The Forgotten Year: A Grounded Theory Analysis of Student Voices From the Junior Year in College

Research on student transitions has traditionally focused on the bookends of the first and senior years of a student's college experience, and a renewed focus on the sophomore year has revealed the important choices students make in their second year on campus. The longitudinal data presented here focus on the grounded theory analysis of a cohort of students' reflections on their experience of the junior year of college. The junior year is a key transition point as students became more deeply involved in their major and simultaneously looked toward their postgraduate career path. Students described developing meaningful relationships with peers and professors while gaining a greater awareness of themselves, their sense of purpose, and their values.