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By submitting my email address. i certify that i am 13 years of age or older, agree to recieve marketing email messages from the princeton review, and agree to terms of use., how to manage homework stress.

Feeling overwhelmed by your nightly homework grind? You’re not alone. Our Student Life in America survey results show that teens spend a third of their study time feeling worried, stressed, or stuck. If you’re spending close to four hours a night on your homework (the national average), that’s over an hour spent spent feeling panicky and still not getting your work done. Homework anxiety can become a self-fulfilling prophecy: If you’re already convinced that calculus is unconquerable, that anxiety can actually block your ability to learn the material.

Whether your anxiety is related to handling your workload (we know you’re getting more homework than ever!), mastering a particular subject like statistics, or getting great grades for your college application, stress doesn’t have to go hand-in-hand with studying .

In fact, a study by Stanford University School of Medicine and published in The Journal of Neuroscience shows that a student’s fear of math (and, yes, this fear is completely real and can be detectable in scans of the brain) can be eased by a one-on-one math tutoring program. At The Princeton Review this wasn’t news to us! Our online tutors are on-call 24/7 for students working on everything from AP Chemistry to Pre-Calc. Here’s a roundup of what our students have to say about managing homework stress by working one-one-one with our expert tutors .

1. Work the Best Way for YOU

From the way you decorate your room to the way you like to study, you have a style all your own:

"I cannot thank Christopher enough! I felt so anxious and stressed trying to work on my personal statement, and he made every effort to help me realize my strengths and focus on writing in a way that honored my personality. I wanted to give up, but he was patient with me and it made the difference."

"[My] tutor was 1000000000000% great . . . He made me feel important and fixed all of my mistakes and adapted to my learning style . . . I have so much confidence for my midterms that I was so stressed out about."

"I liked how the tutor asked me how was I starting the problem and allowed me to share what I was doing and what I had. The tutor was able to guide me from there and break down the steps and I got the answer all on my own and the tutor double checked it... saved me from tears and stress."

2. Study Smarter, Not Harder

If you’ve read the chapter in your history textbook twice and aren’t retaining the material, don’t assume the third time will be the charm. Our tutors will help you break the pattern, and learn ways to study more efficiently:

"[My] tutor has given me an easier, less stressful way of seeing math problems. It is like my eyes have opened up."

"I was so lost in this part of math but within minutes the tutor had me at ease and I get it now. I wasn't even with her maybe 30 minutes or so, and she helped me figure out what I have been stressing over for the past almost two days."

"I can not stress how helpful it is to have a live tutor available. Math was never and still isn't my favorite subject, but I know I need to take it. Being able to talk to someone and have them walk you through the steps on how to solve a problem is a huge weight lifted off of my shoulder."

3. Get Help in a Pinch

Because sometimes you need a hand RIGHT NOW:

"I was lost and stressed because I have a test tomorrow and did not understand the problems. I fully get it now!"

"My tutor was great. I was freaking out and stressed out about the entire assignment, but she really helped me to pull it together. I am excited to turn my paper in tomorrow."

"This was so helpful to have a live person to validate my understanding of the formulas I need to use before actually submitting my homework and getting it incorrect. My stress level reduced greatly with a project deadline due date."

4. Benefit from a Calming Presence

From PhDs and Ivy Leaguers to doctors and teachers, our tutors are experts in their fields, and they know how to keep your anxiety at bay:

"I really like that the tutors are real people and some of them help lighten the stress by making jokes or having quirky/witty things to say. That helps when you think you're messing up! Gives you a reprieve from your brain jumbling everything together!"

"He seemed understanding and empathetic to my situation. That means a lot to a new student who is under stress."

"She was very thorough in explaining her suggestions as well as asking questions and leaving the changes up to me, which I really appreciated. She was very encouraging and motivating which helped with keeping me positive about my paper and knowing that I am not alone in my struggles. She definitely eased my worries and stress. She was wonderful!"

5. Practice Makes Perfect

The Stanford study shows that repeated exposure to math problems through one-on-one tutoring helped students relieve their math anxiety (the authors’ analogy was how a fear of spiders can be treated with repeated exposure to spiders in a safe environment). Find a tutor you love, and come back to keep practicing:

"Love this site once again. It’s so helpful and this is the first time in years when I don’t stress about my frustration with HW because I know this site will always be here to help me."

"I've been using this service since I was in seventh grade and now I am a Freshman in High School. School has just started and I am already using this site again! :) This site is so dependable. I love it so much and it’s a lot easier than having an actual teacher sitting there hovering over you, waiting for you to finish the problem."

"I can always rely on this site to help me when I'm confused, and it always makes me feel more confident in the work I'm doing in school."

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Stanford research shows pitfalls of homework

A Stanford researcher found that students in high-achieving communities who spend too much time on homework experience more stress, physical health problems, a lack of balance and even alienation from society. More than two hours of homework a night may be counterproductive, according to the study.

Education scholar Denise Pope has found that too much homework has negative effects on student well-being and behavioral engagement. (Image credit: L.A. Cicero)

A Stanford researcher found that too much homework can negatively affect kids, especially their lives away from school, where family, friends and activities matter.

“Our findings on the effects of homework challenge the traditional assumption that homework is inherently good,” wrote Denise Pope , a senior lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Education and a co-author of a study published in the Journal of Experimental Education .

The researchers used survey data to examine perceptions about homework, student well-being and behavioral engagement in a sample of 4,317 students from 10 high-performing high schools in upper-middle-class California communities. Along with the survey data, Pope and her colleagues used open-ended answers to explore the students’ views on homework.

Median household income exceeded $90,000 in these communities, and 93 percent of the students went on to college, either two-year or four-year.

