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Lauren Crupi
Research Paper
November 7, 2010
Stress Load on College Students
College is a stressful time for everyone. The transfer from high school to college can be very overwhelming for a freshman, eventually you learn how to get through it, but it is very hard to get settled in at first. Many students between the ages of 18 and 24 suffer from stress and depression disorders, what a surprise, and the majority of people ages 18 through 24 are college students. Many people can relate to the stress such as myself. Tests, after quizzes, after writing more papers, after exams to study for are no one’s idea of fun, and cause a lot of stress related habits, and a major overwhelming feeling. Having more than four Advil in one-week means you are probably getting a little too stressed out.
Research has shown that the vast majority of college students experience moderate (77.6%) or serious (10.4%) stress and are most affected by stressors related to their studies (i.e., examination results and workload; (Dixon & Kurpius,
2008). Everyone has that procrastination side of him or her that doesn’t want to open a book or sharpen a pencil until the day before the work is due. From my study habits and knowledge so far, this has no intention of working ever. It doesn’t matter who you are, procrastination will get you nowhere in college. The transfer from high school to college was a very hard struggle for myself. High school was fairly easy to get by without even opening a textbook, and studying maybe for an hour every here and there. In college your world changes. You find yourself constantly in the library for a straight week studying for one quiz. Not to mention, all you do is read from the textbook. You can’t pass a class without reading the chapters. This caused, and still does cause so much stress on me, as well as many others I’m sure. It was very overwhelming retaining as much information as I did. Right now, stress relates to my life in so many ways, I have experienced so much where stress has been involved, but it has only made me a stronger person and studier in the end. The
2001 National College Health Assessment report revealed that during the year 2000,
76% of students felt "overwhelmed" and 22% were unable to function as a result of

2 feeling depressed. (Dixon & Kurpius, 2008). I know for myself, it has been very hard to adapt to the surroundings and being away from home, which can also cause stress, depression, and can lower self-esteem. You are in a whole new world now that can be pretty hard to adapt to. You hardly have any time to relax, it is always test after writing a paper, after more quizzes, and you can never find yourself being able to settle down and refresh yourself. Now I can understand why college students have such long breaks! Not to anyone’s surprise, the workload of college is significantly more involved than the high school workload, and it comes with less handholding from parents and teachers. Not only that but you may have tough schedules to coordinate, and new academic obstacles. (Elizabeth Scott, M.S., 2008).
This is true for me. I know I have had a lot of trouble scheduling courses and deciding what fits best in my class schedule in order to gain the right amount of credits. My parents were able to help me out on papers, and questions I had on homework, but now you are independent and on your own. It is so much harder for students to adjust to the college setting. I have experienced so many times in just the first semester where I have been up all night studying for a test, drinking energy drinks or coffee just to keep myself alive, sometimes numerous tests on the same day. Let me tell you this gets overwhelming. Like Professor Rohrer said in psychology 100 class, “you retain the most information when you get more sleep.”
(Rohrer, Psych 100, August 2010) Therefore, I try not to stay up all night for hours on end studying for a test or writing a paper. It’s all about organizing your time well.
It also causes more stress for college students as well as myself when they don’t have their jobs and you hardly have any money to get by on things you need. I know
I constantly get stressed when I don’t have any money to spend on small things. One of the most commonly felt consequences of college stress is a feeling of being overwhelmed, while trying to find a balance of how hard to work and play.
(Elizabeth Scott, M.S., 2008). It is also very hard for me to find a balance between schoolwork and recreation. There are times when you know you have to say no because you have another test to study for or paper to write, yes it sucks, we all have those days or weekends. This can be very stressful at times as well. However, there are some times when you just need a break from studying to collect all your

3 thoughts and refresh yourself from your book. Another effect of stress is the
“Freshman 15.” Sometimes stress, can cause people to eat more, therefore causing them to gain weight. This doesn’t so much relate to myself, but it does relate to many college students I know and have talked to; gaining weight and over-eating can be a problem for many as an effect of stress.
In conclusion, the topic of stress and being overwhelmed in college is related to my life in so many ways. I constantly find myself getting overwhelmed and stressed out by even the littlest things in college. There has never been a time where
I have only had one test in a week, I normally have two or three in one week, and the next week it’s my other class’s tests or papers. Our fridge in our dorm room is stocked with energy drinks and Starbuck’s double shot coffees. We also find ourselves spending most nights in club Bracken Library. For all future college students, it can be very over bearing at first, but once you figure out how to organize your time well you can surely succeed. Generalized stress is defined as a psychological arousal that results when external demands tax or exceeds a person’s adaptive abilities. (Lazarus, 1966; Lazarus and Folkman, 1984). Stress not only relates to me, but many other college students as well. If college had a middle name, it would without a doubt be stress.

Dixon, S. K. & Kurpius, S. R. (2008). Depression and College Stress Among
University Undergraduates: Do Mattering and Self-Esteem Make a Difference?
Retrieved Nov. 8, 2010, from Project Muse, Volume 49, Number 5. Web site: http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/journal_of_college_student_development/v049/49.5.
dixon.html
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Rohrer, James. (2010, August). “Studying for tests.” Lecture presented in
Psychology 100. TC102
Zajacova, A., & Lynch, S. M. (2005). Self-Efficacy, Stress, and Academic Success in
College. Retrieved Nov. 8, 2010, from Research in higher education. Web site: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40197441?seq=3.
Scott, E. M. (2008). Stress in College: Common Causes of Stress in College. Retrieved
Nov. 8, 2010, from The Many Causes of Stress in College. Web site: http://stress.about.com/od/studentstress/a/stress_college.htm.
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