As the Class of 2022 approaches their final days in Loomis Chaffee, LC seniors are beginning to finally experience perhaps their most anticipated term of high school. With loosened Covid restrictions, which includes no masking and interdorm policies, Spring Term has spewed fun for the seniors. However, Spring Term’s arrival brings about the recurring issue of Senior Slide. Senior Slide is a period of time in between college acceptances and graduation where the senior class deviates from their standard academic routines, potentially resulting in a “slide”, or simply a decline, in the overall Spring Term performance.
This trend has existed since the dawn of high school. Schools traditionally have witnessed seniors letting loose during these times as a response to year-long academic pressures that they have dealt with. As a junior who has not only witnessed the Class of 2022’s experiences throughout the year, but also begun the journey of the college-admission process, it seems both inevitable and reasonable that the seniors go through a more relaxed term.
“Senior sliding seems the natural end to our high school journeys, especially after the rigor of senior fall and the college process, ” said Karishma Lawrence ’22.
Moreover, only a minute number of LC students have suffered from incidents of colleges revoking their admission, and this largely stems from issues pertaing to students’ individual level of maturity and self-awareness. Upon receiving their admissions email, the letter specifically warns students to take care of maintaining their GPA, which most students often consider with precaution.
“Senior slide exists more as a mentality rather than actively checking out. I think I’m more relaxed with the nice weather and the end of my Loomis career, but I’m still trying to learn in classes and grow, I’m just putting less pressure on myself now!” said Pilar Wingle ’22.
Although Loomis students still pay attention to academics, their final term in Loomis should most definitely be spent creating priceless memories with their friends. After all, the Class of 2022 only has slightly more than a month before they are dispersed across different institutions around the world.
Furthermore, if senior sliding were such an alerting concern to the school administration, Loomis would have not established the Pass/Fail Rule for the senior class. Currently, the seniors are granted the option to switch the standard of a course from a range of grades (F-A) to a pass and fail system. The rule only stands eligible to a handful of elective classes that do not interfere with the student’s graduation credits, and must be their fifth (or sixth) course. As a result, students will be able to continue to live their lives without suffering from back-breaking stress.
Enjoy, Class of 2022, and congratulations for surviving senior year! Let’s Go!