Frosh stress reaches record high

Overworked and stressed out Penn freshmen are not alone. A recent University of California at Los Angeles survey showed that the emotional health of college freshmen nationwide has reached an all-time low.

At Penn, there has been an increase in the number of freshmen and upperclassmen seeking help at Counseling and Psychological Services in the past decade, according to William Alexander, interim director of CAPS.

A growing number of incoming freshmen schedule appointments with CAPS even before they arrive at Penn, Alexander said.

In addition to the usual stress surrounding college life, freshmen face the added anxiety of making the transition from high school to college.

Frequent problems for freshmen include time management skills, homesickness, making new friends, developing good study habits and earning good grades, according to Janet Tighe, dean of freshmen and College director of academic advising.

“We tell incoming freshmen how phenomenal they are … the creme de la creme. The concern is that this also tells them that they must reach the moon,” Litty Paxton, director of Penn’s Women’s Center, said.

Alexander, Paxton and Tighe agreed that major contributors to students’ stress at Penn include academic pressures, competitiveness and the rising standards to excel.

An Engineering freshman — who wished to remain anonymous since she would like to keep her stress a “private issue” — said she often feels very stressed and has been visiting CAPS regularly for counseling.

In addition to feeling homesick, she said that she is overwhelmed by her challenging classes, numerous extracurricular activities and the high standards she sets for herself.

“I’m stressed because I feel like I don’t have time to eat, sleep or shower,” she said. “It’s been difficult to accommodate to an entirely different lifestyle.”

Though she has found her experiences with CAPS helpful, she said the staff in her college house are inadequate in helping her cope with stress. Ideally, there would be “more staff outside of CAPS who can serve as mentors,” she said.

Engineering freshman Courtney Reamer feels more stressed this semester than last, due to increased difficulty of coursework, back-to-back midterms, lingering homesickness and finding a summer internship close to her home in California.

“I feel better when I talk to people who are also stressed, because then I’m not the only one having trouble dealing with work,” she said.

On the other hand, Wharton freshman and Class Board President Spencer Penn does not characterize himself as “stressed out.”

Although Penn said he spends an average of 20 hours a week on Class Board initiatives, takes five classes and participates in fraternity new member education, he feels content.

“Happiness is a way of life, and that way of life is more pervasive at Penn than anywhere else. I chose Penn because the students here seem like they’re really happy,” he said.

Penn added that he did not have a hard time transitioning into college life. He admitted that he was nervous before being dropped off at school, but he quickly “found a home here.”

Wharton and College freshman Alexa Koike said she also divides her time between challenging classes, research, sorority new member education and the Kite and Key Society. Due to careful time management, however, she said she has not felt very stressed.

“I do the best that I can with the time I have … you shouldn’t take for granted that little time you have to do laundry,” Koike said.

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