Anonymous
Post 10/12/2025 16:06     Subject: Normal behavior for high school senior?
Anonymous wrote:DD has five AP classes and two EC commitments so she’s busy but totally emotionally checked out. She only does the social stuff she has to do and just wants to babysit for college money on weekends now. She waiting for EA acceptance letter and has all he applications for college done.

She doesn’t seem depressed, no weight loss or weight gain, has continued running every morning. It’s like she’s over high school and not the least bit interested in “savoring” her last year. College is everything for her now.

Anyone else’s kid doing this?


Perfectly normal. Both of mine were SO OVER high school at this point. There’s nothing to “savor.” What a strange mindset you have.
Anonymous
Post 10/12/2025 16:04     Subject: Normal behavior for high school senior?
Anonymous wrote:DD has five AP classes and two EC commitments so she’s busy but totally emotionally checked out. She only does the social stuff she has to do and just wants to babysit for college money on weekends now. She waiting for EA acceptance letter and has all he applications for college done.

She doesn’t seem depressed, no weight loss or weight gain, has continued running every morning. It’s like she’s over high school and not the least bit interested in “savoring” her last year. College is everything for her now.

Anyone else’s kid doing this?


It means she is miserable and not popular or not having fun, so is socially retreating and becoming an incel type. Excuses like it's lame, I am past it, I am focusing on....(insert non-fun stuff here) etc. are common signs.
Anonymous
Post 10/12/2025 16:02     Subject: Normal behavior for high school senior?
Sounds normal to me.
Anonymous
Post 10/11/2025 19:56     Subject: Normal behavior for high school senior?
Yeah seeing that a little. But she doesn’t really have a friend group anymore at school. After sophomore year that scattered after months of interpersonal drama - she’s still friends with some the people from that group - including her boyfriend - she has other friends individually, but she’s done with all sports and school activities.

She’s focused on her classes (IB exams), her part time job (which is a good one and related to her college aspirations) and looking ahead. Going through the senior activities but not with much enthusiasm. Lol. She says most everyone she knows is busy working - has a bf/gf, there aren’t many parties like the last 2 years but they were getting boring anyway …

I think all those “ senior moments” or more for parents posting on Facebook or instagram. She says her friends who already graduated said it was like this until the end of the year when things changed.
Anonymous
Post 10/11/2025 19:32     Subject: Re:Normal behavior for high school senior?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:God I hope mine doesn’t. No one needs that much on their plate at that age.



You hope your kid doesn’t what, PP? Take all APs? Lots of kids do and they handle it fine. [/quote

Or not. Lots of overachieving parents expect their kids to juggle everything.
Anonymous
Post 10/11/2025 16:18     Subject: Normal behavior for high school senior?
Anonymous wrote:
I went to a selective high school in Europe where all high schoolers prepared really hard for their end of high school exams (Bac, IB, etc). None of us "enjoyed" that time. There's nothing to enjoy. It's just hard work. Then if you go to a challenging undergrad program with exams that only select for a small number of students each year, and shed the rest, it's also a lot of stressful work. You can start enjoying yourself again in grad school.

My cousins in Japan had it even harder. Everyone goes to prep school when high school lets out, and you work far into the night to get into a good university.

This concept of having a fun and relaxing time in high school is new to me, and I've only encountered it since coming here to the US. But then, it seems US college students have a lot of free time as well... perhaps it comes from 4 year undergrads, instead of the European 3 year? Which makes for an expensive way to get the same diploma.



Similar here, and our DD sounds similar the OP’ daughter.

We have a multicultural marriage. DD has a 4.5 gpa and has been studying diligently to get her SATs higher. Outside of studying, she works on ECs we hope will gain her admission to a top university (she is interested in pre med). My spouse was also a top student, but in Europe there was no financial pressure associated with college planning.

We see education as a matter of getting out of it what you put into it. The American movie version of HS just seems like a frivolous fantasy.
Anonymous
Post 10/11/2025 13:47     Subject: Normal behavior for high school senior?
Anonymous wrote:It doesn't seem like she's over high school. IT seems like she's distancing herself from her friend group. This is how some people cope with big changes, so they don't have to deal with the emotions of saying good-by they just avoid or disappear.

