The road to achieving your degree is a long, arduous path. By the time you reach your senior year, you have written countless papers, crammed for so many exams, and had so many great times with your friends. Senior year marks an end of an era and a bridge to the "real world." It is natural to feel a wide range of emotions. Unfortunately, one of the hallmarks of this tumultuous time is a tendency for students to lose their focus on their studies. There are so many horror stories of GPAs plummeting during senior year and some students even losing the privilege to walk through graduation with their classmates. If you feel like you are falling victim to a case of senioritis, there are some measures you can take to navigate through your final year in college in stride.
Some students can afford to slack off a little bit during their senior year. However, take stock of what you need to accomplish to earn your degree and finish with a GPA of which you can be proud. It is important to note that if you are considering going onto graduate school, you will need to maintain strong grades throughout your senior year. There seems to be so much going on during your senior that if you can lighten your workload you may be better off in the long run. Try an elective that doesn’t appear to be taxing. If you’re still finishing classes for your degree, then you want to make sure that you can devote yourself to these classes. Find a "blow-off" course that will be fun and interesting, and not necessarily too difficult.
Even if you construct a class schedule that isn’t filled with too many hard classes, you still want to make sure your GPA doesn’t suffer any sudden downturns. Come up with a plan to balance your studies and your leisure time. A tried and tested routine is to stop at the library on your way home after your last class of the day. Go in for just an hour. This will keep you on the ball with your work and will keep you from the temptations that wait at your dorm. By your senior year you have a pretty good idea of how much effort you need to put into certain assignments. If you feel yourself slipping, stretch that daily hour in the library into two. You will be amazed at how much more work you will get done in that short amount of time compared to going back to your room (and your computer, television, etc.).
Above all else, you should enjoy your senior year. There will be so many events the last couple of months that you and your classmates will do together. Many colleges allow seniors to take classes pass/fail as this alleviates some of the pressure of worrying about GPAs. Just remember that as much fun as you are having, you still need to think about what happens after graduation. Don’t allow any poor decisions made in your senior year negatively affect you as you begin your professional career.