By now, you will have made friends and acquaintances at your college or university.

Whether platonic, romantic or professional, these relationships can offer the opportunity for personal growth. They can allow you to learn things about yourself that you could never learn in isolation, and permit a change in perspective that many believe the undergraduate experience is all about.

However, while many of these relationships can be beneficial, many may also prove detrimental. Thus, during the re-evaluation you undertake before the beginning of your sophomore year, you should review not only yourself, but also those with whom you surround yourself. This can be a difficult process – particularly with romantic and platonic relationships – because it is oftentimes difficult to think rationally about those for whom we harbor deep feelings. In addition, some of us are reluctant to think rationally about these relationships because we are afraid that the conclusion we reach may require ending a relationship.

Do not allow the fear of ending a relationship prevent you from making a critical assessment about how a particular person fits into your life.

During your time as an undergraduate you will have many relationships, some lasting a lifetime, others not lasting more than a semester. Those relationships that hinder your progress toward gaining admission into the graduate school and program of your choice must be confronted directly. This does not necessarily mean that the relationship must be terminated. However, it does mean that the relationship may have to be managed in such a manner that it comports with your mission.

Relationship management is the term that will be used to describe the manner in which a student should control relationships with others so that they meet his or her needs, while at the same time recognizing that relationships should be fluid and guided by emotion.

While freshman year was principally a time of exploration, sophomore year should serve as the beginning of a more managed approach to realizing your goals. This management applies to academics as well as relationships.