Welcome to Sophomore Year!
As a sophomore at Gettysburg College you are expected to participate in the Sophomore Success Program (SSP), a program developed to assist sophomore students through specific activities and programs to help them succeed in their second year of college. The SSP credits are also used as a method of determining housing lottery numbers. See below more information on housing lottery numbers.
Opportunities to Help You Thrive in Your Second Year
- Second Year Kick-Off Module (will be available on EngageGettysburg)
Monday, September 9, 2024 - Monday, September 16, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. - Academic Planning
Faculty Advisor card due to ResEd Office or uploaded to Engage Gettysburg by Friday, December 13, 2024 at 5:00 p.m. - Sophomore Career Check-In
Due: Monday, September 9, 2024 - Wednesday, April 9, 2025 - G-Chats
Fall Semester: Friday, September 20, 2024 - Sunday, November 24, 2024
Spring Semester: Monday, February 3, 2025 - Friday, April 11, 2025 - Wellness Modules (will be available on EngageGettysburg)
Fall semester: Monday, November 11, 2024 - Sunday, November 17, 2024
Spring semester: Monday, March 24, 2025 - Sunday, March 30, 2025 - Sophomore Tradition Event
To take place during the Spring semester
Tell Me More About The...
Second Year Kick-Off Module (1 credit)
The second year kick off is meant to welcome the second year students back to campus, but to also be able to discuss the importance of the second year experience program and the requirements of the program. This module will be available on EngageGettysburg under the Sophomore Success Program checklist starting Monday, September 9, 2024 and must be completed by 11:59pm on Monday, September 16, 2024.
Academic Planning (1 credit)
There are a few campus experiences that are as powerful to thriving than students having positive interactions with their faculty. Research continues to confirm that rewarding relationships with faculty outside of the classroom are associated with higher learning gains, higher levels of academic performance, better communication skills, and greater personal and social development. All sophomore students will be given an advising card by their CA or HL. This card should be taken to their meeting with their advisor to reflect on their first year academic experience, conversations about declaring their major, academic planning, and any other questions the student may have. The cards must be signed by the advisor and returned to the ResEd office in CUB 250 or a picture can be uploaded to the Sophomore Success Program checklist on EngageGettysburg to receive credit.
Sophomore Career Check-In (1 credit)
As second year students set into a new year of college, they are invited to begin to start making decisions that will begin to impact their future self. They are starting to think more narrowly about how selecting their major, leadership activities, internships and additional choices on campus will have impact on their life after college. In this context, the college will need to be able to develop opportunities for students to explore their possibilities for the future so that they can begin to engage with the decision making process around their skills, interests, and values that match an academic major and future careers. Students should attend either a meeting or program hosted by the Center for Career Engagement to receive this credit.
G-Chat (1 credit each)
Students who are succeeding in their second year on campus are those that are supported by others in healthy and meaningful ways. In finding this community on campus, the students have a higher likelihood of experiencing positive outcomes towards their sense of connection to the campus. In addition; through the residential curriculum the students are encouraged to explore new activities and to be able to reflect on work that they have done in the past, and what is left to do in the future. The one to one conversation between peers provides an additional outlet and resource for second year students who may still be struggling to find their place on the campus, but to also have an opportunity to seek out additional resources that they feel they are lacking. The G-Chat is a conversation that occurs once in the fall semester and once in the spring semester that is scheduled between the CA or HL and their residents. The conversation is meant to be used as a resource for students who have questions or concerns about all things Gettysburg.
Wellness Modules (1 credit each)
Wellness plays a critical role in the student experience and the ways in which it influences identity and sense of belonging. The seven Wellness Dimensions at Gettysburg College are Social Wellness, Emotional Wellness, Cultural Wellness, Physical Wellness, Intellectual Wellness, Financial Wellness and Community Wellness. Sophomores will be able to earn a maximum of 2 credits for completing one wellness module in the fall semester and one module in the spring semester. Each module is worth one credit. In addition to engaging with the Wellness Dimensions through the two Wellness Modules, sophomores are also encouraged to participate in other Wellness programming during the designated Wellness Weeks throughout the academic year.
Sophomore Tradition Event (1 credit)
The Sophomore Tradition Event will take take place during the Spring semester and is designed to celebrate the accomplishments that the sophomore class has achieved and to mark the halfway point of their time at Gettysburg College. The event also allows for the chance to reflect on the past two years, while also thinking about the two upcoming years.
Sophomore Student Lottery Numbers
Lottery numbers for sophomore students who are rising juniors are created through only credits gained through the Sophomore Success Program (SSP). The lowest (best) lottery numbers will begin with bracket 1 which are all students who completed eight credits and the random generation of lottery numbers will occur with all who have eight credits. The second bracket will include all students who have completed seven credits, and those students will have their lottery numbers randomly generated with all who have seven credits. This pattern will continue for students who have six, five, four, three, two, one, and 0 credits. GPA is not a factor in lottery number generation for rising juniors.