SENIORITIS STRIKES BACK TO KISJ

1st  March, 2023 by Jenny H. (G12)

The time has come. Upon the start of semester 2, the senior students of Korea International School Jeju (KISJ) are starting to “slack off” in their schoolwork because most students already have a college to go to.  Most regular decision and early decision 2 schools only consider senior year semester 1 grades, and the students feel like their studies in second semester don’t matter as much as they previously did. 

A common conversation b​​etween peers is mostly composed of whether or not they still have senior privilege. That's right. Whether they “still” have senior privilege. Most students want to rename this group of people “the lucky ones.” 

Students frequently communicate with each other about the grade benchmark for not losing senior privilege. According to the dorm and student life guide, the “maginot line” to sustaining your senior privilege is having one letter grade as a C (“KIS Jeju Dorms”).

In previous years when students were eager to earn grades good enough for college admissions, this threshold must have not been such a problem. Nevertheless, given that these students now have all colleges to go to, and are careless about the classroom expectations in KISJ, seniors are quickly starting to realize that the current situation is much worse than they had anticipated. 

Senior John Kim, who was awarded ‘Golden Dragon’ of the month of January, 2023 in KISJ quoted that “The leading factor that brings about senioritis appears to be the tendency in which students consider college admission to be the ultimate end of their high school career.”

John further continued that, “Students entering into the very last semester of their high school life tend to perceive (almost) an overwhelming sense of being finished; there are multiple layers of accomplishment and relief in this feeling.” 

In such a sense, losing senior privilege doesn’t seem like a novel situation, as John even quotes that about his peers losing senior privilege, where “there have always been students with two more Cs in their report cards or more than 5 LLBs.”

In addition, Ms. Asad, the English 11 and Advanced Placement English Language and Composition teacher of KISJ commented that “it seems to be particularly intense in Korean students. The only true explanation I have for this is that seniors here think they're immune once they've been accepted into college, so they stop turning in work or caring about grades.”

In response to the question on how senioritis should be resolved, Ms. Asad said that “I think it is necessary to make them understand the percentages and statistics that face them for completing their education in their chosen university; they need to understand the value of completing their senior year with a strong GPA(...)they need to understand the value of working until the finish. ” 

Regardless of the discrepancy between the opinions between the teachers and the students of KISJ, it is evident that the cultural heritage of Korean society and their educational tendencies to apply much building up to the peak of college application in semester 1 in senior year in high school in the driving force behind the status quo of severe senioritis among students.

 In such a situation, senioritis is in a way inevitable, and  the senior privilege policy is to ensure the senior students of Korea International School, Jeju Campus to not lose their focus and ambition even in their last semester before highschool graduation. Granted, the senior privilege policies of KISJ are not very likable. Nevertheless, it is shown to be a purposeful policy upholding the school mission to prepare their oldest students toward societal expectations.

Work Cited

“KIS Jeju Dorms.” Korea International School, Jeju Campus, https://kis.ac/dorms. Accessed 16 January 2023.