Burnout After College Acceptance
An acceptance letter from a university application. An university application form together with the letter of acceptance with a red rubber stamp of “Accepted” on a table top still life. Photographed close-up in horizontal format with selected focus on the rubber stamp impression.
February 6, 2023
The reoccurring problem that seniors face is the decision to either slack off or keep trying in school after their college acceptance letters.
Getting a letter that says you have been accepted into the college of your dreams can feel like a weight has been lifted off your shoulders. All the hard work and stress produced throughout high school has been worth it. Seniors start to feel a sense of relief, which is not a bad thing; however, they begin to think that since they were accepted into college and have a spot, school is not as important. However, this mentality is not healthy because if seniors let their grades slip, colleges can see that and reconsider their decision.
Valerie Strauss, a writer for the Washington Post, explains that admission officials look for kids who slack in the second semester after getting their acceptance letters. They also look for students who decide to take the easy courses instead of the honors ones. Many students who let their grades slip end up getting a warning letter from the college that informs them to shape up or threatens to take them out of their desired honors courses in college. Some may say that after all of the stress and anxiety that was produced because of school, seniors deserve to have a semester where they can relax and be comfortable with the fact that they were accepted into a college. Seniors do deserve a break after all of the work that they put in during school; however, losing the urge to do well because a college acceptance letter already came in should not be an excuse.
Before seniors start worrying about getting a warning letter from a college saying they need to “do better,” they can begin by relishing that they were accepted in the first place. They can keep that feeling in mind but should not start to feel like they can slack off and not try. Ian Johnson, a senior at Thunderbird, explains ”After receiving my acceptance letter to University, I made sure to remind myself that my grades still matter and that the end result is what’s going to solidify my spot at the school of my choice, not just the success I’ve had so far.”
Seniors, and all students for that matter, should always be doing as well as possible; the results will benefit everyone in the long run.
