Victoria Senetchko looks into how students deal with starting university for the first time.
September has arrived and with it comes shorter days, cooler breezes, and a new academic year. For Carleton students, getting back into the school routine can be a challenge. But for first-year students, September brings many anxieties and fears. Some particularly exciting – and sometimes stressful – changes.
According to a spring 2019 report by the American College Health Association (ACHA) using data collected from Canadian university students within the previous twelve months, 51% of post-secondary students reported feeling too depressed to function, 69% of students reported feeling overwhelming anxiety, and 45% reported feeling above-average stress while 15% reported feeling tremendous stress.
Starting university can mean leaving home and facing a new social environment all while balancing an increasingly difficult workload. For each new student, the challenges they may face will be different.
Challenging times
The biggest challenge Grace Angelo will be facing is managing her mental health, she says. Angelo is starting at Carleton this year as a psychology major. She has an anxiety disorder that causes her to have seizures. These seizures are called psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES).
The Epilepsy Ontario Organization defines PNES as attacks that are not caused by abnormal brain electrical discharges but may look like epileptic seizures. “They’re as common as MS [Multiple Sclerosis] but often go incorrectly diagnosed,” Angelo said.
Her seizures caused her to miss a lot of class in high school but she still managed to do well academically. Although she is nervous for university, Angelo said she is mostly excited for the new experiences.
For Angelo, starting university means leaving her family and living four hours away from her home in Lindsay, Ontario. In order to manage the stress that comes with starting this new chapter, Angelo said she will be taking her medication, going to therapy and talking things through with her friends.
There are scientifically proven ways people can reduce stress such as “engaging in mindfulness, meditation, yoga, exercise, eating well, tapping into other communities on campus,” said Kim Hellemans, professor of Neuroscience at Carleton University.
Adjusting to the dorm
Although students face academic stress in their first year—and throughout their university life—many people find the transition from high school to university affects their social life as well.
Simon Xarchos is starting his first year at Carleton in the Global and International Studies program. Although Xarchos lives in Ottawa, he said he is moving into residence to find his way into the social scene at Carleton.
He admits he feels sad leaving the room he has lived in for the past decade but he says he is “ready to downsize and start living the dorm life.”
Students who do not have enough support on campus can also experience more stress, said Hellemans.
“Coming from smaller communities to campus, experiencing high degrees of loneliness or isolation increases stress,” she said.
There are many support services and resources available to students living in residence, says Natalie Allan, the Assistant Director of Residence Life Services at Carleton. Services such as residence counselling, residence fellows and residence managers are in place to help students adjust to life in residence.
“We also have specific house-wide and residence wide events [such] as stress relievers and study breaks for students to participate in during December and April exams,” said Allan in an email.
Carleton also has The Mental Wellness Mentors, a program specifically aimed at helping students transition into living in residence. It uses peer support to help with mental health and wellness, Allan said.
Been there, done that
The first year of university involves a steep learning curve. From studying course material to figuring out how to navigate the Carleton tunnels there are many lessons to learn.
Rachel Campbell is entering her fourth-year in the political science program at Carleton and has learned many of her own lessons over the years.
Campbell said that being involved with different groups and activities on campus is a great way to learn things not necessarily taught in class.
“I know a lot of university students want to get settled with the academic part of school, which is super important, but putting yourself out there is a great way to get socially involved,” she says.
Campbell recommends hanging out in common spaces, attending events, and checking campus activities boards to spark connections with new friends.
Hellemans also recommends keeping in touch with your professors and academic advisors to improve your academic results.
Making connections with your professors and people in your program are “ big predictors of academic outcomes,” she said.
In Campbell’s first year, she used these opportunities to meet people and she said it gave her the confidence to become a frosh leader and mentor in her second year.
“I have become more confident in what I can do in school and I really think it is because I covered all my bases in first-year, and from there I’ve built myself up,” Campbell says.
Campbell also suggests sitting next to older students in lectures. “Befriending people who are third or fourth year is helpful because they are experienced and have often taken the class before, so they can fill you in on what to expect from the course,” she explains.
Organization and time management is key, said Mojtaba Ahmadi, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Carleton.
“Since you have more freedom, you have to use tools to help yourself,” he says.
Keeping a schedule and setting long term and short term goals are things Ahmadi recommends for new students.
He also suggests using an agenda or some sort of planning system to stay on track. “It doesn’t have to be complicated. I use a sticky note system. Every day I write my to-do list on a sticky note so I can see what I have to do for the day,” he says.
Ahmadi recommends doing practice assignments, carefully reviewing the syllabus and attending classes to help with understanding course material.
Practicing wellness habits and getting peer support is also key, said Hellemans.
“Make sure that you’re getting [an] adequate amount of sleep, you’re attending your classes,” she said, “Also, making sure that you have [an] adequate diet and adequate exercise; these things do impact your wellness.”
Ahmadi compares the process of learning to training for a big run.
“You have to exercise, prepare for it and build up your muscles to succeed – you’re not just going to start running.”
