American college students today face much greater pressures and anxiety than previous generations due to tougher admissions, fewer financial resources, and an uncertain job market. Studies show rising rates of anxiety, depression, and mental health issues among students. This pressure begins in high school, where students feel their grades and test scores will determine their future success. In college, students face even higher stakes, shouldering significant debt loads while uncertain of future career prospects. However, students can help manage anxiety by studying abroad, gaining practical skills, remaining persistent in their job searches, and learning stress management techniques to cope with life's uncertainties.

1. Student Anxiety and What They Can Do About It
It is certainly true that American college students are facing a series of pressures, fears, and
uncertainties that their parents did not face before them. Whether it’s tougher admissions
committees, fewer scholarships and grants, soaring tuition costs, student loans, and a job market
that’s slowly recovering, it’s no wonder why today’s college and high school students are more
worried than ever. According to the comprehensive study “American Freshman: National Norms
Fall 2010,” students reported greater anxiety, depression, and mental health problems than many
previous generations of freshman college students had previously experienced. For example,
students are more likely to rate themselves as feeling “below average” emotionally and students
feeling “above average emotionally” fell down to 52% from 64% in 1985.
While there have always been problems with mental health and well-being amongst students, this
is truly unprecedented. Increasingly, more campus counselors are being seen for more anxiety
and depression among students. And many of these students coming to college counseling
services have already been on psychiatric medicine since high school. What’s really behind all of
these problems with students who have been told that college would be the best years of their
lives? What can they do about it?
It Starts in High School…
While there is an upsurge in mental health problems amongst freshman college students, many
believe that the problem really begins in high school. Students are told the second they get
through the doors that their grades in high school will be a determining factor for which college
they can attend. If they fail a test, if they forget a homework assignment, if they lose their lab
notebook, it can seem like the end of the world. They often may think to themselves “If I don’t
get all As, I won’t get into a good college. If I don’t get into a good college, I can’t go to a good
grad school or get a good job. Then what?!” By the time many students are sophomores, the
pressure to succeed gets even worse, as many are told to start preparing for SATs, yet another
determining factor for admissions committees.
In addition to all of these woes and worries, students have to think of more inventive ways to
stand out. They must be the best in piano, soccer, choir, theatre, volunteering, etc. Otherwise,
college admission boards won’t notice them amongst the hoard of other exceptionally bright
students trying to get through their doors. It’s unsurprising that the percentage of high school
students feeling overwhelmed by all their responsibilities in their senior year has risen from 27%
to 29% from 2010 to 2011 alone.
A Bleak Reality Check
While many students were told their entire lives that all they needed to succeed were good grades
and to get into the right university, the situation is vastly different. In the past, you could
arguably get a degree even if you weren’t the best student and have a successful career. This is
just not the case anymore. Once students are in college, they must strive even harder to get the
best grades possible in order to either get the best internships or to get into the best graduate
programs. Without either of these things, it can prove quite difficult to get a job after graduation.
Unfortunately, some students believe if they can just steal someone else’s brilliant work that it
will go unnoticed. But with advanced technology on websites like plagiarism checker
PlagTracker, it is now easier than ever for professors, teachers, and admissions committees to

2. double-check if someone has taken from another person’s ideas. If a student is caught
plagiarizing, the consequences have also become more severe. Most prestigious colleges and
universities will subject the student to judicial boards that often expel them.
College Only Increases the Pressure
Once students make it to higher education, the pressure and anxiety only intensify. Now, many
recent high school grads are wracked with something even worse: college loan debt. Since the
economy went downhill in 2008, students have had to rely more on college loans to pay for
tuition. This is in the face of stagnating parental incomes, college endowment funds being hit by
the crisis, and ever increasing college costs.
The amount of collective college debt is nearing $1 trillion and in 2011, the average student loan
debt rose to $26,500 from $25,350 in one year. According to the Institute for College Access and
Success, almost 2/3 of all students had to take out debt to get a university education. The
Associated Press has reported that the average tuition at a four-year public university has risen
15% between 2008 and 2010. According to Bloomberg, the cost of a college degree in the US
has increased an astounding 1,120% since 1977. Even at my alma mater Smith College, basic
tuition with room and board now costs $55,050, a 27% increase in only six years.
But college loans are not the only problem. More students are unsure if and when they will be
employed after they finish. According to a study published by a Pew Fiscal Analysis Initiative in
February 2012, if college degree holders remain unemployed they are often just as likely to stay
that way as high school drop outs.
What Students Can Do
Even if the current situation in US higher education and the job market is not currently optimal,
there are many things that students can try to do to advance themselves.
First and foremost, students should try to study abroad and learn a foreign language if possible.
This helps with grad school committees and future employers alike. There are many government
sources and organizations like Rotary International to help fund students abroad. Many
universities also offer students studying abroad some sort of monetary aid.
Secondly, students shouldn’t just major in technical things, like computer science and
engineering if they aren’t interested or talented in it. Yes, a philosophy degree is still useful. But
traditional humanities students should try to pick up on some specialized skills and internships
along the way to help them in the prospective job market. Learning web design also couldn’t
hurt.
Thirdly, students need to remember that not everyone was an outstanding success right out of the
gates. Many people, who were successful later in life, started their adult lives in less-than
thrilling jobs. Students need to build up their experience with internships while in college and
agree to work in jobs that may not be their dream career at first. There’s plenty of time to worry
about being the top of the field.
A great alternative if students cannot find jobs at present is to join the Peace Corps. Service in
the Peace Corps can help with graduate school admissions and can give students a much needed
break from academia while building real world experience.
Lastly, students must learn to CALM DOWN. Life is full of the unexpected and stress
management is a life skill that must be mastered in the modern world. Whether you have a
college loan or a mortgage, debt is a part of life. Unemployment is also something that most

3. people have dealt with at some point. The trick to not being unemployed after graduation is to
plan early and to be persistent.
Whether pressure comes from a professor, a boss, a spouse, or a child, it’s just a part of life.
What many American students need is to be better prepared to deal with life’s pressures and how
to effectively cope with stress early on. Instead of high school counselors and parents preaching
about the importance of SAT scores, grades, and activities, perhaps they should emphasize the
importance of problem solving and stress management. Effectively teaching students how to
handle life’s problems and stresses the healthy way could ease many of these problems. Students,
for the most part, already know about the importance of grades and SAT scores. What they really
need is to learn how to cope with all of life’s curve balls along the way.