November - Academic Pressures
Academic pressures and responsibilities build in November, which is challenging for all first-year students but especially for those who continue to have difficulty adjusting to campus life. November is often a stressful month socially, emotionally, and physically for students.
- Increased academic pressure due to procrastination, difficulty of work assigned, or perceived lack of ability
- Major class projects or papers coming due as pre-finals stress emerges
- Academically successful students may experience the added pressure of keeping high grades up through finals
- Procrastinators may feel overwhelmed by what they perceive to be an unmanageable amount of work needed to catch up in their classes
- Coping with stress by engaging in counter-productive behaviors, including late night socializing, increased alcohol consumption, and poor eating and sleeping habits
- Depression and anxiety in students who feel that they still have not found their niche at UK
- Financial concerns as funds from parents and summer earnings begin to run out
- Stress and fatigue lower a student's ability to fight off illness
What Families Can Do
- Provide your student with encouragement and support. Many students put a tremendous amount of pressure on themselves. They may also be anxious about living up to your academic expectations and may find themselves even more overwhelmed.
- Remind your student about academic support services offered on campus.
- Encourage your student to visit professors during office hours to get help or discuss academic performance.
- If your student seems depressed or anxious, encourage her to talk to a counselor in the Counseling and Testing Center or the Student Mental Health Service.
- Be alert for signs of alcohol and/or drug abuse.
- If your student lives in a residence hall and is feeling isolated, encourage him to talk with an R.A. or Hall Director.
- Even though this may be a time of increased academic pressure, encourage your student to attempt to achieve balance, which includes a healthy diet, adequate sleep and exercise, and some relaxation.
- Remind your student to visit University Health Service to take care of any health needs and to let professors know if she is going to miss classes due to illness.
- Remind your student to take advantage of resources meant to ensure campus safety, especially as it begins to get dark earlier in the evening.