Students file out of their classrooms once the bell rings, already heading towards their next period. Instead of going to a classroom, senior Grace Fleetwood makes her way to the CCA, where she will use her flex period to finish homework due later that same day.

For most high school students, senior year brings “Senioritis,” a fake illness that presents itself in laziness, a decrease in motivation and dismissive attitudes toward school work. For seniors like Grace Fleetwood and Gabby Martin who plan to attend Purdue University and IUPUI respectively, senioritis has hit especially hard.

“I would say I have been consistently motivated in school up until this year,” Fleetwood said. “I’m so close to being done that it makes it really difficult to do work. I’ve already been accepted into college, which is comforting, so I feel like I don’t have to work as hard anymore because I know where I’m going and I know what I’m doing.”

According to a study done at New York University, 23.3 percent of seniors surveyed said their academic performance would likely decrease during second semester. Senioritis is so prevalent in U.S. high schools that Stanford professor Michael Kirst claims it is uniquely an American trait.

“I probably have senioritis because I try to make everything as easy as possible for myself now,” Martin said. “I have so many other things going on that I now justify losing points on assignments. I used to not want to miss points on things ever.”

Despite the fact that seniors have already been accepted to colleges, colleges are still able to rescind acceptances. According to the National Association for College Admission Counseling, 65.3% of admissions revoked in 2009 were due to final grades. This typically occurs in the event of grades decreasing drastically.

“We’re so close to being done and I feel like nothing really matters anymore,” Fleetwood said. “Especially after first semester when you already have your first semester grades in I feel like second semester you are more focused on graduating and preparing for college as opposed to getting good grades.”