The Life of a Freshman Student September - Excitement
- Making new friends
- Going to first sporting event
- Attending the first Midnight Breakfast
- Doubts about choice of school
- Tendency to test new limits and boundaries
- Homesickness, loneliness
- Anxiety about roommates and professors
October - Joining student clubs
- Playing on an intramural football or club sports team
- Roommate problems begin to arise
- Concerns about social climate (Do I fit in here?)
- Midterm exams begin
- Romantic relationships from home still going strong
- Students begin to realize that life at college is different than they perhaps expected
November - Take a trip on the Bronco Bus and see a Bay Area attraction
- Attend a men’s/women’s soccer tournament game
- Roommate problems getting more serious
- Academic pressure is beginning to mount because of procrastination, and difficulty of work.
- Economic anxiety, funds from parents and summer earning begin to run out • First wave of campus wide homesickness
- Excitement and anxiety about returning home for Thanksgiving (Will I still fit in at home?)
December - Extracurricular time strain; seasonal parties, concerts, social service projects, religious activities all drain student energies
- Anxiety, fear, and guilt increase as final examinations approach and papers are due
- Pre-holiday excitement and anxieties about going home
- Financial strain because of holiday gifts and travel costs
- No schoolwork for three weeks!
- See high school friends
January - Post-holiday depression
- Loneliness for romantic relationship from home
- Seeing this as a time to make a fresh start
- Excitement about being back at school
- Excitement about new classes
February - Breakup of romantic relationships from home
- Midterm exams begin
- A weekend road trip with friends
- Making spring break plans
March - Disappointment for students who can’t afford to travel over spring break
- Anxiety over final exams
- Planning summer employment
- Spring Break!
April - Excitement about the last quarter of the school year
- Enjoying the beautiful weather and outdoor activities
- Baseball and softball games
- Anxiety over housing and roommate(s) for next year
- Midterm exams begin
May/June - Anxiety over final exams
- Excited about returning home for the summer
- Sadness over losing touch with new friends
- Sadness over losing contact with romantic relationship
- End of stress from rigorous class work and projects
- Looking forward to returning to SCU as a sophomore!
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