With a greater emphasis on first-year and graduating students, some TCU sophomores and juniors said they feel lost in the mix.

First-year students have plenty of opportunities to get involved, including Frogs First, Frog Camp and Connections.

Student Development Services created these opportunities with the goal of making it easier for first-year students to connect with fellow Horned Frogs.

Once senior year arrives, the focus turns to help graduating Horned Frogs find jobs and gain their footing as graduation day approaches.

“I understand that TCU is trying to help incoming students ‘find their fit’ on campus and trying to prepare senior students for the real world, but other students that are struggling still need the guidance and encouragement to get involved on campus,” said junior sociology major Devin Kaiser.

Brianne Orr, assistant director of the Sophomore and Junior Year Experience, works with SDS to plan different ways to include sophomores and juniors and maintain their involvement on campus.

Sophomore Getaway is a weekend retreat held in January that focuses on bouncing back from failure and making sure that the students still feel like they belong.

Around 70 sophomores attended the getaway last year. SDS plans to keep about the same amount of students in attendance so that the experience is relaxing, reflective and not overcrowded.

This year’s Sophomore Getaway will be held at Camp Summit in Paradise, Texas.

“It was like calling a ‘timeout’ during the middle of sophomore year,” said junior supply chain major Trampas Tanklage. “It presented an opportunity to reflect on life and the road ahead with classmates that I hadn’t met before.”

There currently aren’t any activities planned specifically for juniors, which doesn’t go unnoticed to some students.

“It feels like we are forgotten about,” said junior economics major Megan Fitzpatrick. “Even professors seem to care more about students’ involvement and push students to succeed during their first year more than their returning years.” 

Students said the lack of advertising of opportunities for sophomores and juniors is a problem.

“There aren’t really any consistent advertisements about the things planned for us,” said sophomore business major Lauren McLaughlin. “I think that it would be beneficial if TCU sent out an email at the beginning of the year stating all of the activities that exist or even if they had professors briefly speak about it during classes.”

SDS is currently working on new events for sophomore and junior students.

“We have some ideas cooking, but they are not anywhere near ready yet,” Orr said. “I will say that everything that we have planned is working toward students becoming more successful.”