Orientation
Stress Points
Stage 1: The Summer of Transition
The days after graduation are filled with satisfaction and some nostalgia about the end of high school. Romantic relationships may intensify, particularly if a separation is imminent. Students anticipate the challenges of college, although their expectations may be somewhat unrealistic. The transitional summer is also a time when some students cope with the pressures of leaving home by drinking excessively or flaunting parental authority.
Some students react to the impending separation by ending relationships with friends and involvement in activities well before the day of departure. In a way, they are anticipating the pain of separation and dealing with it in advance. Unfortunately, by doing this they are also cutting themselves off from some of the best support they could receive, not to mention the fun they are missing by prematurely severing these connections.
Stage 2: Separation Anxiety
As summer winds down, students begin to realize that they really are going to college. They may be able to avoid the reality of their impending departure until they begin packing the trunk and making travel plans.
It is too bad that students in this transitional stage are not able to share with one another the deep feelings of uncertainty they are experiencing. Reassurance from the important people in their lives helps them understand that they have their family's support and love, irrespective of the outcome of their college experience. Lessening the pressure or, at least, recognizing it, makes success in college much more likely.
Acute separation anxiety may occur when the day of departure actually arrives. There may be emotional moments with parents, friends, and siblings. For those students who must balance leaving with separated or divorced parents, stepsiblings, custodial parents, and natural siblings, there may be some difficult moments. Parents can help by minimizing any conflicts that may exist between them and by reminding siblings that the leaving process is important to the departing student. We suggest that parents find a way to honor this family event with a ritual such as dinner in which special attention is paid to the college-bound student.
Stage 3: The First Term
The freshman academic program may also generate severe stress. The courses a student takes in the first term of college have a strong influence on how the first year goes. Students should avoid taking too many courses or enrolling in courses that are too advanced. New students should be especially careful to consult their college advisors and follow their advice about course load and level. Meeting roommates and learning the ins and outs of the campus bureaucracy and about academic and social expectations may also produce stress. Freshmen do not know the rules of this new culture, especially unwritten dress and conduct codes.
Some freshmen find their roommate(s) to be quite different from them. They may be of a different ethnic/racial background, a different socioeconomic background, or even a different sexual orientation. Some of these dissimilarities may be troublesome for certain students, but problems should be addressed through official channels only after a good-faith effort to make the roommate relationship work has proven unsuccessful.
Stage 4: The Honeymoon
Freshmen arrive on campus with a myriad of expectations conditioned by images from films such as Road Trip and many others that depict college life. Heightened expectations combined with the excitement of at last being on campus create a feeling of euphoria. Freshmen expect immediate intellectual excitement and a thriving social life.
The honeymoon stage is also a time when many college students experiment with or extend their experiences with alcohol, tobacco, drugs, and/or sexual activity. College life presents many more opportunities to most students than they had in high school, with two additional factors: they are not under the watchful eyes of parents and high school counselors, and they are under the influence of older college students and more experienced peers. The temptation to participate in activities that may be harmful is powerful. Parents are strongly encouraged to speak frankly with college-bound students about these issues. Choosing to act responsibly in college takes great courage. Mistakes in judgment made here adversely affect the entire college career.
Stage 5: The End of the Honeymoon
As freshmen settle into campus life, particularly after the frantic pace of orientation subsides, the realization dawns that much of college consists of hard work coupled with some frustration and disappointment. Nothing will prepare freshmen for the shock of those first papers and quiz grades, because they are almost always lower than those received in high school. This experience can be particularly difficult for students who "coasted" through high school. Now they find themselves working much harder, but receiving lower grades.
Some freshmen may encounter an unexpected hardship during this stage because of their relatively poor preparation for college-level work. Freshmen are often simply bowled over by the reading and writing assignments.
The end of the honeymoon stage is also a time when students may experience the symptoms of homesickness. It isn't "cool" to be homesick, and because of this, many students who experience the feeling do not get the help they need to overcome it.
Sometimes the pace of college life can be overwhelming to new students. This is particularly true toward the end of the first term, when the pressure of tests, papers, and extracurricular life can amount to a dizzying height. That is why time-management skills are so important for freshmen.
Stage 6: The Grass Is Always Greener
About midway through the first year, freshmen may begin to think that transferring to another institution could solve all their problems with this college. This feeling can be particularly strong among students who were undecided until the last minute about which college to choose from those that offered them admission. Students who were under intense pressure to apply under an early decision plan may now feel they did not make the best decision. It is important to encourage new students to give the college a try for at least a full year. Many problems that seem insurmountable in the first quarter or semester are dramatically reduced or disappear altogether later in the year.
Stage 7: You Can't Go Home Again
The long-awaited return, however, may turn out to be traumatic, because things are likely to have changed. The most noticeable change may be the encroachment of a younger sibling on the elder's position in the family or the conversion of the student's space into a family room.
Parents and siblings may be very curious about life in college. Reunions with high school friends may have some surreal overtones, because after the first term of college, reunited friends have a tendency to exaggerate their successes and minimize the problems. After only a few days at home, many freshmen long to return to campus—the very place they could not wait to get away from only a few days earlier.
Stage 8: Learning to Cope
After six weeks or so on campus, freshmen begin to enjoy classes, engage in campus activities, and, in general, participate more actively in the life of the campus. Electronic communication devices such as telephone, answering machines, voice mail, and email also make learning to cope much easier. The sooner new students master these devices, the sooner they will feel connected to others on campus and to those at home.
Stage 9: Fear of Failure
Midterm examinations may cause considerable stress as freshmen begin fully to appreciate the amount of work that must be done to prepare for them. Students in the sciences and in mathematics may experience such stress earlier in the term, because it is common in those subject areas to give frequent quizzes rather than a single midterm examination.
Final examination time is another period of stress for first-year students. The best way to cope with a fear of failure is to make sure course preparation is thorough. If students have done the reading, gone to classes, and turned assignments in on time, their grades will be good.
Avoidance of responsibility is the surest sign of a high level of anxiety about academic performance. Serious symptoms include hyperventilation or panic attacks associated with test taking, sleeping more than 12 hours a day (thus avoiding stress by staying away from the classroom altogether), and procrastination over assignments. One of the most difficult adjustments to college life is learning to be a self-starter.
Freshmen should be fully informed about the dangers of cheating and plagiarism. This includes laboratory assignments, as well as test and term papers.
Stage 10: Putting It All Together
By the middle of the second or third term of the first year, freshmen usually begin to find that classes, residence hall experiences, social activities, and studies have all meshed into a well-integrated lifestyle. Students begin to think of college as a cohesive whole rather than as a collection of little pieces of experience.
Some students have very little fear of failure until the second year of college, when course difficulty may increase significantly. However, most students will go through some of these stages of stress at some point during the first year in college. Students should therefore be careful to protect their health—physical, mental, and academic. The most important thing is that students get help when it can still make a difference. Some wait until it is too late and waste the money and time invested.