Students in these schools average about 3.1 hours of homework each night.

“The findings address how current homework practices in privileged, high-performing schools sustain students’ advantage in competitive climates yet hinder learning, full engagement and well-being,” Pope wrote.

Pope and her colleagues found that too much homework can diminish its effectiveness and even be counterproductive. They cite prior research indicating that homework benefits plateau at about two hours per night, and that 90 minutes to two and a half hours is optimal for high school.

Their study found that too much homework is associated with:

• Greater stress: 56 percent of the students considered homework a primary source of stress, according to the survey data. Forty-three percent viewed tests as a primary stressor, while 33 percent put the pressure to get good grades in that category. Less than 1 percent of the students said homework was not a stressor.

• Reductions in health: In their open-ended answers, many students said their homework load led to sleep deprivation and other health problems. The researchers asked students whether they experienced health issues such as headaches, exhaustion, sleep deprivation, weight loss and stomach problems.

• Less time for friends, family and extracurricular pursuits: Both the survey data and student responses indicate that spending too much time on homework meant that students were “not meeting their developmental needs or cultivating other critical life skills,” according to the researchers. Students were more likely to drop activities, not see friends or family, and not pursue hobbies they enjoy.

A balancing act

The results offer empirical evidence that many students struggle to find balance between homework, extracurricular activities and social time, the researchers said. Many students felt forced or obligated to choose homework over developing other talents or skills.

Also, there was no relationship between the time spent on homework and how much the student enjoyed it. The research quoted students as saying they often do homework they see as “pointless” or “mindless” in order to keep their grades up.

“This kind of busy work, by its very nature, discourages learning and instead promotes doing homework simply to get points,” Pope said.

She said the research calls into question the value of assigning large amounts of homework in high-performing schools. Homework should not be simply assigned as a routine practice, she said.

“Rather, any homework assigned should have a purpose and benefit, and it should be designed to cultivate learning and development,” wrote Pope.

High-performing paradox

In places where students attend high-performing schools, too much homework can reduce their time to foster skills in the area of personal responsibility, the researchers concluded. “Young people are spending more time alone,” they wrote, “which means less time for family and fewer opportunities to engage in their communities.”

Student perspectives

The researchers say that while their open-ended or “self-reporting” methodology to gauge student concerns about homework may have limitations – some might regard it as an opportunity for “typical adolescent complaining” – it was important to learn firsthand what the students believe.

The paper was co-authored by Mollie Galloway from Lewis and Clark College and Jerusha Conner from Villanova University.

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Managing & Overcoming Anxiety As A College Freshman

• Managing & Overcoming Anxiety As…

Leaving home for the first time can be stressful.

Add the stress of going to classes, doing homework, meeting new friends, and building new relationships, and it’s easy to understand why college freshmen are often so anxious.

Around 41.6% of all college students self-report feeling intense feelings of anxiety , and these feelings are often the most intense during the first year of school.

The good news is that anxiety is a treatable condition .

However, in this blog we’ll be exploring a few steps you can take to manage and overcome anxiety before or during professional treatment.

1. Remember That It’s Normal To Feel Some Anxiety When You Go To College

Going to college is probably the biggest change you’ve experienced in your entire life until this point.

While you used to live in a familiar environment, have a structured life, and oversight from parents and teachers, college forces you into a much different world – one that’s full of new experiences, and new challenges.

It’s normal to feel anxious about new experiences like going to college.

We all need to leave our comfort zones and grow at some point and this is a common cause of anxiety. What’s important is how you react to this anxiety. You can push through it and continue your journey, or shrink back and allow it to dominate your life.

If you struggle with figuring out how to push through your anxiety or you aren’t sure how to react to it, a professional therapist can help you learn techniques. We recommend a free consultation to evaluate your situation.

2. Do Your Best To Meet New People & Make Connections

One of the reasons that freshmen feel so anxious at college is the lack of a support system. Chances are that you’re moving away from most of your oldest friends and closest family members.

Because of this, it’s important to connect with your roommates, classmates, other residents in your hall, and people in clubs and associations you’re interested in joining. The sooner you can meet new people, put yourself out there, and make new connections, the quicker you’ll have a new support system that’s near you.

By building a new support system, you will have people to talk to when you’re feeling anxious, overwhelmed, or are having trouble managing your classes, personal life, work, and other such responsibilities.

3. Take Care Of Your Physical Health – It Will Help With Your Mental Health, Too!

There is a tendency among college freshmen to begin engaging in unhealthy behaviors, such as staying up too late and not getting enough sleep, smoking and using tobacco, getting less exercise, using drugs or alcohol recreationally, and eating infrequently and poorly.

It’s important to remember that your mind and body are linked. It will be easier for you to overcome anxiety and other mental health issues if you are taking care of your body. Try to maintain good physical habits. Here are a few steps you can take.

• Exercise a few times a week to keep your body healthy
• Make healthy food choices when eating on and off-campus
• Get at least 7-8 hours of sleep per night
• Avoid binge drinking, the use of recreational drugs, and tobacco products
• Stay hydrated
• Avoid pulling “all nighters”

4. Practice Good Time Management

One huge source of stress and anxiety as a freshman is not knowing how to manage your time and juggle classes, homework, your job, your personal life, and other parts of your life. Good time management skills are critical for minimizing this stress and anxiety.

If you do not manage your time wisely, you will always feel overwhelmed by the amount of tasks on your plate, and this can lead to a lot of stress and anxiety.

There are many ways to improve your time management skills, and different individuals will have different preferences. You can create a calendar or maintain a planner with information about your classes, homework, and assignments, stick to a daily routine, keep your notes and documents organized, and use checklists to stay on track.

