The first semester of college is exciting—a new beginning in your life, a new chapter in your story, a new learning environment that promises to be a great fit!
Murilo poses on campus at Duke while visiting an LP Alum
And yet... college students now seek support for emotional and mental health issues in greater numbers than ever before. Since 2009, when anxiety surpassed depression as the leading mental health issue facing college students, the number of students experiencing anxiety has continued to increase each year. It is not clear whether the transition to college itself is a root cause of anxiety or whether college is the first opportunity for some students to access appropriate services or request an intervention.
College students reported causes of anxiety ranging from the challenges associated with managing competing commitments (new classes, clubs, sports, dorm life, Greek life, and other new social opportunities), the challenges associated with managing technology (addiction), homesickness, and the fear of not doing well (or well enough, especially after having worked so hard to get in) or of not getting a job after college.
Even at the secondary level, school administrators report concern about the mental health of students and an increased need for funding to meet these needs. In last year’s survey of school superintendents, for example, the New York State Council of School Superintendents (NYSCOSS) reported a 17% increase in the percentage of superintendents identifying increasing mental-health related services for students as a top funding priority (from 35% to 52%). Across multiple questions related to financial matters, 45% of superintendents responded that the capacity to help students with non-academic needs (including health and mental health) is a significant problem, and when asked to rank three top priorities, should funding beyond what would be needed to maintain current services and meet mandates become available, increasing mental health services emerged as the top priority among superintendents statewide.
There is a consistent link and a positive correlation between student’s social and emotional well-being and mental health and their school success and academic achievement. Students who achieve academically at a high level are more likely to engage in healthy physical activity on a regular basis, more likely to get healthy sleep, and less likely to engage in risk behaviors and vice versa.
With the shortest day of the year on the immediate horizon, winter break provides students the opportunity not only to sleep in, but to recharge and reflect on the transition to college with their families. Talk with your first-year student (or sophomore or junior) about what’s working well, how to foster healthy relationships and routines, whether he or she feels supported appropriately on campus, and how to grow academically each new day as the days begin once again to lengthen towards spring.
At LogicPrep, we’re committed to supporting students throughout their entire journey - and that extends through college. Interested in learning some new organizational techniques or chatting about time management? Looking for support in Into to Calc or Econ or Psych? Our team is - and remains - here for you every step of the way.