Stress in College: What Causes it and How to Combat it Essay -- Main C

Many first year college students face problems as they enter a new educational environment that is very different than that of high school. However, the common problem is that many first year students become stressed. For many students, college is supposed to be the most fun time of their life; however, their fun can be restricted if it is limited by stress and other mental illnesses. According to the National Health Ministries (2006), stress is caused by â€Å"greater academic demands,† the feeling of being independent from family, â€Å"financial responsibility,† homesickness, being exposed to meeting new people, peer pressure, â€Å"awareness of one’s own sexual identity,† and the abuse of drugs and alcohol (p. 2). However, the causes to first year students’ stress mainly include academic demand, parents, finance, and peer pressure. Stress is an important problem faced by many college students, especially first year students, and it can have some large impacts on college freshmen. For example, according to Hirsch and Keniston (1970), about half of first year students do not graduate from college due to dropping out (p. 1-20). Also, David Leonhardt (2009) agrees that the United States excels at putting â€Å"teenagers in college, but only half of students who enroll end up with a bachelor’s degree† (p. 1). In addition, the level of stress seems to increase each year. For instance, the National Health Ministries (2006) claim that many college students have become â€Å"more overwhelmed and stressed† than the student generation of the last fifteen years (p. 2). Also, the percentage of first year students feeling stressed is greater than thirty percent (National Health Ministries 2006). If the problem of stress is not resolved properly, th... ...-funding Lederman, Doug (2005). Pressure on College Prices. Inside Higher Ed. http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2005/04/20/access Lehigh University. Challenges in College. http://www.lehigh.edu/~incso/challenges.shtml Leonhardt, David (2009). Colleges Are Failing in Graduation Rates. New York Times, p. 1. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/09/business/economy/09leonhardt.html?_r=1 Lipman, Marc. Personal Interview. March 21, 2010. Marano, Hara E (2004). The Pressure from Parents. Psychology Today. Reviewed on January 24, 2007. http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200405/the-pressure-parents National Health Ministries (2006). Stress & The College Student. The University of Illinois at Chicago. http://www.uic.edu/depts/wellctr/docs/Stress%20and%20the%20College%20Student.pdf Zinsser, William. College Pressures. Norton-Simon Publishing, 1978.