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ULTIMATE ADVICE FOR NEW COLLEGE STUDENTS
Dear Les,
I’m about to start college. What would you say is the #1 thing a new student can do to deal with stress?
JD
JD,
Easy: learn now about the many support resources available to you… and use them.
Before you become too involved in schoolwork, work-work, causes, sports, socializing, and everything else, take a little time to get familiar with the people, services and facilities on campus to help you succeed so that you won’t have to deal with finding them in the middle of a conundrum or crisis. Your school will spew resource info all over you during your first few weeks there—way too much to remember—so, note the stuff that you think you’ll need or benefit from the most. Better yet, make a wish list of resources before you get to campus and include the types of assistance that have helped you in the past. Then go and connect with a healthcare provider, meet with your academic advisor, talk with a counselor, find out where to get condoms at 2 a.m., tell your RA something about yourself, memorize emergency numbers, test building access, and so on. You don’t need to be having a melt down in order to meet campus staff who can help you two weeks or two years from now, and if your school tells you otherwise, transfer.
College life can be incredibly fun and rewarding. It can also be incredibly stressful, and sometimes these effects all happen at once. Stress is our physical and emotional response to change and demands, which also perfectly describes the new student experience. Lots of these changes and demands are obvious: new environment, roommates, lack of funds and harder classes, for example. Other realities are not always apparent—even while they’re happening: missing home, feeling inferior, questioning values, sexual identity, approaching holidays, family expectations, etc. Then there are the surprise stressors like mono, sick relatives or a death on campus. Smart students will prepare themselves should they ever want or need academic, health, career and other support services, and there’s really no better time for newbies to get ready than right now. And if you never need assistance, chances are that friends will, which is another reason to try to pay attention during orientation.
As a student, it’s highly unlikely that you will ever have such easy access to so many quality resources after you graduate, and you’re probably paying for them anyway, so why not use them to your advantage?
Congrats, good luck and take care of yourself,
Les
9/07
PS from Les: If you’re not the one who’s college bound, but a parent or other concerned person, you’d also be wise to learn about the assistance available to your student, and to you. Try to be aware from near or far of how your First-year is feeling and getting along at school. They have to learn how to seek support on their own, but concerned “outsiders” can help that process along. If you’re comfortable talking about mental health issues that might be affecting them, you can play a vital role in their personal and academic success by encouraging them to secure information and contacts early on without squashing their autonomy, new freedom and right to privacy. Many schools now provide parents with web, print and phone guidance around these issues.
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