For many students, sophomore year can feel like an in-between state — no longer new to high school, but not yet upperclassmen either. This feeling has become known as the “sophomore slump” — a term used to describe the stress, exhaustion and lack of motivation many students experience during their sophomore year of high school.
As adjusting to increasing academic expectations in high school, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic still continue to shape students’ learning routines and work ethic. In an article published by the University of California, Davis, Maddy Gorrell explains that the pandemic created lasting challenges in student engagement. Students moved between remote, hybrid and traditional school settings during key years in their academic lives. The effect of COVID-19 carried into high school expectations, where students are now expected to do more work and handle heavier academic demands.
Sophomore Emma Schwartz, a member of the Solon High School lacrosse and bowling team, connected the “sophomore slump” to mental health struggles such as low motivation and a lack of energy,–similar to trends students discuss on Tiktok like “junior jitters,” “senioritis” and the “freshman funk.”
Many students say the sophomore year feels different from freshman year. Schwartz said after that spending her freshman year adjusting to high school, students enter sophomore year expecting the same pace and workload.
“I honestly think the high of last year definitely made things so much harder,” Schwartz said. “As a freshman, you want to start off strong because it’s your first year… so you have to manage everything at the same time.”
Sophomore Liza Schaefer, a member of both the basketball and football cheer teams, said her sophomore year has been much more difficult than her freshman year because of harder classes and higher expectations.
“Freshman year was not bad,” Schaefer said. “But I think this year is worse because you think [high school] is easy freshman year, you’re like ‘oh high school’s easy’ and then sophomore year is hard.”
As homework, tests and other responsibilities begin piling up, students say staying focused becomes increasingly difficult.
“[Sophomore slump] definitely makes me less motivated, and takes me a lot more time and effort to get work done,” Schwartz said. “Simple tasks like [doing] homework assignments or tests just take a lot more effort than they did before.”
Schaefer said balancing multiple assignments at once can make it hard to concentrate on any one task.
“There’s just so much that you try to do, and you just keep thinking about everything else,” Schaefer said. “You can’t even get anything done.”
For students involved in extracurricular activities, the pressure can become even more stressful. Schwartz said schoolwork remains on students’ minds even during sports and activities after school.
“When you’re doing sports or extracurriculars, you’re also thinking, ‘Can I get this math homework done on time?’ or ‘Can I finish this essay?’” Schwartz said.
AP U.S. History and World History teacher Jane Langston recalls when she normally starts seeing students fall into ‘The Slump.’
“I think it begins quarter three,” Langston said. “It’s the longest grading period, the weather is lousy, it gets darker earlier, and there are fewer breaks.”
Langston said students involved in athletics, clubs and advanced classes can begin to feel overwhelmed when responsibilities overlap.
“As we get closer to spring break, students start getting pulled in a lot of different directions,” Langston said.
For many sophomores, the shift from freshman year to sophomore year can add to the ‘sophomore slump,’ as students adjust to increased responsibility while still rebuilding motivation and study habits shaped during the pandemic. Langston describes how she thinks Covid has affected the impact sophomore slump has had on students.
“I think the only thing that we have never really rebounded from is school attendance,” Langston said. “How it contributes to the slump is that you’re just missing, you’re missing chucks of material and you’re getting behind on assessments or assignments and all that.”
Langston also said that it all depends on how students react to the slump. Students who are already struggling to stay organized can have an even harder time during stressful parts of the school year.
“Once the procrastination starts having negative results, then the problem gets bigger and bigger,” Langston said. “It can become overwhelming.”
Schaefar said her sophomore year has taught her important lessons that she wishes she had done in the beginning of the year.
“Right when I learn something, I go over and study it even if I don’t have a test,” Schaefer said.
Schwartz also said her sophomore year has changed the way she approaches schoolwork and daily responsibilities.
“Definitely do what you’re capable of and just try to manage your time as well as you possibly can, because it’s so rewarding, at the end of the day, to know that you can come home and only do a couple things, and then just go to bed and spend time with your family,” Schwartz said. “It just makes you feel so much better about yourself too.”
Although sophomore slump looks different for every student, many agree it is more than just laziness or procrastination. Instead, it reflects the growing pressure that comes with balancing academics, extracurriculars and everyday responsibilities during high school. While the stress and exhaustion may not disappear overnight, many students continue learning how to adapt to the challenges of sophomore year while preparing for the years ahead.
“Know that it will end,” Langston said. “It won’t last forever. And if you need to seek support, talk to teachers, talk to guidance, talk to coaches, talk to older peers, talk to friends, talk to parents. But every slump can end. It doesn’t have to go on forever because they won’t.”
