Last week, the New York Times ran an article about how freshmen college students are experiencing record levels of stress. Let’s look at some of the reasons why:
- The economy. Since the economy took a nosedive in 2007, it affected a lot of people’s ability to pay for college. Right now, it’s more difficult to get into college because when people lose their jobs, Plan B is often to go back to school. People in college are also postponing graduation and the inevitable struggle of having to finding a job.
- Non-stop since high school. The senior year in high school is a stressful one involving college applications, ACT and SAT exams, deciding which college to attend, the list goes on. After a mad dash to the finish line, most high school students don’t get much of a breather to recharge between graduation and being thrown into their freshman year at college.
- The pressure starts young. When he was 3-years-old, Tiger Woods went on TV showing the world how well he could putt and goes on to be one of the best golfers that ever lived. From a young age, children are being told they need to do well in school so that they can do well in high school, so they can get into a good college, so they can get a good job. Unfortunately we have seen in recent years that this formula isn’t foolproof. Which leads us to…
- Unemployment rates. Last year CNN ran a story about a woman who sued her alma mater for $72,000 because she couldn’t find a job. Today we’re seeing people graduating with a college degree, being unable to find a respectable job, and resorting to get a job paying minimum wage at Blockbuster.
- Student loans. The average college student graduating with a 4-year bachelor’s degree has approximately $19,999 in debt from student loans to pay off. “More students are arriving on campus with problems, needing support, and today’s economic factors are putting a lot of extra stress on college students, as they look at their loans and wonder if there will be a career waiting for them on the other side,” says Brian Van Brunt, the president of American College Counseling Association, and director of counseling at Western Kentucky University.
Really, in today’s unpredictable world, it’s no wonder that college kids are more stressed now than ever before. Dealing with the college stress is ultimately part of the learning process at school. If all the talk has you feeling stressed, check out our tips on how to deal with college stress.
