Mar 29, 2008

On College

Stress is a fact of life in college

By Jason Katz / Daily News columnist

Q: I am currently attending a large public university in California. I am happy to have been accepted to this university, but have been surprised by the amount of stress I feel here during my college years. I have spoken with my friends here, and most of them agree that they are stressed out as well. Before I set foot on campus I always imagined college would be a relatively carefree time in my life. Are my friends and I "normal" for feeling so stressed out?



A: According to a new survey conducted by Edison Media Research for the Associated Press and mtvU (a cable channel popular on college campuses), many college students are stressed out. The confidential survey, conducted between Feb. 28 and March 6, involved 2,253 4-year college students, ages 18-24, at 40 different colleges and universities.

The results of the survey are striking and illustrate that you and your friends are experiencing what many college students today feel. Of the students surveyed, 39 percent said they frequently experienced stress in their daily lives during the past three months, and 41 percent said they sometimes did. Comparatively, only 15 percent said they rarely experienced stress and only 3 percent said they never did.

The reasons for the stress are varied. Seventy-four percent of those surveyed said their schoolwork had "a lot of impact" or "some impact" on the stress they experienced in their daily lives. Seventy-one percent said the grades they got at college had "a lot of impact" or "some impact." And 62 percent said financial worries had "a lot of impact" or "some impact." Other stressors included extracurricular activities, family issues, relationships/dating, friends, jobs, physical health, mental health/emotional issues, concerns about finding a full-time job after graduation, and concerns about getting into graduate or professional school.

Some of the symptoms of the stress the college students feel include having trouble sleeping, having trouble getting motivated or getting things done, not feeling like eating, not wanting to do the things they used to enjoy, feeling too tired to do things, feeling irritable or agitated, feeling like a failure or like they let people down, and feeling depressed.

Although many students experienced these symptoms, the results of the survey were not all negative - 64 percent reported that they "enjoyed life" all or most of the time.

In short, many of today's college students are feeling the pressures of adult life at a young age. If proof of this were needed, one need look no further than the mental health resources many colleges make available to their students. You and your friends may want to take advantage of these since you are experiencing stress.



Jason Katz is an independent college admissions counselor and is founder of

JKatz College Counseling in Redwood City. E-mail Katz at jkatz@jkatzcollegecounseling.com.