It could also mean that something has happened in her group of friends.




I was wondering if she just doesn’t enjoy hanging out with her friends right now because probably everyone is talking about college and applications. Maybe she just doesn’t want to constantly be around that and so it’s easier to just babysit. She might be more interested once she and others start hearing from schools.
Anonymous
Post 10/11/2025 09:42     Subject: Normal behavior for high school senior?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:DD has five AP classes and two EC commitments so she’s busy but totally emotionally checked out. She only does the social stuff she has to do and just wants to babysit for college money on weekends now. She waiting for EA acceptance letter and has all he applications for college done.

She doesn’t seem depressed, no weight loss or weight gain, has continued running every morning. It’s like she’s over high school and not the least bit interested in “savoring” her last year. College is everything for her now.

Anyone else’s kid doing this?


Yeah - mine just clocked in/out of senior year. Some kids savor, mine was just ready for the next stage. Good luck, OP. Your kid sounds great!


My kids were ready for next stage kids. I was too!!
Anonymous
Post 10/11/2025 09:40     Subject: Re:Normal behavior for high school senior?
OP both my kids (my college sophomore and current senior) were/are like this.

They both were so over high school by Senior year.

My college sophomore absolutely is thriving, study abroad now. He is very involved at school- tons of friend groups, loves the independence. HS grind gets bothersome.

My current Senior is much like your daughter. He plays his club sport (4 nights a week/games weekends), school and makes a little $ small job.

I will say my oldest did start enjoying it again late spring and had a really fun prom/graduation and post-HS summer.

It’s very very normal, especially for the kids where HS isn’t the high point of their life (glory days )
Anonymous
Post 10/11/2025 01:25     Subject: Re:Normal behavior for high school senior?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Sounds like your kid is overextended. They don't have to take all of those advanced classes.


That's why she's "checked out" probably.
-DP


You resurrected a thread from 2021 to make that comment?
Anonymous
Post 10/11/2025 01:24     Subject: Re:Normal behavior for high school senior?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Sounds like your kid is overextended. They don't have to take all of those advanced classes.


That's why she's "checked out" probably.
-DP
Anonymous
Post 10/11/2025 01:20     Subject: Normal behavior for high school senior?
Anonymous wrote:DD has five AP classes and two EC commitments so she’s busy but totally emotionally checked out. She only does the social stuff she has to do and just wants to babysit for college money on weekends now. She waiting for EA acceptance letter and has all he applications for college done.

She doesn’t seem depressed, no weight loss or weight gain, has continued running every morning. It’s like she’s over high school and not the least bit interested in “savoring” her last year. College is everything for her now.

Anyone else’s kid doing this?


Sounds like she's burned out and feels over all her efforts. Like everything she's done in HS was transactional to get to college. At college, please prepare her that it may be a letdown if she expects it to be very different. Usually, your same issues, motivations or lack of motivation follow you to college. Also, any academic slide for the rest of HS will create a rocky start to college.
Anonymous
Post 10/10/2025 23:38     Subject: Re:Normal behavior for high school senior?
I was so done with high school by the end. Couldn’t wait to leave and never looked back. Normal.
Anonymous
Post 10/10/2025 23:36     Subject: Normal behavior for high school senior?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Yes. I went to school with the same kids for 12 years, and couldn't wait to get to college.

Your dad sounds over it OP, and knows college is so much better than anything she could do her senior year of high school. She will never see most of those people again after this year.



What? My high school friends are still my best friends nearly 30 years later. Sounds like a lame high school.


To be honest, I kind of think never moving past high school friends is lame. Anyone I know still hanging around the same crowd from those days is a loser.
Anonymous
Post 10/10/2025 22:26     Subject: Normal behavior for high school senior?
Well, my son was massively stressed out with college apps, then had a nervous breakdown, when he was a senior. Now happy in college. So... I think your daughter is fine, OP.