Being a sophomore or junior is exactly like being the middle child. The middle students don’t get the same attention from the university that baby freshmen get, but also don’t get the same opportunities that elderly seniors get. You’re young enough to still be finding yourself, but old enough for people to start worrying about your lack of direction. You get neither the “You have your whole life to figure it out” speech or the “So where are you working after graduation?” question. These years aren’t the most thrilling times, but they aren’t as useless as anime filler either. College Magazine knows exactly what sophomores and juniors go through.
1. #NoNewFriends
Students aren’t as social during their sophomore and junior years as they were when they were freshman. You aren’t new to college and are no longer looking for your new BFF. Chances are you’ve already found friends and have taken plenty of squad pictures together for FB. This makes you feel like a senior citizen when you’re rushing a fraternity/sorority. It also makes you feel like you’re an awkward kid standing in the corner whenever you join an organization where everybody already knows each other.
2. Mixed Classes
When you’re a freshman, typically most people in your class are freshmen finishing those annoying gen-eds, too. Once you’re a sophomore or junior, your classes will be filled with people of all ages, from 18 year-old freshmen to 70 year-old scholars. That’s cool when you’re looking to have a diverse group of people to work with whenever you’re assigned a group project. It’s not cool when you don’t know the age of your classroom crush. Then you talk to her and learn that she’s 23 and doesn’t date any guys younger than 21–not that that’s ever happened to me or anything.
3. Harder Classes
So you passed your gen-eds and your weed-out classes. You think classes are going to be easy now? HA! Think again. Now that you’re taking classes that are focused on your major and career, they’re going to be intense to ensure you know everything you need to when you’re out on the job market. It’s time to study harder than you’ve ever studied and get ready for your future. The struggle is real.
4. Apartment or Dorm?
To live on campus or not to live on campus, that is the question. You should be prepared to be surrounded by freshman if you do decide to stay in a dorm. And a lot of your friends will be living in apartments. Now, your hard-earned gas money will be used to go to their places to hang out with them and low-key hate on the fact they have a queen-sized bed while you struggle to sleep on your twin-sized mattress.
5. Parties Start Getting Old
There’s such a thing as too much of a good thing. This is especially true when it comes to parties. One can only turn-up so much before it gets boring. Partying starts to feel more like a routine and less like stress relief. Once the house lights come on, you no longer think about how fun that party was. You wonder what you’re doing with your life, and that makes you want to drink even more booze.
