Seeking Academic Motivation as a V Former

As the college-application season wraps up, a heavy weight has been lifted off the School’s upperformers. However, the end of the stressful journey marks the rapid nosedive of V Formers’ academic motivation. While most Lawrentians continue to persevere in their classes and extracurriculars, some find themselves afflicted with “senioritis,” fighting to maintain their work ethic and balance academics and social life.

One such V Former Rhianna Scott ’25 has admittedly experienced the impacts of senioritis, noting, “At first, after hitting ‘submit’ and seeing my acceptance, I felt less motivated to do my work, as I seemed to have reached my ultimate goal.” Scott noticed how she needed“significantly more focus, planning, and time to do [her] work due to this lack of motivation” in the past month. When she studies, Scott has experienced a shift from being a “study-in-silence person” to a more social student, “working in the common rooms with friends even if [she] has a lot of work to do.” However, Scott hasn’t completely given up, as she continues to keep “high expectations for [her]self and, admittedly, hold[s] a fear of a rescinded offer.” Scott takes courses she’s passionate about—such as Dystopian Literature, Social Protest and Honors Biology—which make “working through the ‘senior slump’ more feasible.” She advises rising upperformers to “celebrate the accomplishment of finishing college applications,” but don’t throw “[their] hard work under the bus [and] keep some of the momentum going to finish the year strong.” As the final months of her time at Lawrenceville approach, Scott looks forward to “making lasting memories—from senior sunrise and  prom to beach day and graduation. Once the Spring Term begins, Scott will be ready to “go to the Bath House, the Big Red Park, and side quests with friends while cherishing every second.”

Jenny Zhao ’25, on the other hand, has resisted the effects of senioritis by finding more joy in her schoolwork. Reflecting on how finishing college applications has influenced her approach to schoolwork, Zhao claimed that she has been able to “focus more on learning for the sake of learning” without external pressures to perform. With everyone’s application submission deadlines passing, Zhao notes that she has been able to “do homework and study with friends” because “people’s schedules have cleared up, so they now have more time to hang out with each other.” Like Scott, Zhao finds motivation in her gaining independence: “V Form year affords us exciting academic opportunities, such as one-term electives that cover a variety of niche topics… Having the freedom to choose more of my courses allows me to extend my learning in areas of interest.” Zhao is excited to “spend more time outside” as the weather gets better in her final months at Lawrenceville. 

Gianco Iasiello ’25 states that senioritis “[worsens] to the extent to which you let it.” While he “originally managed [his] post-applications period] poorly,” he restructured his schedule to align better with his social interests, as per the recommendations of his prefect and counselor. The shift enabled him to effectively balance his academics. With regards to academic motivation specifically, Iasiello claims that “whenever you get your first Early Decision, Early Action, or Regular Decision acceptance and use it as a justification to take time off schoolwork,” it often “hurts more than it helps.” Iasiello looks forward to “re-engaging in pick-up sports and spontaneous opportunities that are prevalent on the Lawrenceville campus, ones that we often brush off in the name of other responsibilities, like college applications.”