High school seniors may feel that they are done with most of the heavy lifting to finish school and start college. Applications were submitted applications a few months ago and you are now waiting to hear back from the schools. Compared to the comprehensive applications you filled out it might feel like there is not much that happens now… but what you do for the rest of this school year can still have a huge influence on your college journey. Seniors need to finish strong, keep up your grades – improve performance if necessary, and stay involved in school. Your next few months in high school still can affect your college admission.
Stay optimistic
Now is the time when you might start receiving acceptance and rejection letters. Don’t be dismayed by an early rejection or two, especially if you’ve applied to several schools. Be confident in what you submitted and know that if you are supposed to attend one of those colleges, you will receive an acceptance letter. A positive attitude will help you get through this uncertain time.
Why Getting Rejected from a College Was the Best Thing that Ever Happened to Me
Continue narrowing your list.
If you don’t already have a small list of finalists, now is the time to narrow down your list. You’ll be hearing back from admissions departments within the next few weeks, and most expect to receive an answer from you by late April or early May.
QUESTION: When can I relax and coast through the rest of high school? ANSWER: Coasting is not an option.
Here are some items you should still be focusing on:
- AP exams
- Finals
- Stay engaged with school and classmates
- Communicate with school counselors and mentoring teachers
- Need more motivation? Plan ahead for graduation
Senioritis
“Senioritis, a tongue-in-cheek term for a decline in high school seniors’ motivation…. But such a light-hearted take belies the harm senioritis can have on students’ immediate and future academic performance.” Counseling@NYU Staff
Goolge describes this “a supposed affliction of students in their final year of high school or college, characterized by a decline in motivation or performance.”
Urban Dictionary describes this as “a crippling disease that strikes high school seniors. Symptoms include: laziness. Also features a a generally dismissive attitude.”
MYTH: My grades during my last term in high school do not affect my college admission.
FACT: Colleges may reserve the right to deny admission to an accepted applicant should the student’s senior-year grades drop, warns the College Board
College Board warns: “Every year, colleges rescind offers of admission, put students on academic probation or alter financial aid packages as a result of ‘senioritis’.”
Many colleges don’t receive final grades until June or July, so if the final report doesn’t align with the information in the application, students may find they’ve lost their spot at the college of their choice.
More reading:
http://info.ipfw.edu/blog/college-application-checklist-march-2017
