It starts with one assignment turned in a day late. Nothing big, just delaying part of your daily workload to make it feel more manageable. But it doesn’t take long for things to spiral out of control: it’s hard to keep putting in your best effort, and suddenly the work you do for class just doesn’t feel worth it.

We’ve all heard the word before: senioritis. The mythical condition where seniors start to lose the motivation they carried in their early years of high school. Assignments that were once easy to maintain are now held back by near-endless procrastination, lectures fading out of our attention as we lose ourselves in our thoughts.

Whatever form it takes, senioritis takes hold of about 68% of high school students according to a survey by “ZipDo,” with 55% of seniors showing symptoms as early as February. And while the most common symptoms involve putting off assignments until the last second and struggling to focus, some students suffer from skipping assignments or even entire classes due to a lack of motivation.

So what causes this? According to the ¨University of the People,¨ college applications play a huge role in this. They argue that high school students face so much pressure to succeed and impress colleges that it becomes a sort of end goal for them, and when they reach that, it feels like they’ve crossed the finish line already.

But high school doesn’t end there. Even if you’ve already been accepted into your dream college, the work you do here is still valuable. And while you can get by with minimum effort to get passing grades that are good enough, does this really prepare you for what comes next?

This is where we come to the consequences of senioritis. Colleges will look at your grades again when they receive your final transcript after graduation, and a particularly bad case of senioritis may harm your GPA, which could risk your chances with colleges or scholarships with strict acceptance requirements.

So we know the risks of senioritis, but how can we prevent it? “ACT” recommends continuing to challenge yourself with more difficult classes and staying involved in activities. Not only does this make you look more appealing for your admissions, but it also pushes you to keep trying so you can succeed.

Furthermore, start setting goals for yourself aside from college admissions. Maybe you want to get a certain grade in a class, or maybe you want to set a personal goal, such as learning a new hobby. Whatever you choose, having a set goal to work for gives you an incentive to keep working forward so you can get what you want out of your time.

Not everything has to be academic either; you can still try to make things enjoyable for yourself. Just because you’re trying to succeed doesn’t mean you can’t have any fun. After all, it’s still your senior year: this is meant to be the peak of your high school experience, so try to balance your academics with ways to enjoy yourself as well.

Be sure to try and limit distractions as well. We live in our time where attention spans are getting shorter than ever, we work surrounded by virtual distractions, and with most of our work turning digital, it’s easy to get caught up in scrolling while we put off the task we have at hand. It’s important to be mindful of how we use our time, so make sure you’re spending it in a way that feels productive to you.

Finally, if it ever feels like too much for you, don’t be afraid to talk to someone you trust about it. Whether it’s a friend, family member, teacher, or another trusted individual, getting someone else’s perspective and thoughts can help you come up with methods to help that you might not have thought of otherwise.

And if you’re currently a junior, make sure not to push yourself too hard going into your senior year. While packing difficult classes into a full schedule can feel like the right choice to look good for colleges, try to at least leave yourself a few classes that you enjoy, so that your day-to-day school life isn’t completely overwhelming.

Senioritis makes the final stretch of high school more difficult than we would like, but if it feels too hard to overcome, remember that these are your final days in high school. With only two months left to go, you should do what you can to finish strong. Sure, you’ve already received your college acceptance letters and have less pressure to succeed. But while you’re here, you can still make the most of it.