As the year winds down, the air becomes warmer and the patio of The Peanut Barrel Restaurant opens again, chances are, studying may be farther from your mind than before.

After all, visiting the bar, barbecuing or sleeping on a lawn chair on your porch are more fun, especially when you can daydream about the summer.

“I’m studying abroad this summer and I want to just go and do that and get away from East Lansing for a while,” finance junior Alex Knott said. “It’s kind of hard to stay focused when the 85-degree weather’s calling your name.”

Knott said his early case of senioritis will probably just continue next year.

“Next year’s going to be really hard, so hopefully when I get back I can focus again,” he said. “That’s kind of my plan. You know, get away for a while. It probably won’t happen though.”

Knott said trying to keep studying will only get worse with finals only a month away.

“I think finals are the hardest too, because you see everyone sitting on their porches drinking beer and throwing a football and you want to be doing that instead of studying in the library,” he said.

And whether you’re a junior or a senior, staying focused isn’t easy - especially when faced with the harsh realities of finding a job, if you’re a senior.

“The thing about being a senior in college and a senior in high school is that in high school, you’re focused on where you’re going to college, but as a senior in college, you’re focused on getting a job,” German and finance senior Ed Ledermann said. “I think that (senioritis) really depends on when you get accepted to college or when you find that job because it’s really difficult to focus on your grade-point because it no longer matters.”

Senioritis is nothing new to college students, many of whom were faced with the same dilemma just a few years before in high school.

But the temptation to slack off and believe that school no longer matters does change for some college students.

And Ledermann said although he understands how students begin getting restless during the last few weeks of school, he doesn’t believe it affects him.

“I think one thing that’s different as to why I’m not getting senioritis is because I chose the classes I’m taking, so I’m actually interested in the subject material, where as high school was all forced on me,” he said.

Ledermann’s philosophy on college echoes the thoughts of some MSU professors who believe most students are still keeping up with their classes.

And despite the reputation of a college senior captured in films like “Animal House” or “PCU,” MSU students seem to please their professors during the weeks before school ends.

“They’re still doing their job,” said Merlin Bruening, an assistant professor of chemistry. “They’re working reasonably well, although they don’t care so much about the class as they might have before.”

Bruening said his students continue to attend their chemistry labs and remain fairly focused, and that senioritis continues to be an affliction that tends to affect more high school seniors.

“There’s no question about that, that’s certainly true,” he said. “But of course there is some element of, ‘This is my last class, and I have a job already and why should I bother with this.’

“Everybody has that to a certain extent.”

But in an attempt to discourage students from letting the wrath of senioritis take over their minds, some professors make it impossible to skip and still pass classes.

“So far, I have not had it in my class,” said English Professor Arthur Athanason.

“I have a very clear attendance policy and I run my class by class discussions, so it’s not a course where if you miss you can get lecture notes. It minimizes the possibility of students giving in to senioritis.”

Athanason said smaller classes are successful in preventing a decrease in the attention span of students because they often involve group discussions and a watchful eye of the professor.

“In a large enrollment class, it’s easier for students to feel anonymous, but in a discussion class, it’s pretty hard for a student not to feel that his or her presence isn’t a significant one,” he said. “If students feel they have an identity, it makes a big difference about the attendance of the class.”

But Athanason admitted students may feel compelled to skip class once year-end worries and the temptations of nonschool-related activities become too much to take.

“I have to say that this time of year, people are busy with all kinds of concerns - wrapping up their degree program and applying for graduate school and jobs,” he said. “So there are a lot of concerns on students’ minds this time of year, but I try to teach in a way that somehow makes them look forward to attending class and improving that learning experience.”

Not all students can attest to that, though.

“I’d like to go outside instead of being indoors at class or work,” chemistry junior Adam Kimple said. “I’ll still go to class and I’m there in body, but not necessarily spirit all the time.”