Click here for some great tips on time management for new college students.

5. Explore Counseling Options

If you are feeling a lot of stress, anxiety, and pressure as a college freshman, it’s a good idea to seek help from a therapist or counselor.

With counseling and therapy, you can discuss the sources of your stress and anxiety, find methods to cope with these feelings, and ensure that you are able to get the care you need to succeed in your college career.

Know How To Beat Anxiety – And Succeed In College!

Going to college as a freshman can feel like a “sink or swim” moment. How you deal with the stress and anxiety of your new life can have a major impact on your education. So follow these tips – and if you need professional help, don’t hesitate to reach out .

The therapists at Dr. Quintal & Associates are always here to help you manage the fear, anxiety and stress that are all-too-common in college.

Related posts.

Resilience for Anxious Students

• Posted November 30, 2017
• By Leah Shafer

Did I study enough for this test? Won’t my friends do better than me? If I don’t get an A now, I won’t do well on the next exam, and then will I even get into a good college?

Anxious thoughts such as these aren’t always just passing worries. They’re becoming deeply rooted, widespread mantras for young people across America. Anxiety is the most common mental health challenge that young people face, and it’s the top reason why students seek mental health services at college today. In severe cases, anxiety is stopping teens from doing homework, reaching out to friends, and even leaving their homes, and leading to depressive and suicidal thoughts.

Many anxious teens have some sort of trigger: a school subject that doesn’t come naturally, the cliques they face at school, or — hovering throughout their high school experience — pressure to apply and get into college. It can be tempting for the counselors and therapists who work with these students to remove as many of these instigators as possible, allowing students to simply walk out of class when the content gets tough, or eat lunch away from the chaotic cafeteria. But those solutions don’t usually get to the root of the problem, and in fact they can make it worse.

Especially in affluent communities, parents are hyper-involved in their children's academic and social lives, so it’s unusual for teenagers to study, arrange a meeting about a bad grade, or even resolve a disagreement with a friend without parental help.

Instead, according a range of mental health experts, school counselors should focus on giving students the tools they need to overcome their anxiety, while fostering a school culture that embraces a sense of balance and self-regulatory skills.

A Lack of Resilience

There are a number of factors contributing to a rise in anxiety among teens. Local community trauma, poverty, and continual reports of violence from around the world can frighten young people. Social media rarely allows teens to take a break from their peers. And in many middle- and upper-middle class communities, according to psychologist Richard Weissbourd , today’s most “potent ingredient” is “ achievement pressure ” — the pressure to excel across academic subjects and a wide range of extracurriculars, culminating in the stress of putting together an impeccable college admissions package.

Underlying each of these factors, though, is the stark reality that many young people have too few opportunities to practice and build resilience , says counselor and educator Josephine Kim . More so than in past generations, many teens today have their basic needs met, and they haven’t had much practice making mistakes. Especially in affluent communities, their parents are hyper-involved in their academic and social lives, so it’s unusual for teenagers to study, arrange a meeting about a bad grade, or even resolve a disagreement with a friend without parental help.

When an uncomfortable or difficult situation arises, many teenagers just don’t have the skills to deal with it on their own. Instead, they worry, envision the worst, and shut down.

Coping with Anxiety

The good news is that schools are increasingly tuning in to mental health needs, and they’ve gotten better at diagnosing anxiety disorders, says school counseling expert and researcher Mandy Savitz-Romer . With that awareness, though, comes the question of how counselors should best support anxious students.

To Support Diagnosed Students

Above all, it’s important that counselors teach students to overcome their anxiety, not to escape their triggers. Anxious teens often just want counselors to help them feel safe again — but their problems will likely only escalate if they don’t learn how to cope with stress, discomfort, and panic.

Anxious teens often just want counselors to help them feel safe again — but their problems will likely only escalate if they don’t learn how to cope with stress, discomfort, and panic.

While therapists do need to differentiate their approach for each young person, “the first step is usually to get the student back into class, comfortable, and able to learn,” says Newton North High School adjustment counselor Beth O’Brien. “And counselors need to give students to the tools to do that.”

O’Brien suggests that counselors start by isolating what specifically is making the student anxious, and brainstorm how to make that situation more manageable. If one class is the instigator, then the counselor can try suggesting that the student moves his seat, or talks to the teacher. These actions demonstrate to the student that he has some control over himself and his surroundings, a key factor to building resilience .

During counseling sessions, O’Brien says, the student can practice strategies to calm down and refocus his thoughts — tools he can later use in anxiety-inducing situations. “Many students with anxiety want to avoid their trigger,” O’Brien says, “but counselors should expose students to what they’re fearful of, in a healthy way that won’t induce more panic.” Strengthening these self-regulatory skills such as prioritization, focus, and mental flexibility, researchers have found , is another fundamental way to develop resilience over time.

Counselors should also set expectations for what types of accommodations students should expect, says Savitz-Romer, who is a senior lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE). Schools are increasingly designating safe, quiet spaces for students to retreat to when they are feeling overwhelmed. While this is a necessary support in many circumstances, counselors should also establish and communicate limits on how long each student can stay in these quiet rooms before she needs to return to class. Attending school and completing work needs to be the goal — not something to be avoided.

Supporting Students with an Anxiety Disorder

• Focus on overcoming triggers and regaining control over anxious situations — not escaping them
• Teach students coping strategies to prioritize and refocus their thoughts
• Enforce limits for how long students can leave class

To Mitigate an Anxiety Culture

Anxiety isn’t an individual student issue. School leaders and counselors are increasingly reporting schoolwide “anxiety epidemics,” with large numbers of students feeling too paralyzed to work, and stress being almost celebrated as proof of achievement. Counselors can partner with principals and teachers to foster a school culture that mitigates anxiety and fosters positive mental health.

