks that are looming over your head.” Other ideas for increasing motivation include taking a break to do physical activity, reorganizing one’s workspace, and caring for basic human needs such as combating hunger, thirst, and exhaustion.

With the end in sight, seniors can take comfort in knowing that “senioritis” is not an imagined sensation. Additionally, there is a way through the lack of motivation many currently face. Finally, as everyone looks to the future, it is important to remember that there is so much to come to motivate students to end on a good note.