Illustration by CASEY CROWE/Daily Bruin
By William D. Braxdale
Daily Bruin Contributor
More competition and taking on too many responsibilities are
causing many college students, especially women, to feel
overwhelmed.
Among entering students, adjusting to the academic and financial
pressures of college, as well as getting used the fast-paced
quarter system, often leads to high stress levels.
“I’m feeling pretty stressed about midterms,”
said Karin Sabo, a first-year astrophysics student. “It seems
so rapid because I’m used to semesters.”
Stressed-out students often exacerbate health problems because
they are saying they can’t afford to be sick, according to
Susan Quillan, director of nursing at the Arthur Ashe Student
Health and Wellness Center, she said stress may make it more
difficult to recover from an illness.
“I think the cold isn’t caused by stress, but I
think the reaction to the cold may be different because of the
stress,” Quillan said. “A lot of students are used to
having their parents help them deal with illness and nobody is
there to help and they don’t know what to do.”
Like many students, Sabo said when she is feeling stressed she
often gets stomachaches and headaches, and she is more prone to
getting sick.
An annual study conducted by the Higher Education Research
Institute, which does research on college students, indicates there
is a significant increase in stress levels for entering college
freshman.
Administered to more than 200,000 entering freshman at 462
colleges and universities, the National Survey of College Freshman
asks questions regarding degree aspirations, high school
background, family background goals, said Linda Sax, director of
the Cooperative Institutional Research Program, which conducts
studies concerning college students.
The study, which measures stress by asking freshmen how
frequently they feel overwhelmed, shows that in 1985, 16 percent of
students felt stressed, compared to 30 percent in 1999.
“I feel fairly pressured to study right now,” said
Kevin Minne, a second-year electrical engineering student. “I
just manage my time better than I usually do and get things done as
soon as I can.”
Another part of the study showed that college women are twice as
likely as college men to feel stressed out.
“Women are significantly more stressed,” Sax said.
“Women tend to spend more time in stress-producing
activities.”
Such activities include volunteering, housework, studying and
caring for children, according to the survey. Men, on the other
hand, spend time watching TV, playing video games and
exercising.
Quillan said she sees more women than men at the Ashe Center,
because “traditionally women seek health care more than
men,” said Quillan. “Whether they’re more
affected by stress, I don’t know.”
Khrizna Belardo, a third-year neuroscience student, said she
took on a lot of responsibilities this year and stress is causing
her to sleep more and eat more.
Feeling like she lacks control and having to concentrate on more
than one thing causes her to stress out, Belardo said.
Some entering students may feel stressed because it is more
difficult to get accepted to school.
“It’s harder and harder to get into UCLA as a
freshman,” Sabo said. “You’re used to dealing
with stress, but it’s so competitive because you’re
with the people that were top of the class and now you’re
just average.”
The trend for higher stress is not limited to college
students.
“I think it’s a culture of people trying to
overextend themselves,” Sax said. “I think it’s
definitely a national trend.”
Another problem is students are focusing more on their future
and not the present.
“The detriment is we’re finding students who are
coming to college are less interested in what they have to learn
and more interested in the next stage,” Sax said.
Another survey conducted by the Health Education Office of the
Ashe Center rates the level of stress of several areas on a scale
from zero to seven. The topics covered a wide range of concerns
that students may feel stressed out about.
According to Rena Orenstein, program coordinator of health
education, students are most stressed out about academics.
“They’re coming right out of high school where they
might have been king of the hill and they come here where everybody
was king of the hill,” Orenstein said.
After academics, students finances and relationship with a
romantic partner rank next on the list. Not having a romantic
partner also caused stress among some students, regardless of their
gender.
To help students deal with stress, the Ashe Health Education
Office is offering a Life Skills class that helps women deal with
stress.
The class teaches women strategies to reduce stress and it
includes ways to manage emotions, how to communicate more
effectively, and meditation skills.
The program is currently only available to women in
sororities.
Orenstein said sorority women, participating in a variety of
activities like volunteering and social functions, are at a higher
risk for becoming stressed.
But she added that all women could benefit from such a
class.
“Once this class opens up to all undergraduate women, it
will be a better tool for them,” Orenstein said. “We
envision that during some point in the future, we can develop a
similar one for men.
According to Quillan, students need to plan ahead and recognize
certain factors of stress.
Student Psychological Services also offers services to students
feeling increased pressure with their weekly stress clinics.
Some students have their own special way to deal with stress as
well.
“I like to find a quiet place to study and listen to
relaxing music like classical music,” said Sabo.
Belardo said that reminiscing about her summer vacation helps
her to relax.
“I listen to spanish music to take me back to days of
being in Mexico,” Belardo said.
She added that when she feels really stressed talking to friends
help and that it can be just as good talking to a counselor.
For more information, contact Student Psychological Services at
825-0768.
STRESS AMONG COLLEGE STUDENTS Students today
have been found to be nearly twice as stresses as 14 years ago.
More women report feeling overwhelmed than men in a 1999 survey.
SOURCE: The American Freshman: National Norms for Fall 1999
Original graphic by JACOB LIAO/Daily Bruin Web adaptation by
CHRISTINE TAN/Daily Bruin