In more affluent, high-achieving schools, where pressure to excel can be debilitating, counselors can advocate for students not to overwork themselves academically. “Balance is important,” says O’Brien. If students appear particularly overwhelmed, she says, it may be best for counselors to suggest they take fewer AP or honors classes. Counselors can also encourage students to take part in outside extracurriculars that bring them “joy and a sense of self-worth” — feelings that can mitigate the stressors of intense academic work.

If students are feeling especially burnt out and nervous about college applications, O’Brien says, help them consider and explore alternative routes to a four-year college: taking a gap year, or first taking classes at a community college.

At the whole-school level, counselors can work with teachers to provide lessons on managing stress, prioritizing, and mentally switching between tasks, so that all students have an idea of how to handle feeling overwhelmed, suggests clinical psychologist Jacqueline Zeller . An evidence-backed curriculum on mindfulness and social-emotional learning can also give students, faculty, and staff shared terminology for labeling and managing their emotions, which helps ensure they’ll understand each other when problems arise.

Finally, counselors can encourage teachers to emphasize a growth mindset in their teaching, which can help students to embrace challenges, rather than feel overwhelmed by them. “Educators who take this approach offer positive encouragement that reinforces effort, as well as helpful instructional feedback on learning strategies,” says Zeller, also a lecturer at HGSE. “Helping students to have freedom to feel mistakes are part of the learning process will allow for students to focus more on developing effective strategies connected to the academic task at hand, rather than worrying about getting a perfect score on a test.”

Mitigating an Anxiety Culture

• Emphasize a balanced academic schedule
• Teach mindfulness, stress management, and other coping mechanisms to all students
• Encourage a growth mindset and focus on building skills that will help students achieve across sectors

Additional Resources

• An overview of anxiety disorders, from the National Institute of Mental Health

Illustration: Wilhelmina Peragine

We’re in a moment where anxiety is running rampant , spreading like an epidemic among adolescents. What can we do? In a series of pieces, we look at how to help teenagers face their fears, build resilience, and grapple with the pressure to achieve — on the road to college and beyond. Read more at What Do Anxious Teens Need?

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August 23, 2022 , Filed Under: Uncategorized

How to Manage Homework-Related Stress

Ask students what causes them the most stress, and the conversation will likely turn to homework. Students have complained about homework for practically as long as it has existed. While some dismiss these complaints as students’ laziness or lack of organization, there’s more to it than that. Many students face a lot of pressure to succeed in school, sports, work, and other areas. Also, more teens and young adults are dealing with mental health problems, with up to 40% of college students reporting symptoms of depression and anxiety.  

Researchers and professionals debate over whether homework does more harm than good, but at least for now, homework is an integral part of education. How do students deal with heavy homework loads? It’s become common for overwhelmed students to use an essay service to help them complete their assigned tasks. Pulling all-nighters to finish assignments and study for tests is another strategy busy college students use, for better or worse. 

If you’re a student that’s struggling to get all your homework done, make sure to take care of your mental health. School is important, but your health is more important. Try the following tips to help you stay on top of your busy schedule.

Make a Schedule

Time management is an important skill, but you can’t learn it without effort. The first step to managing your time more effectively is to make a schedule and stick to it. Use a calendar, planner, or an app to write down everything you need to get done. Set reminders for due dates and set aside time each day for studying. Don’t leave assignments for the last minute. Plan to finish your work well ahead of the due date in case something unexpected happens and you need more time. Make sure your schedule is realistic. Give yourself a reasonable amount of time to complete each task. And schedule time for hobbies and social activities too. 

Find a Study Spot

Doing homework in a dedicated workspace can boost your productivity. Studying in bed could make you fall asleep, and doing homework in a crowded, noisy place can be distracting. You want to complete as much work as possible during your study sessions, so choose a place that’s free of distractions. Make sure you have everything you need within arm’s reach. Resist the temptation to check your notifications or social media feeds while you study. Put your phone in airplane mode if necessary so it doesn’t distract you. You don’t need a private office to study efficiently, but having a quiet, distraction-free place to do your homework can help you to get more done.

Get Enough Rest

An all-nighter every once in a while probably won’t do you any lasting harm. But a consistent lack of sleep is bad for your productivity and your health. Most young people need at least 7 hours of sleep every night, so make it your goal to go to bed on time. You’ll feel better throughout the day, have more energy, and improve your focus. Instead of dozing off while you’re doing homework, you’ll be more alert and productive if you get enough sleep. 

It’s also important to spend time relaxing and enjoying your favorite activities. Hang out with friends, take a walk, or watch a movie. You’ll feel less stressed if you take some time for yourself.

Don’t Shoot for Perfection

It’s tempting to try to get a perfect grade on every test or assignment. But perfectionism only causes unnecessary stress and anxiety. If you consider yourself a perfectionist, you might spend too much time on less important tasks. Prioritize your assignments and put more time and effort into the most important ones. 

Most people struggle with perfectionism because they’ve been taught they should do their best at everything. But you don’t have to go above and beyond for every assignment. That’s not to say you should turn in bad work. But putting in just enough effort to get by isn’t a bad thing. Don’t put pressure on yourself to be the best at everything. Focus on your most important assignments, and don’t spend too much time and effort perfecting the others. 

Almost all students deal with the burden of homework-related stress. No one enjoys the anxiety of having a lot of assignments due and not enough time to complete them. But take advantage of this opportunity to learn organization and self-discipline, which will help you throughout your life. Try making a schedule and don’t forget to set aside time to rest. When it’s time to study, choose a quiet place where you can concentrate. Don’t neglect your health; if you’re feeling anxious or depressed, talk to a counselor or your doctor. School stress is hard to avoid, but if you take these steps you can reduce homework anxiety and have better control of your time. 

