What are the causes of stress for college students

What are the causes of stress for college students?A recent research showed that most college students face great pressure. The prevalence of stress among college students leads to a lot of mental problems for students. You may ask, what are the main causes of stress for college students? They may include living away from home, juggling academic demands, worrying about paying tuition and other bills, job hunting, maintaining emotional health and having a rewarding social life. These can combine to create enormous amounts of stress for college students. All these elements can be classified into four categories: the pressure of daily college life, the stress of study, anxiety about the future and confusion about identity.The most serious cause of stress for college students is the pressure of study, including academic progress and peer pressure. First of all, some students don't know what to expect when they start college, and they approach their academic studies as just another year of high school. That is when reality hits and they see that college is much more difficult than their senior year of high school. They do not know the best methods for learning. Academic progress is something that most college students stress about. This is especially true for students who are receiving federal financial aid, because they have to maintain a certain GPA to continue receiving funds. In addition, college students have to face fierce competition from their peers. They have to compete with other students who are also excellent in all the courses of their major field. This peer pressure frequently causes mental problems such as anxiety, loss of sleep and health problems. With challenging classes, scheduling issues to coordinate, difficult tests and other academic obstacles, coupled with the more independent nature of the college learning structure, many new and returning students find themselves studying long, hard hours. Students struggle between doing what's right and trying to fit in with the crowd.A further point of pressure for college students has to do with their own identity. Perhaps, one of the most stressful things in everyone's life is defining themselves. Most college students have just entered legal adulthood and are still defined by their teenage years and what they achieved in their short past. In college those old identities are laid to rest, but finding a new one can be hard. Many students enter school excited about being in college. When registering, they try to sign up for classes they like and that meet their graduation and financial aid requirements. Once classes start, students map out assignment due dates and do their best to keep up with the work. In practice, however, doing quality work and turning it on time is a challenge that can easily lead to stress, especially when unforeseen events occur. Then they may be lost themselves. College students always feel a great deal of stress when they are at a loss, mainly because of the lack of self-identification. They don’t know themselves clearly. They are wanting for recognition of their personal character and self-orientation. When they are disoriented, they feel anxious, confused and even frightened. On the other hand those students who having distinct self-awareness always are confident, active and positive. What’s more, they can deal well with their study, life and work. They approach their goal s step by step. So, if the students don’t have a clear identity, it is inevitable that they will suffer from great pressure.Another chief cause of stress for college students is pressure from their college lives. The causes of the stress from college life include the pressure of emotional life, interpersonal relationships and financial problems. College life itself is different from the high school life. College students suffer from many problems during their schooling. Most college students are far away from home, and this condition causes homesickness and loneliness. Firstly, the students’ emotional life may cause some stress. Some of them may allow their relationship with their parents to suffer. Some of them fail to deal well with their romantic relationships. Some may lose some old friends because of lack of communication. They have to engage in making new friends, learning new things and keeping a good relationship with their lovers. They have so many things to do that they can’t keep a balanced distribution of energy and time. The imbalance of college emotional life can cause great stress for college students. What’s more, co llege students may suffer the pressure of interpersonal problems. It is inevitable to have some conflicts with those students around them, especially with their dorm mates. These conflicts may cause a lot of psychological problems to college students. Besides, College students, especially those who may not have a good financial support from their families, often find themselves worrying about money. For many students, it is their first time out in the "real world" and they don't exactly have the money-managing skills of their parents. Now they have to finance (or help finance) room and board, find money for tuition and pay their bills on time. The high cost of tuition also adds extra stress to students] lives, because they have to worry about paying off student loans once they graduate.Last but not least, college students worry about their future. According to MSNBC, 50 percent of college students change their major at least once, and some students change two or three times during their college years. This uncertainty about career and prospects for the future causes students additional stress. Many students wonder if they chose the right major, if there will be jobs available when they graduate and if they will make enough money to live a comfortable life. Fu rthermore, their future job hunting and parents’ high expectation s are a factor. They are not sure whether they will find a good job that can meet their parents’ expectation and requirement s. Plus, they don’t have enough knowledge about which kind of skill s can meet the demand of those companies. They are not sure if their abilities will be admired and appreciated. Some of them are even confused about if they should look for a job or go on to further study after graduating.Facing these causes of stress, what can be done to cope? Research shows that doing exercise, watching television or listening to music, talking with friends and family etc. can help college students to reduce stress.The causes of stress for college students are various and complicated. No matter from study, life or the lacking of identity and the future, college students should take some measures to deal with the stress, learn how to arrange various kinds of aspects of their college life so that they can live better life in their school years.。