This document outlines scenarios and challenges that high-achieving college students may face and ideas for how academic advisors can help. It discusses issues like perfectionism, family pressures, being a first-generation student, and experiencing academic setbacks. The document provides potential strategies advisors could use such as reassuring students, helping them develop long-term goals and perspectives, referring them to support resources, and listening without judgment. The overall aim is for advisors to support students' well-being and resilience in addition to their academic performance.

1. Dr. Emmanuel Garcia and Rebekah Chojnacki,
University of Texas at Arlington
February 16, 2016

2. You’ve Been Uprooted!
 Find a seat next to someone you don’t know—just like
your students have to do on the first day of class.

3. Beyond Retention, Helping Build
Resilience
 A focus on retention leads to a focus on students in
academic peril
 Students who are “in good standing” may need
support, but don’t get it because it’s not a high need

4. Perfectionism
 Help students find balance—there’s a fine line
between burnout and engagement
 Seen in the US and in other countries—all high
achievers deal with this worldwide
 Sources of pressure
 External (family, peers, etc.)
 Internal (wanting to compete)

5. High Achievers and the Storms
They Face
 Not having to study much/at all before college
 Little experience with failure/academic obstacles
 Different standards—if a student has never had a “B”
or “C” before, it can be traumatizing

6. How Can the Advisor Help?
 Literature is really lacking for advisor role—mostly
student based.
 Help us start the conversation and generate ideas!
 All students need our help—some just need us to
listen more than anything else.

7. Scenario 1
 Your family has a background of being successful in
college and careers.
 They are helpful—and help support you financially.
 Major exploration—want to do something that your
parents don’t approve of/say they won’t help fund.

8. Scenario 1 Ideas
 Family Pressure
 Planning to confront parents
 Give major some more effort/mentors/research/tutoring
 Let parents know that you’ve tried—show them
 Don’t jump ship right away
 Send student to career center (strengths quest & career
planning)
 Knowing what they are good at vs. passion
 Hobbies vs. career

9. Scenario 1 Ideas
 Quantify student aptitude with parents
 Have parent interact in the process
 Does the parent want the student to be happy?
 Direct the questions back to the student
 Creative solutions/compromise
 Have parental pressure become a positive
 wh

10. Scenario 2
 First generation college student.
 Family are proud of you, but don’t understand college
 Pressure to finish quickly to help earn money.
 Want to change major, but worried to disappoint family.
 Superman complex

11. Scenario 2
 Familial expectations of financial support
 Student can’t handle supporting everyone else—they
need to focus on building their own life/career
 Building student confidence/support
 Help student find community resources for support
 Who is going to take care of you when you fall?
 Differentiation of student from family unit
 Encouragement/resources
 Cultural differences

12.  Help student think about future/goals
 Academic bridge programs
 Give students opportunities to work/volunteer/meet
students who are also first generation (get students
into things like SSS/Trio)
 Terry Scholars
 Need to create mentoring program (match students to
upperclassmen)

13. Scenario 3
 Always been a top student
 Receives first low grade ever
 Feelings of impostor syndrome
 Devastation/loss of identity (as a good student)

14. Scenario 3 Ideas
 Reassure of what they have done well
 Plan for the future—how can they recover
 Show what it will take to reach future goals
 GPA calculations
 Let them know that they are doing well
 Let them know that they can recover and get back up
 You are not alone in this experience
 Look at the overall picture—one bad grade will not bar
you from all future opportunities

15. Scenario 3 Ideas
 Be supportive and listen
 What makes it important to the student
 Let the student talk it through to help guide them to a
solution
 Help the student see the bigger picture
 Let them have support to have venting time
 Know when to send them to counseling
 Help students build strategies for success

16. Scenario 3 Ideas

18. References
 Salanova, M., Schaufeli, W., Martínez, I., & Bresó, E. (2010). How obstacles and
facilitators predict academic performance: The mediating role of study
burnout and engagement. Anxiety, Stress & Coping, 23(1), 53-70.
 Dickinson, M. J., & Dickinson, D. A. (2014). Practically perfect in every way: can
reframing perfectionism for high-achieving undergraduates impact academic
resilience?. Studies in Higher Education, (ahead-of-print), 1-15.
 Rice, K. G., Leever, B. A., Christopher, J., & Porter, J. D. (2006). Perfectionism,
stress, and social (dis) connection: A short-term study of hopelessness,
depression, and academic adjustment among honors students. Journal of
Counseling Psychology, 53(4), 524.
 Siegle, D., Rubenstein, L. D., Pollard, E., & Romey, E. (2009). Exploring the
relationship of college freshmen honors students’ effort and ability attribution,
interest, and implicit theory of intelligence with perceived ability. Gifted Child
Quarterly.
 Neumeister, K. L. S. (2004). Understanding the relationship between
perfectionism and achievement motivation in gifted college students. Gifted
child quarterly, 48(3), 219-231.