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Stress in College Students: What to Know

Strong social connections and positive habits can help ease high levels of stress among college-age adults.

Getty Images

From socializing to working out, here's how college students can better manage stress.

From paying for school and taking exams to filling out internship applications, college students can face overwhelming pressure and demands. Some stress can be healthy and even motivating under the proper circumstances, but often stress is overwhelming and can lead to other issues.

"Stress is there for a reason. It's there to help mobilize you to meet the demands of your day, but you're also supposed to have times where you do shut down and relax and repair and restore," says Emma K. Adam, professor of human development and social policy at Northwestern University in Illinois.

Chronic and unhealthy levels of stress is at its worst among college-age students and young adults, some research shows. According to the American Psychological Association's 2022 "Stress in America" report , 46% of adults ages 18 to 35 reported that "most days they are so stressed they can't function."

In a Gallup poll that surveyed more than 2,400 college students in March 2023, 66% of reported experiencing stress and 51% reported feelings of worry "during a lot of the day." And emotional stress was among the top reasons students considered dropping out of college in the fall 2022 semester, according to findings in the State of Higher Education 2023 report, based on a study conducted in 2022 by Gallup and the Lumina Foundation.

As students are navigating a new environment and often living independently for the first time, they encounter numerous opportunities, responsibilities and life changes on top of academic responsibilities. It can be sensory overload for some, experts say.

“Going to college has always been a significant time of transition developmentally with adulthood, but you add to it everything that comes along with that transition and then you put onto it a youth mental health crisis, it’s just compounded in a very different way," says Jessica Gomez, a clinical psychologist and executive director of Momentous Institute, a researched-based organization that provides mental health services and educational programming to children and families.

Experts say college students have experienced heightened stress since the COVID-19 pandemic, a trend likely to continue for the foreseeable future.

“What some of our research at Gallup has shown is that we had a rising tide of negative emotions, not just in the U.S. but globally, in the eight to 10 years leading up to the pandemic, and of course it got worse during the pandemic," says Stephanie Marken, senior partner of the education research division at Gallup who conducted the 2023 study. “For currently enrolled college students, there’s so many contributing factors.”

Adam notes that multiple factors combine to contribute to heightened stress among younger adults, including the nation’s racial and political controversies, as well as anxiety regarding their futures fueled by climate change, global unrest and economic uncertainty. Female students reported higher levels of stress than males in the Gallup poll, which Marken says could be attributed to several factors like increased internal academic pressure, caregiving responsibilities and the recent uncertainty regarding abortion rights following the reversal of Roe v. Wade.

All of this, plus the residual effects of pandemic learning, has contributed to rising stress for college students, Marken says.

"We need to give them a lot of credit," she says. "They had the most challenge in remote learning of all the learners that have come before them. Many of them had to graduate high school and study remotely, or were a first-year college student during the pandemic, and that was incredibly difficult."

The challenges that came with that learning environment will likely affect students throughout college, she says, as well as typical stressors like discrimination, harassment and academic challenges.

"Those will always be present on college campuses," she says. "The question is, how do we create a student who overcomes those challenges effectively?"

Experts suggest a range of specific actions and positive shifts that can help ease stress in college students:

• Notice the symptoms of heightened stress.
• Build and maintain social connections.
• Sleep, eat well and exercise.

Notice the Symptoms of Heightened Stress

College students can start by learning to identify when normal stress increases to become unhealthy. Stress will appear differently in each student, says Lindsey Giller, a clinical psychologist with the Child Mind Institute, a nonprofit focused on helping children and young adults with mental health and learning disorders.

"Students prone to anxiety may avoid assignments as well as skip classes due to experiencing shame for being behind or missing things," she says. "For some, they may also start sleeping in more, eating at more random times, foregoing self-care, or look to distraction or escape mechanisms, like substances, to fill time and further avoid the reality of workload assignments."

Changes in diet and sleeping are also telling, as well as increased social isolation and pulling away from activities that once brought you pleasure is also a red flag, Gomez says.

She warns students to watch for signs of irritability, a classic indicator of increased stress that can often compound issues, especially within interpersonal relationships.

"Your body speaks to you, so be in tune with your body," she says.

Build and Maintain Social Connections

Socializing can help humans release stress. Experts say having fun and finding joy in life keep stress levels manageable, and socializing is particularly important developmentally for young adults. In the 2023 Gallup poll, 76% of students reported feeling enjoyment the previous day, which Marken says was an encouraging sign.

But 39% reported experiencing feelings of loneliness and 36% reported feeling sad. “We are in the midst of an epidemic of loneliness in our country, where we are noticing people don’t have the skills to build friendships,” Gomez says.

Discover six

Talking about feelings of stress can help college students cope, which is why the amount of students feeling lonely is concerning, Marken says. If students don't feel like they belong or have a social network to call on when feeling stressed, negative emotions are compounded.

“I think we’re more connected, and yet we’re more isolated than ever," she says. "It feels counterintuitive. How can you be more connected to your network and campus than ever, yet feel this lonely? Just because they have a device to connect with each other in a transactional way doesn’t mean it’s a meaningful relationship. I think that’s what we’re missing on a lot of college campuses is students creating meaningful connections about a shared experience."

Setting boundaries on social media use is crucial, Gomez says, as is getting plugged in with people and organizations that will be enriching. For example, Gomez says she joined a Latina sorority to be in community with others who shared some of her life experiences and interests.

Sleep, Eat Well and Exercise

Maintaining healthy habits can help college students better manage stressors that arise.

