Sophomore year is the “middle-child” between the adjustment period of freshman year and the intense demands of upperclassmen life. Freshman year carries the drama of starting high school, while junior year is infamous for college pressure and sleepless nights. Sophomore year, however, is often overlooked, even though students say it can be one of the most mentally exhausting transitions yet.
What surprises sophomores is not just the workload itself, but how suddenly everything seems more serious. With the school year coming to an end, grades begin to feel heavier and the thoughts about the future become more prevalent. “You’re getting closer to college,” sophomore Aakif Saifi said.
In freshman year, everyone says that grades don’t matter, lifting the academic strain off of freshmen. The following year, there is an increase in rigor with a larger selection of AP classes, making competitiveness among students skyrocket. Meanwhile, freshman year is treated as a trial period, a time when students are encouraged to experiment with activities, workloads and study habits without intense scrutiny. “No one is really looking at your grades freshman year,” sophomore Natalie Nguyen said.
Students also say sophomore year is underestimated by both parents and peers. Since junior year is notorious for taking the SAT and preparing for college applications, sophomores sometimes feel caught in an awkward middle ground where the workload rises sharply, but stress is less acknowledged. This is ultimately unexpected by sophomores because sophomore year is rarely talked about. “I feel like they think sophomore year would go more smooth-sailing than freshman year,” Nguyen said. “But once you hit sophomore year, the jump is so grand.”
Additionally, spring has led to a pile up of assignments and assessments in a shorter amount of time due to AP season, leading students to feel-burnt out. “Students are 100% feeling overwhelmed,” Nguyen said.
Back-to-back testing for sophomores, including APUSH on Friday, May 8, AP Seminar on Monday, May 11, and MCAP testing for two days directly after has stifled sophomores’ stamina. Although it means that summer is approaching, it places more urgency for sophomores to get their grades up and make-up missed work in only a month.
A growing sense of pressure has changed the atmosphere for students this year. Sophomore Jessie Zhu said that while her daily habits stayed relatively consistent, the academic demand affected her confidence. “My confidence went downhill because of how academically challenging it was for me,” Zhu said.
On the other hand, current juniors have something to look forward to: senior year. Sophomores have a long way to go, making it more challenging to push through the rest of the year without much to look forward to in the near future
Still, the pressure has not been entirely negative. The opportunity to take more advanced classes has forced sophomores to adapt academically and become stronger students overall. Saifi, for example, said difficult writing-based classes pushed him to improve in ways he had not anticipated. “I think I’ve gotten better with AP Seminar and AP U.S. History,” Saifi said.
