College Admission Help

College Counseling Center Offers Help for Social Difficulties

By Alex Faris
Staff Writer
Published: February 23, 2009

Whether new to campus or counting the days until graduation, college life poses an array of challenges to unprepared students.

“The biggest problem for incoming freshmen is just the run-of-the-mill transition,” said Carol Challenger, senior clinical counselor at the Student Counseling Center.

Challenger said part of that transition is learning responsibility: new students’ freedom to do what they want, when they want is easily abused. However, this isn’t the only challenge students’ face: Many students suffer from loneliness.

“Being alone all the time was the hardest thing for me,” said Caitlin Guthrie, a computer engineering freshman. “Not having someone there to talk to all the time and to pay attention to me was also hard.”

Challenger said the difficulties can be more than social. “Courses are at a higher level than high school classes, and the material is presented at a faster pace,” Challenger said. “In addition, professors are likely to assign more reading, writing and problem sets than you may be used to.”

Freshmen are not the only ones to face challenges: Challenger said seniors, although seasoned, are still susceptible to “senioritis,” the main symptom of which is “coasting,” or,” or going through classes with little difficulty.

“Many seniors who come in are suffering from senioritis, and they get after-college jitters and just need someone to talk to,” she said.

Challenger said one way to keep senioritis out of the picture is to be prepared and plan everything out. Suzanne Burks, director of University Counseling Services, said her department exists to help all students. “Many students can encounter many problems whether they are psychological or educational,” she said. “Everything we do is confidential and students should not hesitate to come in and set up an appointment. Students should use at least four since they are already paid for.”



College Counseling Center Offers Help for Social Difficulties