"Prioritizing sleep, moving your body, getting organized, and leaning on your support network all help college students prevent or manage stress," John MacPhee, CEO of The Jed Foundation, a nonprofit that aims to protect emotional health and prevent suicide among teens and young adults, wrote in an email. "In the inevitable moments of high stress, mindful breathing, short brain breaks, and relaxation techniques can really help."

Experts suggest creating a routine and sticking to it. That includes getting between eight and 10 hours of sleep each night and avoiding staying up late, Gomez says. A nutrient-rich diet can also go a long way in maintaining good physical and mental health, she says.

Getting outdoors and being active can also help students limit their screen time and use of social media.

“Walking to campus, maybe taking that longer walk, because your body needs that to heal," Gomez says. "It’s going to help buffer you. So if that’s the only thing you do, try to do that."

Colleges typically offer mental health resources such as counseling and support groups for struggling students.

Students dealing with chronic and unhealthy stress should contact their college and reach out to friends and family for support. Reaching out to parents, friends or mentors can be beneficial for students when feelings of stress come up, especially in heightened states around midterm and final exams .

Accessing student supports and counseling early can prevent a cascading effect that results in serious mental health challenges or unhealthy coping mechanisms like problem drinking and drug abuse , experts say.

"Know there are lots of resources on campus from academic services to counseling centers to get structured, professional support to lower your workload, improve coping skills, and have a safe space to process anxiety, worry, and stress," MacPhee says.

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The Truth About Homework Stress: What Parents & Students Need to Know

• Fact Checked

Written by:

published on:

• December 21, 2023

Updated on:

• January 9, 2024

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Homework is generally given out to ensure that students take time to review and remember the days lessons. It can help improve on a student’s general performance and enhance traits like self-discipline and independent problem solving.

Parents are able to see what their children are doing in school, while also helping teachers determine how well the lesson material is being learned. Homework is quite beneficial when used the right way and can improve student  performance.

This well intentioned practice can turn sour if it’s not handled the right way. Studies show that if a student is inundated with too much homework, not only do they get lower scores, but they are more likely to get stressed.

The age at which homework stress is affecting students is getting lower, some even as low as kindergarten. Makes you wonder what could a five year old possibly need to review as homework?

One of the speculated reasons for this stress is that the complexity of what a student is expected to learn is increasing, while the breaks for working out excess energy are reduced. Students are getting significantly more homework than recommended by the education leaders, some even nearly three times more.

To make matters worse, teachers may give homework that is both time consuming and will keep students busy while being totally non-productive.

Remedial work like telling students to copy notes word for word from their text books will  do nothing to improve their grades or help them progress. It just adds unnecessary stress.

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Effects of homework stress at home

Both parents and students tend to get stressed out at the beginning of a new school year due to the impending arrival of homework.

Nightly battles centered on finishing assignments are a household routine in houses with students.

Research has found that too much homework can negatively affect children. In creating a lack of balance between play time and time spent doing homework, a child can get headaches, sleep deprivation or even ulcers.

And homework stress doesn’t just impact grade schoolers. College students are also affected, and the stress is affecting their academic performance.

Even the parent’s confidence in their abilities to help their children with homework suffers due increasing stress levels in the household.

Fights and conflict over homework are more likely in families where parents do not have at least a college degree. When the child needs assistance, they have to turn to their older siblings who might already be bombarded with their own homework.

Parents who have a college degree feel more confident in approaching the school and discussing the appropriate amount of school work.

“It seems that homework being assigned discriminates against parents who don’t have college degree, parents who have English as their second language and against parents who are poor.” Said Stephanie Donaldson Pressman, the contributing editor of the study and clinical director of the New England Center for Pediatric Psychology.

With all the stress associated with homework, it’s not surprising that some parents have opted not to let their children do homework. Parents that have instituted a no-homework policy have stated that it has taken a lot of the stress out of their evenings.

The recommended amount homework

The standard endorsed by the National Education Association is called the “10 minute rule”; 10 minutes per grade level per night. This recommendation was made after a number of studies were done on the effects of too much homework on families.

The 10 minute rule basically means 10 minutes of homework in the first grade, 20 minute for the second grade all the way up to 120 minutes for senior year in high school. Note that no homework is endorsed in classes under the first grade.

Parents reported first graders were spending around half an hour on homework each night, and kindergarteners spent 25 minutes a night on assignments according to a study carried out by Brown University.

Making a five year old sit still for half an hour is very difficult as they are at the age where they just want to move around and play.

A child who is exposed to 4-5 hours of homework after school is less likely to find the time to go out and play with their friends, which leads to accumulation of stress energy in the body.

Their social life also suffers because between the time spent at school and doing homework, a child will hardly have the time to pursue hobbies. They may also develop a negative attitude towards learning.

The research highlighted that 56% of students consider homework a primary source of stress.

And if you’re curious how the U.S stacks up against other countries in regards to how much time children spend on homework, it’s pretty high on the list .

Signs to look out for on a student that has homework stress

Since not every student is affected by homework stress in the same way, it’s important to be aware of some of the signs your child might be mentally drained from too much homework.

Here are some common signs of homework stress:

• Sleep disturbances
• Frequent stomachaches and headaches
• Decreased appetite or changed eating habits
• New or recurring fears
• Not able to relax
• Regressing to behavior they had when younger
• Bursts of anger crying or whining
• Becoming withdrawn while others may become clingy
• Drastic changes in academic performance
• Having trouble concentrating or completing homework
• Constantly complains about their ability to do homework

If you’re a parent and notice any of these signs in your child, step in to find out what’s going on and if homework is the source of their stress.

