Helping your Student Through the Stresses of College Life

Many students deal with stress and anxiety in college. In fact, due partially to stress, a surprisingly high percentage of college freshmen don’t go on to graduate. Stress and anxiety ranges from academic and social to simply managing their own life on a daily basis. Read this article on the stresses of college life to provide you with resources to help keep your child’s college years more relaxed, productive and just plain fun.

What accounts for stress and anxiety in college students? The following are common college stressors:

Academic Stress

Not surprisingly, the workload of college is significantly more involved than the high school workload, and it comes with less hand-holding from parents and teachers. With challenging classes, scheduling issues to coordinate, difficult tests and other academic obstacles, coupled with the more independent nature of the college learning structure, many new and returning students find themselves studying long, hard hours.

Social Stress

While college freshmen face the most obvious social challenges that usually involve leaving one’s entire support structure behind, creating a new social network, dealing with being away from home for the first time and finding less parental support, most students face social stress. Finding and living with a roommate, balancing friends with school work (and often part-time jobs), and dealing with the dynamics of young adult relationships can all be difficult, and these challenges can lead to significant stress.

Other Stresses

There are also many miscellaneous stresses that often come from college life. Many students keep crazy hours from staying up late to study, getting up early for classes, and trying to cram in all the work and fun that can possibly fit. Often the logistics of living more independently—from laundry to car insurance—can cause stress. New students deal with missing home and more seasoned students may wonder if they’re in the right major. Most students struggle with who they are and where they’d like to be, at least at some point in their college career.

The Impact of Stress

What affect do these issues have on students? Just as everyone deals with stress in a unique way, college students experience a range of consequences from stress, from mild to severe. Here are some of the common effects of stress:

One of the most commonly felt consequences of college stress are feelings of being overwhelmed. While trying to find a balance of how hard to work (and play), many college students struggle with perfectionism or unhealthy habits like heavy drinking.

Partially because of stress and partially because of other social and practical issues faced by college students, many struggle with their weight. Many gain 10-20 pounds around their first year (weight gain known as the Freshman 15), and others lose weight unintentionally, or struggle with eating disorders.

You may be surprised to hear that roughly 50% of American students who enter college don’t end up graduating! (According to U.S. Census figures, 6-in-10 high school seniors go on to college the following year, but only 29% of adults 25 and over had at least a bachelor’s degree.) Certainly finances and life circumstances play into that figure, but the stress of college life cannot be ignored as a factor as well.

Because of these factors -- and because college is supposed to be enjoyed, not endured -- it’s important to keep college stress under control. College students face a significant amount of stress due to various factors. Many aspects of college life, as well as the stress that comes with it, can all impact a student’s physical and emotional health. If you’re a college student facing stress, there are some ways you can maintain good health and keep your sanity.

Many students find it challenging to go from having ample parental support and structure to creating their own structure and self-discipline. With all the fun and temptation to party, coupled with the looser structure of classes, many students find themselves cramming, pulling all-nighters, and struggling with keeping up. In college, it’s important to stay organized.

Have your student:

• Create a Space: As they set up their living space, be sure there’s a quiet space for them to focus and concentrate! If their roommate is noisy or ever-present, that may mean finding a favorite nook in the library or coffee shop to frequent. Otherwise, have them set up a nice desk where they can keep everything they need and they can focus to get things done.
• Create a Schedule: When they are planning their activities, be sure they allow themselves the time they need to study and get work done. They may require more time than they realize at first, so it’s best to over-estimate when it comes to study hours (and some classes will require more time than others), so they don’t have to pull all-nighters and end up paying for it the next few days.