An academic phoenix is a person who will crash and burn their grades for the current semester, with the hope of doing better in the next. "Pulling an academic phoenix" is risky, and is widely regarded as "a bad fucking move" as it can easily destroy your chances of getting scholarships if done wrong.

To be an academic phoenix, you have to be able to pull your grades back from the depths of hell. Otherwise, you'd just be a failure.
"Alright, I won't be able to finish my project in time. Guess I'll just be an academic phoenix."
"Dude, just stop being lazy and do your damn project."
by duckduckhellno October 27, 2020
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