In high school, everyone was constantly talking about ‘senioritis.’ It was almost an open secret that seniors stop wanting to do work when they’re in their last year of school. In high school, senioritis felt embraced. My school had fun senior activities such as senior skip day, senior sunrise, and senior splash. The administration knew seniors were over school, so they did what they could to keep morale up and support us. In college, it’s a completely different ballpark.
The senior year of college prepares you for adulthood in the most stressful ways imaginable. You stress about internships, or lack thereof, and job applications, all while trying to create a solid plan, juggle classes, and make the most out of your last year in school.
Often, it can be frustrating dealing with the lack of communication between students and the administration. You’ll find out the different requirements to graduate from your friends rather than from school officials. You have to know the questions to ask and the websites to visit without administrators telling you. You barely feel like an adult, yet you are left figuring out what needs to be done yourself, as advising or success coaching appointments are extremely difficult to schedule due to the increased volume of people seeking guidance. It can be seriously overwhelming.
Burnout is almost inevitable in your senior year of college. Trying to do as much as possible, make the most memories with your friends, maintain a good GPA, and participate in clubs is hard. As a transfer student, it can be even more difficult. It almost feels like I haven’t had enough time to do anything on my campus; there are so many restaurants to try and campus hotspots that people say you have to visit.
You feel like you need to do everything all at once, which leads you to want to do, well, nothing. The influx of to-dos can often paralyze you, which often makes you feel worse than you did before. Additionally, classes can feel pointless since you likely won’t be in a class environment once you’ve graduated, unless you decide to pursue a graduate degree.
So, what are you supposed to do? Accept that burnout is a part of life, and you’ll feel overwhelmed for the entire year? No, rather you should give yourself grace.
It’s okay to feel overwhelmed, but it’s also important to remember that doing nothing won’t make that feeling go away. Visit your advisor and discuss a plan for graduation or even beyond, and make plans with friends to balance everything out. Senior year is stressful, but that doesn’t have to be the only thing it is. Burnout won’t last forever; you need to be open about it, lean on friends, professors, and advisors. There are people here for you!