How to slack senior year, WITHOUT getting rescinded

One of my sister’s students got rescinded from their school.

Rescinded is a big fancy word for having your acceptance taken away. And yes, that is possible.

Generally speaking, getting rescinded will happen for one of three reasons:

1. School discovers you were dishonest (lied on your application, put two deposits down, applied ED to two schools, etc)
2. You got in trouble (arrested, suspended, expelled, etc.)

3. You slacked off and your grades dropped.

I’m not going to talk about numbers 1 and 2 today (because, really, you shouldn’t let those happen under any circumstances). Today is all about 3.

Because senioritis is inevitable, so knowing how to control it is key to keeping your cozy spot at a school.

So here’s how to slack safely.

Know the threshold:

Though “grades dropping” is a very relative term, there is a basic line that most schools use.

2 or more Cs, any D, and any F. These are hard-lines that apply to quarter, semester, and final grades.
If you are normally a C student, the 2 or more C rule doesn’t really apply, because that’s your typical performance. But if you’re an A student, you shouldn’t be getting Cs at all.

Often if you’re in the iffy zone (2 Cs, or a semester D with an overall higher grade) they’ll ask you to write an appeal about why your grades dropped. Senioritis is not the answer to that question. So don’t let that happen. Keep an eye on your grades and don’t let them slip that much.

Have your guarantee

Do not get senioritis until you have an acceptance in hand. Do NOT slack first semester AT ALL. If you’re normally an A+ student, getting 3 As first semester will look like slacking (unless there was a significant increase in rigor), and can impact how an admissions committee looks at you.
So when can you get senioritis?

Time it well
Senioritis is inevitable, but let it wait. You should be working just as hard up until January when your apps are all in and wrapped up. Then you can let yourself slip a little bit. This means getting a B+ or skipping a few homeworks, not failing a test or two.

Know the values

So I had very calculated senioritis. I knew that if I could get As on all of my AP stat tests I could only turn in half of my homework and still get a B+. So yes, after I got my early decision admission back, I slacked on the homework when I had a busy week.

On the other hand, skipping my AP Lit homework would result in me failing the class, because the value placed on it was much higher.

If your school won’t take your AP credit, just nap through the tests because it won’t matter. If your school does take them, try a little harder and get those credits.

Know where you can slack and where you can’t. Don’t make the mistake of skipping a project when it turns out it’s 10% of your final grade.

Slacking is relative

So even though I did have what I would call a raging case of senioritis, I still had As in a lot of my classes. The one’s I cared a lot about (AP Micro, Spanish, Forensic Science, Theater) I still worked really hard in. The one’s I cared less about (AP Stat, AP Lit) I did less work for. I still got high Bs in those classes (B and B+), which were not great, but were not going to get me rescinded.

The point of slacking senior year is that you’re supposed to relax. But don’t relax too much. There’s a big difference between skipping a homework and skipping a week of school. Be careful, be calculating, and use that little bit of extra time to enjoy yourself.

Senioritis is a privilege, so don’t abuse it.