Senior year seems to be the time when grades and homework are the last thing on any graduate's mind.

Jackie Lopez, 19, a 2009 St. Michael's High School graduate, can attest to this.

"The worst part about senior year was
the pressure to get everything done on
time," Lopez said. "And of course, the senioritis."

Lopez reflects that her time as a senior was devoted to enjoying life and friendships, instead of studying for Spanish exams.

"There's a ton of pressure on seniors when they start applying for college," said Colin Pierce, the head of college counseling at Desert Academy. "From peers, parents, and it also comes from images and messages from society and the media."

It is a huge part of Pierce's job to divert that pressure and make applying to college a fun adventure.

"I think that a lot of the pressure comes from unnecessary sources," Pierce said. He explained that the media makes the whole application process out to be more complicated than it really is. Also, there is an unrealistic hype put on college prestige, national rankings and fancy names.

"What matters most is the place that fits best," Pierce said. "If that is the focus then it will actually be exciting."

"The best part of my senior year was probably just the social aspect, because you really grow close to everyone because you know that everyone is leaving, and you want to spend as much time with your friends as you possibly can," Lopez said. But with the novelty of college and scholarship applications, and thinking about what happens next, grades can fall to the wayside as plans for the future take the spotlight.

"You're scared to leave but so anxious to get out," said Jade Montaño, 18, a Santa Fe High senior. "It's a weird feeling knowing you're not coming back."

Montaño will attend The University of New Mexico in the fall. But now, Montaño finds, like the majority of seniors, that classroom boredom and graduation anticipation is hard to avoid.

"Even though I have nothing better to do, I don't want to be (in school)," Montaño said.

Lopez said she would change the way she went about her senior year.

"I would probably have turned in a little more homework," Lopez said. "I got pretty lazy towards the end of the year, but I bounced back just in time ... It's helpful, though, when teachers are nice and give you some extra credit to help out a senior in need."

Montaño also caught the senioritis bug. "I only go (to school) three hours and it feels like I'm there forever," she said.

The issue of protecting senior year as a valid year for learning — not just slacking off and ditching class — is a big problem for schools.

"It's a conversation that goes on a lot between college counselors," Pierce said.

He notes that senior year should be divided up with the first semester being devoted to writing essays, filling out applications to colleges and for financial aid, a process that takes up time usually devoted to schoolwork.

The second semester, students receive acceptance letters and since that's a relief for them, "they get a big case of senioritis," Pierce concluded. "They think about where they are going to be next year, and not where they are in the present."

Pierce believes that the reason for a lot of this is that colleges are asking for applications earlier and earlier every year.

"Colleges want a commitment, so they keep moving their application dates back," Pierce explained.

"You obviously feel the pressure, but if you know that you are doing everything right, its not too bad," said Lopez about her encounter with applications. Lopez is currently attending Santa Fe Community College, "by choice," she adds, but will be attending the Community College of Denver this fall.

Montaño also felt very little pressure during the application process, because she already knew she would get into a state school.

"I don't want to go out of state until I'm working on my graduate degree," Montaño said. "But it will be stressful when I try for harder schools in the future."

Many seniors opt to finish up their undergraduate degree at a place that won't empty your wallet or take you far from home, and then plan on going to a more challenging school for a graduate program. This option is certainly a way to reduce education debt.

Both Montaño and Lopez claim that senior year is the greatest of them all, and they agree that senioritis is just a part of the whole experience.

"If you don't get it and you are a senior, you are pretty special," Lopez said.

Lopez offers a word to the wise: 2010 seniors shouldn't worry, these restless feelings are totally normal, just don't let them get in the way of completing graduation, she said.

It's not over till it's over, she added, and to know that "graduation is the best part. It is the most amazing feeling. You'll be so proud of yourselves."

Jahla Seppanen is a senior at Monte del Sol. You can reach her at jnm747@hotmail.com.