Common adjustment issues for November

First-year college students go through some common adjustment issues during November:

• Anxiety about midterm grades
• Excitement or anxiety about going home for Thanksgiving
• First series of campus-wide illness (colds, flu)
• Time-management issues trying to balance the demands of school, work, family, and social life
• Roommate challenges may intensify.

If your student is living on campus, encourage her to talk with her RA if she is experiencing these symptoms. She can also talk with her academic advisor about her grades and balancing study demands with the rest of her obligations.

Students can also visit the Counseling Center by appointment or in a walk-in time slot. St. Paul campus: 690-6805; Minneapolis campus: 690-7830.

(For more information, see Helping your First-Year College Student Succeed, by Richard Mullendore and Cathie Hatch, National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition at the University of South Carolina, Columbia.)