History YMMV / TheFreshman

** At the same time, Sebastian is shown to be someone players have to accept and forgive despite his horrible deeds, yet he threw a tantrum at the gang for not accepting his gift and sabotaged their house, which could've left them without a place to live or even killed them, erasing what little sympathy some people had for him.

** Sebastian becomes this throughout ''The Sophomore'' and, to a lesser extent, ''The Junior''. While some players forgive him despite the horrible actions he did in the past (embezzling election funds, attempting to sabotage Chris's election campaign, discrediting Chris and Zig, and general {{Jerkass}} attitude), others point out that he has [[KarmaHoudini yet to answer for any of them]] and think he shouldn't be forgiven right away, especially since he could've killed the gang by sabotaging their house after they didn't immediately forgive him. His detractors also find it unfair that some people forgive him right away while continuing to hate on Becca even though the latter, while far from a saint, has done less severe things and genuinely changes for the better. His absence in group scenes throughout ''The Senior'' has led players to deem his redemption arc unnecessary.

** Zig is either a misunderstood "bad boy" with a relatable backstory, or a hot-headed jerk who flies off the handle at the slightest provocation. The latter also includes his overprotective nature, which detractors find unnecessarily overbearing, such as making a big deal of his sister's college life in ''The Junior'', or even borderline sociopathic, such as causing a brawl when someone pushed Emily during Kaitlyn's concert. Even his characterization is subject to this. Supporters consider him one of the series's best developed characters who matures well and tackles important issues like sexuality and discrimination. Detractors consider his characterization inconsistent, such as amassing so many archetypes, that they find it hard to define who he really is, think he's a CreatorsPet, and even wonder whether he has borderline personality disorder.

** After Book 1 Chapter 8, fans started considering ''The Sophomore'' this, the chief complaints being a lack of a central plot and multiple subplots thrown in, with most of them being completely irrelevant to the narrative, creating a pile up of conflicts. It doesn't help that Emily's only role is to be AudienceSurrogate to see what is going on with the other characters (even for minor characters) and to be everyone's life coach; her only personal plots are sex scenes offered as premium choices.

*** The end of the first book suggests he may be an ArmoredClosetGay/Bisexual, but he forcefully rejects Zig's attempts to help him through his internal conflict. His behavior remains atrocious to the point where he ends up being disciplined by the school for harassing his ex-girlfriend.

** Sebastian becomes this throughout ''The Sophomore'' and, to a lesser extent, ''The Junior''. While some players forgive him despite the horrible actions he did in the past (embezzling election funds, attempting to sabotage Chris's election campaign, discrediting Chris and Zig, and general {{Jerkass}} attitude), others point out that he has [[KarmaHoudini yet to answer for any of them]] and think he shouldn't be forgiven right away, especially since he could've killed the gang by sabotaging their house after they didn't immediately forgive him. His detractors also find it unfair that some people forgive him right away while continuing to hate on Becca even though the latter, while far from a saint, has done less severe things and genuinely changes for the better.

** Sebastian becomes this throughout ''The Sophomore'' and, to a lesser extent, ''The Junior''. While some players are willing to forgive him despite the horrible actions he did in the past (embezzling election funds, attempting to sabotage Chris's election campaign, discrediting Chris and Zig, and general {{Jerkass}} attitude), others point out that he has [[KarmaHoudini yet to answer for any of them]] and think he shouldn't be forgiven right away, especially since he could've killed the gang by sabotaging their house after they didn't immediately forgive him. His detractors also find it unfair that some people forgive him right away while continuing to hate on Becca even though the latter, while far from a saint, has done less severe things and genuinely changes for the better.

** At the same time, Sebastian is shown to be someone players have to accept and forgive despite his horrible deeds, yet he threw a tantrum at the gang for not accepting his gift and sabotaged their house, which could've left them without a place to live or even killed them, erasing some people's sympathy of him.

** Sebastian becomes this throughout ''The Sophomore'' and, to a lesser extent, ''The Junior''. While some players are willing to forgive him despite the horrible actions he did in the past (embezzling election funds, attempting to sabotage Chris's election campaign, discrediting Chris and Zig, and general {{Jerkass}} attitude), others point out that he has [[KarmaHoudini yet to answer for any of them]] and think he shouldn't be forgiven right away. His detractors also find it unfair that some people forgive him right away while continuing to hate on Becca even though the latter, while far from a saint, has done less severe things.

'''Instead:''' [[spoiler:He keeps the evidence on the board intact as he disposes of it in a trash chute in front of Emily's eyes. Tyler later retrieves the board, and the items on it play a role in ensuring that Nathan, Beau, and Kassidy are punished for their crimes.]]

