“School is just done,” he said.

Selle said he’s been doing worse this semester because it’s his last. He has been missing more classes and taken up the habit of studying for tests the day before he has to take them.

This is often referred to as senioritis. It is a senior’s loss of motivation, an increase in tardiness or absence and — potentially — the falling of grades.

Senioritis is a condition mostly afflicting students about to graduate high school. It does, however, have a trend of carrying into the higher education sphere.

“I started off both semesters (this year) never skipping classes and being motivated,” Selle said. “You just kind of lose interest.”

But communication professor Charles Atkin said behavior such as this is not typical among his students.

“You hear so much about senioritis in high school,” he said.

“I don’t think that phenomenon repeats itself in college.”

Atkin teaches Communication 475, a course on media campaigns.

It is comprised almost entirely of communication seniors.

For many students, Atkin’s class is their last before graduating.

Attendance in his class is about 80 percent most days and 100 percent on test days, which Atkin said is typical for most classes regardless of the course level.

He also sees most students participating in and devoting time to class projects and assignments.

“As far as I can tell, they’re working right until the end,” he said.

For many students, the pressure of graduating and obtaining a job can cause stress and anxiety, said Jan Collins-Eaglin, director of the MSU Counseling Center.

“It’s a huge transition,” Collins-Eaglin said.

“Sometimes it can have a negative impact on grades. Sometimes students just are tired and they’re ready to stop.”

Feeling overwhelmed and having a mixed set of emotions — from excitement about graduating to anxiety about a career — is normal for students who are watching their last collegiate days dwindle.

Most people, Collins-Eaglin said, recognize the overwhelming feeling and keep moving forward.

But others have a difficult time coping and may stay in school for a long time.

“Making that last step is frightening for them,” she said.

Counseling can be beneficial when a student is paralyzed by this fear, she said.

The Counseling Center provides services for students to help guide them through the transitional phase of graduation.

Although Selle graduates in May, he plans to stay in East Lansing for the summer to work and save money.

After that, Selle said he will move away and find a job — the one thing still looming over the heads of graduating seniors.

“Not having a job puts a little more stress on you,” he said.

Because of this factor, Selle has not completely lost motivation during his senior year.

“I still want to end the year off in a good sense,” he said, “but what’s going to happen when you’re out of school — that’s a big deal.”

Finding a job is another main area of anxiety, Collins-Eaglin said.

The uncertainty of the economy and obtaining a job causes depression in these soon-to-be graduates.

“How you look, dress, act, walk — all of those transitions are major,” she said.

Atkin agrees that finding work after graduation remains the main objective for most seniors in his class.

Because of this, students are more interested in how relevant a class is to their real-world goals.

Since his course is only for communication majors, students are more interested in the material being presented.

If it were an elective course being taken simply to gain the final credits needed to graduate, Atkin said there may be more of a drop in motivation and performance.

“If it’s relevant, they’re more motivated to learn the material,” he said. “A course that’s kind of theoretical — students would be less interested in that in their last year.”

As advice to underclassmen who will be forced to cope with senioritis, Selle said to begin looking for internships and job opportunities as early as possible.

“Slacking off isn’t the best sense,” he said.

“You want to leave school with a motivated sense so when you get into a job you can just do work and continue on that path.”