The ‘Sophomore Slump’ – something every upperclassmen warns you about and no freshman is prepared for. Freshman year is an absolute blur of joy; everything is exciting, new, and seemingly easy. Sure, everyone has their own version of hard-learned lessons under their belt from their first year in college, but overall, most people can agree that their freshman year was amazing. After a long summer of being home, the rising Sophomores could not be more excited to start it all over again – but they find themselves in a different predicament, I sure did.
No one prepared me for the way that being stuck in between general education classes and major classes would make academic success that much harder. Sure, most general education classes are easy – but they also feel pointless as you start to begin classes that are actually geared toward your future career. In addition to this, major classes prove to be more challenging. There are higher expectations and standards to be met, and your major usually requires a minimum grade in these classes to be able to earn the credit toward your degree. Talk about stress.
It is no secret that you come back to school beyond excited to see your college friends. Yet things are just no longer as exciting. This is topped with the fact that now, as sophomores, you may be living further away from all of your friends. Everything was so easy when you all lived in dorms that were walking distance from each other on campus, but now everyone is split up. This makes the friendship require a little (a lot) more effort.
No longer living on campus also makes this more difficult. Now you have to learn to adult (ugh) a little bit more. No more meal plan? This means making your own meals and possibly with your own money. Not in walking distance to classes any longer? Now you have to figure out the bus system and wake up even earlier to get ready. Many college students end up getting a job their sophomore year due to the fact that parents aren’t as financially supportive as they were freshman year.
All in all, this is a commonly shared ‘slump’ in college students throughout the nation. You aren’t the babies but you also aren’t the oldest anymore, you begin to develop middle-child syndrome. As much as it seems harder to power through everyday – try to focus on all the exciting things happening and continue to set yourself up for future success.