** Sebastian becomes this throughout ''The Sophomore''. While some players are willing to forgive him despite the horrible actions he did in the past (embezzling election funds, attempting to sabotage Chris's election campaign, discrediting Chris and Zig, and general {{Jerkass}} attitude), others point out that he has [[KarmaHoudini yet to answer for any of them]] and think he shouldn't be forgiven right away. His detractors also find it unfair that some people forgive him right away while continuing to hate on Becca even though the latter, while far from a saint, has done less severe things.

** Sebastian becomes this throughout ''The Sophomore''. While some players are willing to forgive him despite the horrible actions he did in the past (embezzling election funds, attempting to sabotage Chris's election campaign, discrediting Chris and Zig, and general {{Jerkass}} attitude), others point out that he has [[KarmaHoudini yet to answer for any of them]] and think he shouldn't be forgiven right away. His detractors also find it unfair that some people excuse him while continuing to hate on Becca even though the latter, while far from a saint, had done less severe things.

** Sebastian becomes this throughout ''The Sophomore''. While some players are willing to forgive him despite the horrible actions he did in the past (embezzling election funds, attempting to sabotage Chris's election campaign, discrediting Chris and Zig, and general {{Jerkass}} attitude), others point out that he has [[KarmaHoudini yet to answer for any of them]] and think he shouldn't be forgiven right away. His detractors also find it unfair that some people excuse him while hating on Becca even though the latter, while far from a saint, had done less severe things.

** People think Chris is lovable, charming and sweet, while others consider him boring and pushy, assuming that Emily has feelings for him even if the player is pursuing someone else, which caused players to see him as a creepy stalker throughout ''The Freshman, Book 1''. The fact that he gets tangled up in a romance with Becca is also controversial, since it makes him distance himself from you. In ''The Sophomore'', there are players who consider him an irresponsible Student Council President for dumping his responsibilities on Arjun and an ineffective football captain for not restraining Manny until Emily and Zig intervened. The latter may be slightly justified by his struggle to adapt to his position, though it still doesn't excuse his initial inaction, especially since he already learned the value of responsibility as president.
** Many find Kaitlyn a great option for the romantic interest while others feel she is better suited to simply being Emily's BFF, while others find her too toxic to be either one, considering her an annoying selfish girl who doesn't think about consequences. In Book 3, she also gained more haters during her arc, painting her as a CreatorsPet when the story still makes Emily and her friends help save her grades without any other option. It doesn't help that she has committed several misdemeanors throughout the series such as underage drinking, breaking and entering, trespassing, attempt at slander, vandalism, and fleeing the scene.

** Zig is either a misunderstood "bad boy" with a relatable backstory, or a hot-headed jerk who flies off the handle at the slightest provocation. The latter also includes his overprotective nature, which detractors find overbearing, such as making a big deal of his sister's college life in ''The Junior'', or even borderline sociopathic, such as causing a brawl when someone pushed Emily during Kaitlyn's concert. Even his characterization is subject to this. Supporters consider him one of the best developed male characters who matures well and tackles important issues like sexuality and discrimination. Detractors consider his characterization inconsistent, such as amassing so many archetypes, that they find it hard to define who he really is, think he's a CreatorsPet, and even wonder whether he has borderline personality disorder.

** People think Chris is lovable, charming and sweet, while others consider him boring and pushy, assuming that Emily has feelings for him even if the player is pursuing someone else. The fact that he gets tangled up in a romance with Becca is also controversial, since it makes him distance himself from you. In ''The Sophomore'', there are players who consider him an irresponsible Student Council President for dumping his responsibilities on Arjun and an ineffective football captain for not restraining Manny until Emily and Zig intervened. The latter may be slightly justified by his struggle to adapt to his position, though it still doesn't excuse his initial inaction, especially since he already learned the value of responsibility as president.

** Zig is either a misunderstood "bad boy" with a relatable backstory, or a hot-headed jerk who flies off the handle at the slightest provocation. The latter also includes his overprotective nature, which detractors find overbearing, such as making a big deal of his sister's college life in ''The Junior'', or even borderline sociopathic, such as causing a brawl when someone pushed Emily during Kaitlyn's concert. Even his characterization is subject to this. Supporters consider him one of the best-developed male characters who matures well and tackles important issues like sexuality and discrimination. Detractors consider his characterization inconsistent, such as amassing so many archetypes, that they find it hard to define who he really is, think he's a CreatorsPet, and even wonder whether he has borderline personality disorder.

** Zig is either a misunderstood Bad Boy with a relatable backstory, or a hot-headed jerk who flies off the handle at the slightest provocation. Detractors have stated that they find his character development to be horrible and wonder if he could have multiple personality disorder, given that it changes so constantly. They state that he started off as borderline sociopathic, became a Mama's boy during the events of ''The Sophomore'', and then became a creep who stalked his sister during the events of ''The Junior''.

