What would you say causes "senioritus" and general burn out?

[momof3greatgirls]

Cobrat even the Ivies grant credit for AP work. Sure there are some AP classes that these colleges don't accept but they do accept enough of them that most students take like calculus, languages and science courses. Most colleges take something and the lower the rank of the college the more likely they will get more credit. I believe more kids go to lesser ranked college than to the higher ranked.

I will concede that some don't even take any AP credit like Amherst(although they will grant higher placement) but students attending these colleges should really be pulling 5's their AP tests anyway. I do think it more of a money reason for Amherst not to grant credit than anything else. If AP credit had no education value, than Williams and Swathmore would not give any credit or higher placement either but they do give credit
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[momofthreeboys]

DrGoogle, I highly doubt your daughter dropped from As to Ds which is about what it takes to get rescinded.

[DrGoogle]

momofthreeboys, she almost had a D, ended up with a C- in Calc. I think some of the UCs would have rescinded her.

[cobrat]

I will concede that some don't even take any AP credit like Amherst(although they will grant higher placement) but students attending these colleges should really be pulling 5's their AP tests anyway. I do think it more of a money reason for Amherst not to grant credit than anything else. If AP credit had no education value, than Williams and Swathmore would not give any credit or higher placement either but they do give credit

Williams and Swarthmore are probably taking them more due to institutional inertia and because AP tests probably did have value as equivalents to college courses at one time....before they got watered down over the decades due to greater clamoring for APs for every student...even those who aren't remotely prepared, greater trends of parents arguing with teachers over bad grades...no matter how well merited, and inconsistent academic standards in US K-12 schools...sometimes even within the same school district/school.

Moreover, one doesn't necessarily need to take AP courses to get higher placement. Departmental placement exams or a long focused assessment or few with the Prof of the higher-level course could achieve the same ends for far less money(free).....and with a greater chance that the higher placement won't place the student in question at a great disadvantage due to knowledge/methodological gaps.

Moreover, placement exams were mandatory for everyone for foreign languages...even those with AP credits in the same language at many colleges. You'd only get credit for a given Foreign Language AP if you passed the department's own exam to their satisfaction. If you didn't....tough cookies even if you received a 5 on it.

[DowneasterDad]

"Senioritis," symptoms are all reletive to the student in question. If the student is one who has to force him/herself to get the work done(ie not self-driven or minus a "plan") chances are once all the hoops have been jumped through, the more likely they're apt to slack off. Grade drop-off isn't the only side effect of Senioritis however . . . many students(such as our D) just mentally/emotionally check out that 2nd half of senior year. Our D feels as though she's been stuck in limbo for the past 3 months. Truth be told, she has been done(emotionally) with high school the past year and a half. She has not let her grades slip at all but has been miserable and listless towards school since she received her "likelies." The transitory nature of senior year can be weary. So I guess count me in the camp that insists it exists.

[colorado_mom]

Not sure if DS had seniorits... I mostly thought of it as senior exhaustion. There was a LOT of work including prep for 5 IB exams, ECs (incl some missed school for a state competition and band events and illness.). Eventually he conceded that it was not possible to make up all the PE classes, and he took a B.

[RobD]

I'm pretty sure I had one of the worst cases of senioritus ever and it started middle of my junior year! Much like footballmom said, I started working sophomore year and realized pretty quickly by watching my senior friends that running on the hamster wheel to get all A's in the honors math & science track wasn't worth the effort, since they were all getting into the schools I'd apply to with less than stellar effort. My dad got ill during my junior year and that changed what was important as well.

During my senior year I had 39 absences (we were allowed 10 per marking period; it was changed shortly after I left and I walked into my GC's office on my 18th birthday to ask if the colleges I was accepted at would take a GED in lieu of a HS diploma. Poor new GC; guess it wasn't a question she was expecting one of the NMSF's to ask. I finally agreed to finish out the year because it wasn't worth the hassle of dealing with the GED fallout. But I was done with all the HS bs and wanted to get on with my real life.

I turned out fine. Received my BA, earned a Masters with a 4.0. And I've found myself telling my D to "get off the hamster wheel" quite a few times during her junior year.

[Lakemom]

I think that Junior year was the most difficult year with all the testing and AP classes. They couldn't even slack off in June since there were Subject tests to take.

My son's load, even with 3 APs is so much lighter this year that while I think he is absolutely ready to be done, he didn't have to work as hard senior year so I don't think he felt the same desire/need to slack off.

I also think that there is a line that many students who resist senioritis may decide they are not going to let themselves drop below. I think if a student never had a D, that they would find it stressful/disappointing to know that the endpoint of a year's worth of work was that grade.