After finishing my freshman year at a university, I thought I had the whole college thing figured out, going into my sophomore year. I was independent, used to living on my own and caring for myself. I had already experienced what college courses were like and had even gotten some summer classes under my belt. What more could there be to it? Turns out, a lot. My sophomore year in college felt like my junior year in high school—very busy with many responsibilities. I eventually got the hang of things, but I feel like it took me the whole academic year. Why is nobody talking about the harsh transition from freshman fun to sophomore scaries?
A major overarching theme of my sophomore year was taking responsibility, really putting yourself out there, and working hard. I know numerous people who had their hand held during their freshman year, and it has not played out well for them recently. We have to keep in mind that as we get older, more is expected of us. We hold a higher level of maturity and need to exemplify that.
I feel like I got smacked in the face with a game of catch-up, competing against my peers after winter break. I think being on break for such an extended period tampered with my sense of time, because before I knew it, everyone had hundreds of followers on LinkedIn and fancy internships lined up for the summer. I guess I didn’t check my email enough to even realize it was internship season. I know it is not required for rising juniors to secure internships, but it definitely bothered me that I wasn’t adjacent to my peers in that area for some time.
Freshman year classes didn’t seem too intense for me, for the most part. Calculus aside, the courses were plain and simple with professors who weren’t extremely strict. Sophomore year was a different experience. Although there are similarities to the prior year, the classes were naturally more difficult. I also noticed professors became more cut and dry, rightfully so— they know the majority of their students are not freshmen anymore. Sophomore year teaches that you will experience a considerable increase in work inflow, and you should not expect instructors to give you as much grace.
In the same vein of classes, declaring my major and picking my classes for junior year became a point of stress for me. I remember being told in the beginning of my college career that I would most likely be declaring my major by junior year to stay on the same cadence as my peers. I was well aware of this deadline, yet it felt like time soared past and I had to make this huge decision quickly.
Moving away from academic life, something I noticed about my sophomore year was that it was a bit more mundane. The idea of freezing my butt off trekking to a frat in 30-degree weather every weekend just didn’t feel as “worth it.” I already know all the buildings for classes and the streets of town. In addition, I noticed the glamorization of college faded a bit. After a year under my belt, being a university student wasn’t a brand new thing anymore, not as glamorized.
Don’t get me wrong, I loved my sophomore year, and it holds a lot of great memories. Just beware that it will not be the same rodeo as freshman year. So much more is expected of you from one year to the next. I found that talking to others in the same position as me and staying up to date media-wise helped me stay on top of things. Organizing responsibilities and marking deadlines is always a good practice as well. You may often feel like you are falling behind, but as long as you are trying to keep up, you might not have to survive the sophomore scaries.