If you’re a student, pay attention if you start experiencing any of these symptoms as a result of your homework load. Don’t be afraid to ask your teacher or parents for help if the stress of homework becomes too much for you.

What parents do wrong when it comes to homework stress

Most parents push their children to do more and be more, without considering the damage being done by this kind of pressure.

Some think that homework brought home is always something the children can deal with on their own. If the child cannot handle their homework then these parents get angry and make the child feel stupid.

This may lead to more arguing and increased dislike of homework in the household. Ultimately the child develops an even worse attitude towards homework.

Another common mistake parents make is never questioning the amount of homework their children get, or how much time they spend on it. It’s easy to just assume whatever the teacher assigned is adequate, but as we mentioned earlier, that’s not always the case.

Be proactive and involved with your child’s homework. If you notice they’re spending hours every night on homework, ask them about it. Just because they don’t complain doesn’t mean there isn’t a problem.

How can parents help?

• While every parent wants their child to become successful and achieve the very best, it’s important to pull back on the mounting pressure and remember that they’re still just kids. They need time out to release their stress and connect with other children.
• Many children may be afraid to admit that they’re overwhelmed by homework because they might be misconstrued as failures. The best thing a parent can do is make home a safe place for children to express themselves freely. You can do this by lending a listening ear and not judging your kids.
• Parents can also take the initiative to let the school know that they’re unhappy with the amount of homework being given. Even if you don’t feel comfortable complaining, you can approach the school through the parent-teacher association available and request your representative to plead your case.
• It may not be all the subjects that are causing your child to get stressed. Parents should find out if there is a specific subject of homework that is causing stress. You could also consult with other parents to see what they can do to fix the situation. It may be the amount or the content that causes stress, so the first step is identifying the problem.
• Work with your child to create a schedule for getting homework done on time. You can set a specific period of time for homework, and schedule time for other activities too. Strike a balance between work and play.
• Understanding that your child is stressed about homework doesn’t mean you have to allow them not to try. Let them sit down and work on it as much as they’re able to, and recruit help from the older siblings or a neighbor if possible.
• Check out these resources to help your child with their homework .

The main idea here is to not abolish homework completely, but to review the amount and quality of homework being given out. Stress, depression and lower grades are the last things parents want for their children.

The schools and parents need to work together to find a solution to this obvious problem.

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Is it time to get rid of homework? Mental health experts weigh in.

It's no secret that kids hate homework. And as students grapple with an ongoing pandemic that has had a wide range of mental health impacts, is it time schools start listening to their pleas about workloads?

Some teachers are turning to social media to take a stand against homework. 

Tiktok user @misguided.teacher says he doesn't assign it because the "whole premise of homework is flawed."

For starters, he says, he can't grade work on "even playing fields" when students' home environments can be vastly different.

"Even students who go home to a peaceful house, do they really want to spend their time on busy work? Because typically that's what a lot of homework is, it's busy work," he says in the video that has garnered 1.6 million likes. "You only get one year to be 7, you only got one year to be 10, you only get one year to be 16, 18."

Mental health experts agree heavy workloads have the potential do more harm than good for students, especially when taking into account the impacts of the pandemic. But they also say the answer may not be to eliminate homework altogether.

Emmy Kang, mental health counselor at Humantold , says studies have shown heavy workloads can be "detrimental" for students and cause a "big impact on their mental, physical and emotional health."

"More than half of students say that homework is their primary source of stress, and we know what stress can do on our bodies," she says, adding that staying up late to finish assignments also leads to disrupted sleep and exhaustion.

Cynthia Catchings, a licensed clinical social worker and therapist at Talkspace , says heavy workloads can also cause serious mental health problems in the long run, like anxiety and depression. 

And for all the distress homework  can cause, it's not as useful as many may think, says Dr. Nicholas Kardaras, a psychologist and CEO of Omega Recovery treatment center.

"The research shows that there's really limited benefit of homework for elementary age students, that really the school work should be contained in the classroom," he says.

For older students, Kang says, homework benefits plateau at about two hours per night. 

"Most students, especially at these high achieving schools, they're doing a minimum of three hours, and it's taking away time from their friends, from their families, their extracurricular activities. And these are all very important things for a person's mental and emotional health."

Catchings, who also taught third to 12th graders for 12 years, says she's seen the positive effects of a no-homework policy while working with students abroad.

"Not having homework was something that I always admired from the French students (and) the French schools, because that was helping the students to really have the time off and really disconnect from school," she says.

The answer may not be to eliminate homework completely but to be more mindful of the type of work students take home, suggests Kang, who was a high school teacher for 10 years.

"I don't think (we) should scrap homework; I think we should scrap meaningless, purposeless busy work-type homework. That's something that needs to be scrapped entirely," she says, encouraging teachers to be thoughtful and consider the amount of time it would take for students to complete assignments.

The pandemic made the conversation around homework more crucial 

Mindfulness surrounding homework is especially important in the context of the past two years. Many students will be struggling with mental health issues that were brought on or worsened by the pandemic , making heavy workloads even harder to balance.

"COVID was just a disaster in terms of the lack of structure. Everything just deteriorated," Kardaras says, pointing to an increase in cognitive issues and decrease in attention spans among students. "School acts as an anchor for a lot of children, as a stabilizing force, and that disappeared."

But even if students transition back to the structure of in-person classes, Kardaras suspects students may still struggle after two school years of shifted schedules and disrupted sleeping habits.

"We've seen adults struggling to go back to in-person work environments from remote work environments. That effect is amplified with children because children have less resources to be able to cope with those transitions than adults do," he explains.

'Get organized' ahead of back-to-school

In order to make the transition back to in-person school easier, Kang encourages students to "get good sleep, exercise regularly (and) eat a healthy diet."

