Thursday, January 27, 2011
Record Level of Stress Found in College Freshmen
Post Gazette: "The emotional health of college freshmen -- who feel buffeted by the recession and stressed by the pressures of high school -- has declined to the lowest level since an annual survey of incoming students started collecting data 25 years ago.
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7 comments:
With the price of college steadily increasing, and the skill level required steadily increasing I can see how the well being of incoming freshman decreases. It is sad to see that this is the case, but with all the pressure placed on college students today, it is a relevant issue. With students facing a financial burden to have the education of a well paying job, or to get an ok job they have to decide between experience and schooling. Many places now have many perquisites before you will even be considered, placing stress to do well and push yourself harder. The skill level and level of commitment increasing is great, except there needs to be a balance where skill and happiness are not compromised for the other. Hopefully in the end the stress will be worth it, and the pressure on younger generations will lighten.
I know from personal experience in my senior years that kids are extremely stressed. There were so many kids in my high school that were convinced they had to take ten AP classes a year, internship during their winter, spring, and summer breaks, have a part time job, work in the student government and student clubs on campus and be the star athlete. All of this they had to do to get into a good college, so they could get a good job, and have a good life. These kids were so stressed in high school and they must still be stressed their freshmen year of college now having to worry about all that and on top of it money for tuition, books, and board. It is pretty ridiculous that we have to deal with all of these things. I know in my mother and fathers day they didn't even have AP courses to take in high school! But now if you don't take them you might as well say good bye to a good college. I hope that one day all these stresses will go down and people can start acting human again.
This article is depressing just reading it. It is totally right that College students are more scared about everything. Money is getting tighter and tighter in every family across the US and the world. Also the job out for anyone in college does not look that good, it seems that it is getting better but still it is really scary. I just hope that the job situation gets better before I get out of school. I hope that this CMU education will help a lot in that. I know of a few students that could not hack it because of the added stress that life has put on them. I hope that this statistic goes down in the next few years.
My high school wrote the book on over achieving- no really, there is a book based on my school. Its the same with my high school, you needed to take as many APs as possible and get straight A's. Everyone was obsessed. I only took one AP. My counselors told me I couldn't get into some of the colleges i applied to because of that. They were wrong.
I hate the pressure they put on us, some people cant handle it. And then when you get into college you have to worry about being in debt for the rest of your life and you may not get a job... It doesn't help.
I found this article extremely relatable and comprehensive on the matter. I hate to hear about high school students declining college acceptances based off of financial reasons because I feel helpless. Do we advocate for a long life filled with paying back college loans? Or do we support the settling for a school that does not hold the prestige or education you desire? Or do we throw our hands up and root for the cashier at McDonald's who didn't even bother? As yet another number in society paying back college loans, I find myself ignoring the issue to my highest point of avoidance. Why worry about the money when I should be treasuring the education that this debt is providing me with.
This article doesn't really surprise me too much. I struggled in my first few months when I came here. College just kind of pulls the rug out from under you and forces you to start fresh which leads to good experiences in the long run but the transition to that point can be quite difficult. It may not be so much college that is the issue, perhaps it is the stresses of society and how society views college and how it is today that creates this depression
I agree with Jackson on the fact that this article is not surprising. I know that I am not only feeling financial stress right now, but I constantly feel pressure from my peers and my professors. There is a major sense of competition in the college setting...let alone the competition that occurs just trying to get into college. I don't think that such a stressful environment is healthy. I know that it is certainly healthy to be challenged, but societal and social pressures can sometimes make the college experience too stressful.
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