Reflections from a college sophomore and the need for second-year interventions

“We were not freshmen, yet we felt as though we were treated like them.”

That was a comment from a college student who had just completed his sophomore year, who I will call “A.” He was working in the Noel-Levitz offices with me, and I used the opportunity to interact with him and discuss his attitudes toward the transition from his freshman to sophomore years.

Though one may expect second-year students to be soaring in their academic experiences, having effectively traversed their path through the first year of college and moving into study of a major, we know from our direct experiences with students—as well as through attrition and transfer statistics—that not all students enter their second year with optimism and a sense of academic well-being. (My colleague Tim Culver listed some important studies in this blog post.) In fact, some may be experiencing frustration or even malaise with a system that they don’t understand or that they misperceive. If so, what might be underlying changes in motivation and aggravation among these students?

A’s comments about his sophomore year are reflective of his changing academic and social identity, as well as his perceived lack of relevance with curriculum and a sense of belonging in the campus community:

“[College] suddenly, without my intentions, turned from the unknown adventure into adulthood back into school… the newness was over, the friends were already made, and the expectations already set. It was the start of just another year of school.”

He also elaborated on his thoughts of being treated like a freshman, but without the support system that first-year students often have:

“Some of us knew what we wanted to become, but we were not allowed to study our interests. We still had to take 300-person lecture classes to get our second year of ‘necessary credits’ out of the way. However, for those of us who did not know what we wanted to become or where we wanted to go, we felt lost and forgotten about.”

Within this backdrop, consider also the need for a grounded vision of the future, based on values, interests, aptitude, resources, and dreams that need to take the form of realistic goals. For some students such as A, thinking in terms of long-term goals is intellectually viable, though it poses a more difficult path on a personal level, given the unknowns and questions related to life purpose and opportunity cost, which it implies.

“It’s hard to motivate yourself if you cannot see the future and even harder to feel inspiration when there is no light close enough to draw from. College is a long-term risk, long-term reward. We put in long hours over years of studying. Why? To gain an idea that we are going to become something in the real world eventually? What sophomores may need is a view of where the ‘ride’ of college is taking them. I found that to be my primary concern.”

The saying that, “Without vision, people perish,” is an adage that applies in a practical way to our work with second-year students. Though learning is at the heart of the academy, and academic studies speak to the intellectual rigor for which college communities aspire, the well-rounded academic journey can support the growth of the whole student toward success in all facets of life. Student Affairs and Academic Affairs together nourish the life of the young adult in college, as students realize their potential and create goals for the future. By helping them to identify and pursue a vision, they will have a perspective that motivates them in their steps toward the realization of life dreams, taking form through each assignment they complete, each event they attend, each productive interaction with a professor, and each activity on campus that supports their development.

Of course, it would be imprudent to base intervention strategies on the views of one student. A’s attitudes may be more harsh than those of other sophomores, or perhaps even more positive. What I found so illustrative and helpful was his balance of what he saw as obstacles to his academic growth compared to his desire for that academic growth. If you look at the results we published in our Attitudes of Second-Year College Students Report, or even in our recent Freshman Attitudes Report, most students appear to have A’s high desire to complete college. I believe this further emphasizes the importance of addressing any obstacles that may interfere with that desire, so that more students continue to their second year and onward toward completion.

I also will be speaking about second-year student retention at a Webinar next week, during which we’ll discuss a second-year assessment instrument that can help identify attitudes such as A’s and provide valuable data for planning. Also, at the National Conference on Student Recruitment, Marketing, and Retention this July, there will be a few sessions on second-year persistence, along with many additional sessions on student success strategies. You can see the conference agenda with session descriptions here.

As always, I welcome any questions from you. Please e-mail me if you would like to discuss retention strategies and other ways to assess your students. I wish you the best as you prepare to transition your first-year students to their second year.