Senior year is supposed to be the grand finale, the moment when students finally get to breathe after years of hard work. But for many, that final stretch doesn’t feel exciting but rather exhausting. The homework piles up, the deadlines blur together, and suddenly, even showing up to school seems like a struggle. So, is senioritis real?
Most seniors would say yes, even if they don’t call it that. It’s not about being lazy. It’s more like your motivation just runs out. Since you already know that you are leaving soon, the importance of school work reduces dramatically. After years of chasing grades, test scores, and college applications, some students hit a wall. Additionally, when you’ve already been accepted into college or figured out your next steps, it’s easy to lose that sense of urgency. “It’s like my brain knows we’re almost done, so it’s already shutting down,” one senior said. Truthfully speaking, it’s not just a joke—it’s a feeling that’s hard to shake. There’s something about senior year that makes it harder to care the same way that you once did. Maybe it’s the burnout. Maybe it’s the fact that you’re mentally moving on to what’s next. Either way, it’s real for a lot of people.
Senioritis might not come with a medical diagnosis, but if you ask seniors (and now, dare we say, juniors?) quietly zoning out in class or staring at overdue assignments—the answer is pretty clear.