** People think Chris is lovable, charming and sweet, while others consider him boring. The fact that he gets tangled up in a romance with Becca is also controversial, since it makes him distance himself from you. In ''The Sophomore'', there are players who consider him an irresponsible Student Council President for dumping his responsibilities on Arjun and an ineffective football captain for not restraining Manny until Emily and Zig intervened. The latter may be slightly justified by his struggle to adapt to his position, though it still doesn't excuse his initial inaction, especially since he already learned the value of responsibility as president.

** Zig is either a misunderstood Bad Boy with a relatable backstory, or a hot-headed jerk who flies off the handle at the slightest provocation.

** James gets upset with Emily when he finds out that [[spoiler:Professor Vasquez is dying of cancer and Emily knew about it. While his anger is understandable, he takes it out on Emily and insists on taking a break from their relationship, despite the fact that Vasquez himself had ordered Emily not to tell him. Even after he forgives her, it still takes him several more chapters before he is ready to get back together.]]

* WhatAnIdiot: In the penultimate chapter of ''The Junior'', [[spoiler:The Alphas under Nathan stole Emily's evidence board]].\\

'''Instead:''' [[spoiler:He keeps the evidence on the board intact as he disposes of it in a trash chute in front of Emily's eyes.]]

'''Instead:''' [[spoiler:He keeps the evidence on the board as he disposes of it in a trash chute in front of Emily's eyes.]]

** People think Chris is lovable, charming and sweet, while others consider him boring. The fact that he gets tangled up in a romance with Becca is also controversial, since it makes him distance himself from you. In ''The Sophomore'', there are players who consider him an irresponsible Student Council President by dumping his responsibilities on Arjun and an ineffective football captain by not restraining Manny until Emily and Zig intervened. The latter may be slightly justified by his struggle to adapt to his position, though it still doesn't excuse his initial inaction, especially since he already learned the value of responsibility as president.

** People think Chris is lovable, charming and sweet, while others consider him boring. The fact that he gets tangled up in a romance with Becca is also controversial, since it makes him distance himself from you. In ''The Sophomore'', there are players who consider him an irresponsible Student Council President by dumping his responsibilities on Arjun and an ineffective football captain by not restraining Manny until Emily and Zig intervened. The latter may be slightly justified by his struggle to adapt to his position, though it still doesn't excuse the fact that he already learned the value of responsibility as president.

** People think Chris is lovable, charming and sweet, while others consider him boring. The fact that he gets tangled up in a romance with Becca is also controversial, since it makes him distance himself from you. In ''The Sophomore'', there are players who felt that he's an irresponsible Student Council President by essentially dumping his responsibilities on Arjun and an ineffective football captain who didn't restrain Manny despite learning responsibility as president.

** ''The Sophomore'' turned Becca (previously an EnsembleDarkHorse) into this by essentially forcing Emily to invite her to live with the gang while she remained rude, controlling, vindictive and mean, not helped by the fact that [[spoiler:she sabotaged Madison by ruining the pledge event, claiming that Madison betrayed her]]. Her fans defend her actions by claiming she has a HiddenHeartOfGold and is going through a very difficult time, while others argue that it doesn't excuse her selfish behaviour, or feel that helping her should be optional rather than forcing the player to help her.

** People think Chris is lovable, charming and sweet, while others consider him boring. The fact that he gets tangled up in a romance with Becca is also controversial, since it makes him distance himself from you.

** James gets upset with the Main Character when he finds out that [[spoiler:Professor Vasquez is dying of cancer and Emily knew about it. While his anger is understandable, he takes it out on Emily and insists on taking a break from their relationship, despite the fact that Vasquez himself had ordered Emily not to tell him. Even after he forgives her, it still takes him several more chapters before he is ready to get back together.]]

** Abbie. While it's pretty clear that Natasha was introduced to be hated by the readers, many still think that the drama between the band and MC's group could have been avoided if Abbie didn't jump and get defensive on them. For many of the readers, Abbie was the one who overreacted, got overprotective of Tyler over a tease and, for the cherry on top, started taking it on Kaitlyn for not taking sides, even holding the grudge for days. It didn't help her that in the following chapter she got judgemental on Zig after hearing about his criminal record. The heat against Abbie lowered a bit after she recognized that she got very oversensitive against the band, and also is genuinely worried by Kaitlyn's grades dropping. She officially got RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap after showing sympathy towards Kaitlyn by not rubbing it in her face and offering her help as soon as she needed her.

** People who stayed single for ''The Sophomore'' complain that this default setting forces the player to be with Becca (since the story doesn't offer any opportunities to get together with any of the original four love interests). It doesn't help that there are no options to dump her after all the nasty things she does in the book, forcing MC to still help her adapt.

** ''The Sophomore'' tries hard to give Becca sympathy by explaining she's going through a rough patch after falling from grace. The reason it doesn't work is because she is not even trying to be nice unless Emily reminds her that she's living under their roof, sabotaged Madison (who was nothing but loyal to Becca since Freshman) under the assumption that she backstabbed her and took away the leadership of the sorority, insults people as default reaction and barely apologizes unless things have reached breaking point.