Jake Vierheller, staff writer

 

As seniors receive their acceptance letters from their dream schools, the class of 2017 begins a downward slump into not caring about school anymore.

Although the school year is in full swing, the fact that senioritis is correlating with college acceptance is unavoidable.  Some seniors, like Christina Bortz, view college acceptance as the final part of high school.

Bortz was accepted to the University of Pittsburgh earlier this year and said she was ecstatic to be accepted.

“I maintained good grades and scored well on the ACT, so I thought I could get into Pitt,” Bortz said. “However, I was still a little bit nervous since it was my No. 1 choice and I didn’t want to be let down.”

Upon finally receiving her acceptance, she was excited to learn that her high school experience was worth something.

“I felt like my hard work paid off.  I’m very glad that I pushed myself to be the best I could be in high school,” Bortz explained.  “I can definitely say that I will not be as strict on myself this year since I know I was accepted.  I am going to relax and enjoy my last year at Penn-Trafford.”

On the other hand, teachers are concerned about the quality of work being put out by their senior students.  Gigi Manuppelli, an English teacher, described the trend in the work quality of students accepted to college.

“They find their work irrelevant.  Seniors stop caring after December,” Manuppelli explained.  “The quality of work will plummet unless one of two things happens: their schools ask for grades, or they are in the top 10.”

Senior Faith Manski said she plans to continue working hard throughout the rest of this year.

“Most of my classes are for college credit, so I have to do well in those,” Manski said.  She added that she wants to attend Duquesne and is awaiting her admission decision, but has been accepted to other schools as well.

“I felt like my hard work paid off when I got accepted,” Manski said.  “The schools still want my final transcripts though, so I have to work hard my senior year to keep my grades. I can’t slack.”

All in all, there are many differing opinions about what happens when seniors are accepted to college.  One thing is for certain though: seniors; our future begins sooner than many think.