Seniors in high school are getting ready to graduate in 2 months, including myself, and are starting to miss more and more school. They think it doesn't matter because colleges don't look at the second semester. Whether it's true or not, the second semester is there for a reason, and students need to start paying attention to it and using it as an advantage.
I was sitting in history class today and a girl asked how many absences she had obtained in the past 3 months. I was shocked to hear that she had missed 14 days and most of them were ditches or unexcused absences! But did she care? Not at all. In fact, she was happy to hear that she had a D in the class, a slight upgrade from the F she had received the previous quarter. It's sad to think that students don't try the last semester just because they are already accepted to a bunch of colleges or know where they are going in life. But the truth is that a college can take back their offer of admission, and you could be stuck in a hole too deep to dig your way out of.
I never saw the point of ditching. All it does is create a conference between you and a teacher, principal, and your parents. Also you can get audited for not being present for at least 90% of your class during the semester, unless you have a medical reason or personal excuse that can get you an appeal.
So what can be done to make seniors want to go to school and finish strong instead of just making it through? AP classes and Dual Enrollment classes are a strong help because they are classes that allow you to earn college credit, and you don't take the test till May. This makes you pay attention and learn what is going on so that you can pass the test. As for general classes, I don't know what the solution is. So many kids just want to not go to school, but then graduate, and I don't think that is fair for those who try so hard. There is always a way to get around the rules, and they seem to know exactly how to do that.
I think that colleges should start paying more attention to what is going on the 2nd semester of a senior's high school year instead of just looking past it. If their grades are slightly lower, then oh well, but if they are drastic, then I think the student should be notified that a scholarship or admission offer could get repealed if they don't act fast.
You are so right. This is what happening in my school right now. Not everybody shows up for classes anymore. The colleges do pay attention to what you do on the 2nd semester. If they see significant changes on your academic performance, they do reject their admission even if you deposit your money already. To me, kids at my school just don't get it. Watch...half the serior at my school aren't gonna graduate because of cutting classes. My school has the policy that you have to pass the 2nd semester of English, Eco and health/P.E in order to graduate.
I agree. I think colleges should start to pay more attention to 2nd semester. I am also a senior in high school. A girl in my class class has already missed 22 days this semester and we have only been in this semester for 10 weeks now. We only have about 8 weeks left.
yea... I had thought that "senior spring" would be a great time of the year until the college counselor at my school brought up the possibility of waitlist. Colleges do pay attention to second semester grades especially if you are on a waitlist somewhere.
Colleges do pay attention to 2nd semester grades. I had a friend who did exactly what that student did in your class by skipping out on a bunch of classes the last semester. One of her acceptance decisions was changed to academic probation acceptance because of how little effort she put in her last semester in high school.
But you are right, colleges need to push further into looking at 2nd semester grades. Also, students should realize that if they skip school in high school, it will become a bad habit in college. Most professors have a 3-4 absence rule, and after that teachers will mark these students down a letter grade, or find another way to punish them.
Not necessarily. I've been in many classes, including my history classes, where I don't have to go to any classes. The professors there could care less if you skip or not.
Now, my science classes tend to get around that by doing 'clicker' questions... basically having quizzes of a couple questions every class period. And if you're not there for those, you completely lose those points, and they can make a rather large difference in the long run.
~C
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Believe it or not, most college, especially in demand colleges, do look at second semester for slackers. If you are accepted and really read the information you are given, most schools put a "temporary until official records obtained" clause. They use that, if you are accepted you could end up rejected, but what is scary for those slackers is if you are wait listed. Then if you slack you are screwed and will be dropped.
How do you motivate seniors to pay more attention their second semester? The high school is the only one who can encourage that. Personally, the only thing that kept me going my last semester was my extra curriculars. I was president of two clubs and active in two others so I just focused all my time in those and went to class. I also took a night college class to make it worth it. Granted, it worked for me. It all has to do with finding something, even something minor, to motivate yourself to at least survive at par with your previous work level.
You can lose a lot if you skip a lot.
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