Sophomore slump afflicts many students

The exhilaration of entering college is short-lived - students only get one year to be a freshman. After this introduction to college life, students become sophomores and for many it seems the party's over. They begin to stress about the upper-level classes they need to take, internships, jobs, grad school, careers and life after college.

This stark contrast to the freshman way of life might cause students to fall into a pseudo-depression that Cornell University's health center Web site calls "the sophomore slump."

"Sophomores experience a whole new set of stressors as they return to the college campus. Unlike freshman, they receive fewer warnings about the do's and don'ts of college life; they are expected to know how things work," the Web site said. "Combine this with the push to declare a major, find an internship, and decide whether or not to study abroad can lead sophomores to fall into the 'sophomore slump.'"

However, some freshman said they feel sophomore year will be easier because of the skills they learned during freshman year.

"My freshman year went pretty well, I was able to adjust pretty easily," said Robby Oleksa, a freshman in business. "I was able to meet a lot of new people. I feel like now I'm accustomed to how the schedules work, I'll be able to organize myself better. Even if the classes get harder, I think I'll adjust."

Still, Oleksa has some concerns.

"I was afraid I was going to flunk out going into college; it was my biggest fear," Oleksa said. "I've always been good in school, but I still worry I'll flunk out for some dumb reason."

According to the American Psychiatric Association's Web site www.HealthyMinds.org, college students are susceptible to depression and "Nearly half of all college students report feeling so depressed at some point in time that they have trouble functioning."

Some students are firm believers in the sophomore slump.

Jenna Purdy, a sophomore in microbiology, said she feels her sophomore year has been extremely hard.

"I remember one week, I couldn't do anything," Purdy said. "We had four midterms in one week. It was so much."

According to the Ohio State online publication"Que Pasa, OSU?" colleges focus too much on the freshman entering college and graduating seniors, leaving the "middle years" to fend for themselves. The Web site offers tips on how to avoid the sophomore slump.

"In all, we hope your second season is as good as that of Joe Montana's, the famous Joe Cool who was drafted 82nd on the third round of the 1979 draft and became one of the most successful quarterbacks in the history of the NFL," the Web site said. "Look it up and best of luck."

Angela Henderson can be reached at henderson.419@osu.edu.