Crystal Machado, IUP Department of Professional Studies in Education, and Natalie Burick, Slippery Rock University, co-authored a paper, "Working together to understand and mitigate the effects of the sophomore slump: Implications of a phenomenological study," published in Seungyeon Lee's edited book Exploring the Opportunities and Challenges of College Students. The book waspublished by Nova Science Publishers.
Approximately seven million students join four-year public institutions in the US to earn a college degree. Many succumb to the pressures of college life and drop out during and/or after their sophomore year. This phenomenological study describes the lived experiences of 18 college students who found ways to cope with the trials and tribulations of college life during their sophomore year. We used Cognitive Appraisal Theory and the Husserlian descriptive phenomenological approach to analyze and describe their experiences. Findings have implications for administrators, faculty, and college students at small four-year rural schools in the US.