Colleges don't like senior slump in high school

First came the rush to submit college applications. Then the theater program auditions and the waiting.

"It's very anxiety-provoking," said Annette Hammond, a senior at Central High School.

While she waits to hear back from colleges, she knows she cannot let the looming senioritis set in.

Amid theater tryouts at universities in North Carolina and Florida, Hammond landed the role of Adelaide in Central's upcoming production of "Guys and Dolls," which opens March 25.

The senior class president, she is also helping with plans for prom and graduation while balancing her involvement in other clubs. Academically, she is also keeping up her grades in classes like precalculus, AP biology and AP Spanish.

Today's college-bound high school seniors are cramming in AP classes for college credit. They're waiting to hear from several schools. And they can't shrug off homework, because many colleges make admission contingent on decent final grades.

"I kind of take that seriously," Hammond said.

Hammond said she applied to six schools. She will not receive official acceptance at some schools until her final grades are in, she said.

"We have a policy to do 100 percent verification to ensure that final high school transcripts are received and reviewed," said Matt Whelan, assistant provost for admissions and financial aid at Stony Brook University in New York.

College administrators around the country echoed Whelan's sentiments, from the University of Southern California, to Abilene Christian University in Texas, to Dartmouth, an Ivy League college in New Hampshire.

Not only do 12th-graders feel pressure to keep up academically, but many also dedicate themselves to teams, clubs and the performing arts.

Lillian Johnson, a senior at Perryville High School, is balancing track, band and a job, among other clubs and activities. She puts in about 25 hours a week at Taco Bell, is the senior class president and plays four parts -- sea captain, maid, guard and spy -- in the school's upcoming production of "The Three Musketeers."

"I get bored easily," she said.

But keeping up with the pace of high school is also taxing, she said.

"I wake up in the morning and I'm like snooze 10 times," she said.

Johnson will attend Southeast Missouri State University to major in acting and directing.

Laurie L. Hazard, who oversees several programs to help freshmen make the transition from high school to college at Bryant University in Smithfield, R.I., says a "last hurrah mentality" can distract seniors, too.

But Hazard noted that a productive senior year is not just about impressing college admissions offices. Keeping up reading and critical thinking skills can also improve the transition from 12th grade to college.

"It's like exercise -- if you stop exercising every day, you get out of practice," she said. "Students who don't experience senior slump are exercising until June."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

abusch@semissourian.com

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