The last semester of senior year is the prize at the end of the dark tunnel that is high school. During those few blessed months, you dominate the assemblies and get all the good spirit days. Spang’s room is a place of refuge, and he himself transforms into a genuinely sweet and loving man. In other words, life is easy and classes can be skipped…right? Yes, college stress is fading and class spirit reaches its peak, but as for the attendance legend: as one ’08 graduate can tell you, it’s just not true.

By the time she reached her senior year, Maryama Jilo, as many others before her, was entirely fed up with school. She was constantly sick, and had a hard time keeping up with classes, making everyday all the more stressful. Starting off strong with both Physics and AP Chemistry, she soon realized this was just too much to deal with.

After working a hard two quarters, second semester rolled around, and Jilo approached her counselor, requesting to drop a few classes. She had taken night school and courses outside of school, and even with the drops, would have enough credits to graduate.

“I was just done with everything,” Jilo said. “I thought second semester really wouldn’t matter.”

Jilo applied for colleges with a GPA of 3.6 and above-average SAT scores, and a couple months later was accepted into the University of Washington. She was overjoyed; she would be the first in her family to go to college.

However, Jilo decided to take an extra precaution. She went to the admissions office of the University and asked them about her class drop, inquiring about the effect it would have on her acceptance.

“They told me I could write the school a letter just to be extra safe, but that it most likely wouldn’t matter at all,” Jilo said. Breathing a sigh of relief, she decided not to worry about the letter, and settled down to enjoy the rest of her senior year.

Like many graduating seniors, Jilo became a little lax about attendance, skipping class when she got sick or just didn’t feel like it.

“I missed 288 classes in second semester alone,” Jilo said, “and I regret it so much.”

Set and ready to attend the UW in the fall, Jilo breezed through summer. That is, until August, when she got the shock of her lifetime. Due to her poor attendance and low grades in second semester, the University was reevaluating her acceptance.

“I still remember that day: August 8th,” Jilo said. “I got a letter threatening to revoke my application.”

Hurrying to the admissions office, Jilo argued her case. She explained her class drops, and how she had been told she was in the clear. They told her to write a letter explaining her situation.

“I’m the first of my family to go to college,” Jilo said. “If I had been revoked… it would have been so disappointing. It was also too late to apply for another college, so I had no idea what to do.”

Luckily for Jilo, her three-page letter and an English class she had taken over the summer helped her maintain her acceptance.

Although second semester isn’t as grueling as others, Jilo encourages other students to take it seriously.

“I can’t stress it enough.” she said. “Attendance is so important.”

Glowing in the student section of the UW Convocation, Jilo watched as, one by one, staff members stood to give speeches, welcoming the freshman.

“I’m so grateful,” she said, smiling around the campus. “I’m so grateful I got in.”