To help manage workloads, she suggests students "get organized."

"There's so much mental clutter up there when you're disorganized. ... Sitting down and planning out their study schedules can really help manage their time," she says.

Breaking up assignments can also make things easier to tackle.

"I know that heavy workloads can be stressful, but if you sit down and you break down that studying into smaller chunks, they're much more manageable."

If workloads are still too much, Kang encourages students to advocate for themselves.

"They should tell their teachers when a homework assignment just took too much time or if it was too difficult for them to do on their own," she says. "It's good to speak up and ask those questions. Respectfully, of course, because these are your teachers. But still, I think sometimes teachers themselves need this feedback from their students."

More: Some teachers let their students sleep in class. Here's what mental health experts say.

More: Some parents are slipping young kids in for the COVID-19 vaccine, but doctors discourage the move as 'risky'

How 25 College Students Cope With Anxiety and Panic Attacks

By Lindsay Wigo

Now that colleges has been back in session for about a month, students are starting to adjust to the new semester, which includes keeping track of tests, quizzes, and that paper that’s due tomorrow. Plus, managing a social calendar, getting in some quality gym time, and making sure you're calling back mom. This is all while you're definitely not getting enough sleep.

Overwhelming, right? While trying to keep up with old and new friends, studying, and finding time to breath during it all, it’s easy to fall into a pit of anxiety and panic when it comes to academic and social situations.

“Student anxiety can come in different forms and degrees,” says Dr. Boyce Jubilan, Ph.D , a professor in the psychology department at DeSales University. “Students face a lot of 'stressor' stimuli that can lead to anxiety. These stimuli can include exams, deadlines, social conflicts, and many more. How we view and manage some of these stimuli can influence the degree of anxiety that results from them.”

Dr. Amy Saborsky , a licensed psychologist and an adjunct professor at DeSales University reminds us that just because one method of coping with anxiety works for one person doesn’t mean it’s going to work for another.

"These strategies might be beneficial in the short term to help with relaxation or decrease anxiety,” Dr. Saborsky says. “However, if someone is truly struggling with anxiety or panic, so much so that it causes problems with functioning or leads to intense distress, it is best to seek out the services of a mental health provider, such as a psychologist or licensed therapist. Many psychologists and therapists are trained in research supported therapies to help you conquer anxiety and panic and provide you long term solutions and strategies to dealing with your difficulties.”

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America , anxiety affects 18.1% of the population every year. If that doesn’t seem very large, that 18.1% equals a total of 40 million adults age 18 and over. So naturally, finding 25 college students who’ve had their fair share of anxiety wasn’t too difficult. Here’s what has worked for them when it comes to overcoming anxiety and panic.

Sarah, 19, University of Delaware

“Homework, studying weeks before an exam, exercising, rushing, seeing my boyfriend and friends, sleeping, eating, to all and everything in between, my days are pretty busy which means I can get pretty overwhelmed. And during these past few weeks at certain times, I've felt myself panic. Trembling hands, hot flashes, sweating, fast heartbeat, nausea. The way I calm myself down is repeatedly telling myself I'm going to be okay. Over and over again. I take a break from whatever I am doing and calm my breathing. I think about happy things or people. Not acing every test, or missing a workout, isn't the end of the world and that's another thing I tell myself. I also like to take walks, whether it's during the day or 2 a.m., being by myself outside really helps calm me down.”

Alayna, 19, University of Delaware

“Just simply pausing to acknowledge that my anxiety is acting up instead of letting myself be consumed by anxious thoughts can counteract a panic attack in itself. It also helps me to question the reality of my anxiety because normally it's about something that most likely won't happen. Meditation and focusing on breathing also help me a lot.”

Lucy, 21, University of Delaware

“Whenever I'm feeling panicky, my thoughts start running away from me and it's kind of like an avalanche. So in order to ground myself and prevent a full on panic attack, I do three things. The first is that I think of 5 things I can see, 4 I can hear, 3 I can touch, 2 I can smell, and 1 I can taste. Then I breathe in for 7 seconds, hold that for 3 seconds, and breathe out for 5 seconds. And then finally, I get a glass of water and sip it super slowly. All of that brings me back to reality and allows me to start looking at the reasons for panicking rationally.”

Jake, 19, Washington College

“The best way to calm down is to do it gradually. I like assessing a stressful situation in my head a few times and seeing if I can develop a plan to settle myself down. Sometimes this involves talking it out with a good friend that I can trust; other times I prefer to keep it to myself and maybe go for a run to calm down. There's not a universal solution to conquering anxiety and stress. Each person and situation will have different circumstances. For example, there's a completely different approach that I use for anxiety as it relates to academics in comparison to social life. Academic stress can often be conquered through careful time management and organization. But in some social situations you just may never know what to do if you find yourself in an uncomfortable situation with some people you barely know at a party. You have to handle it on a case-by-case basis because if you use the same method over and over again, you will get into a routine and will just find yourself more stressed out in the long run.”

Saman, 18, Rutgers University

“My first instinct is to find a more private area, so I leave the classroom or wherever I am if possible and find a quieter area. I try to call my mom, sister, or a close friend for support and practice slow, deep breaths (I count slowly to 4 for each inhale and exhale, and hold my breath in between for 4 seconds as well). I write down what's bothering me and promise myself to look at it once I have the time. Useful things that have helped me are school counselors, yoga/meditation, and even notifying your professors if this happens a lot. They are usually understanding.”

Kary, 20, University of Delaware

“When I have panic attacks or even just a bit of anxiety (which happens a lot), I tend to listen to music and focus on breathing. It's pretty cliché, but doing anything to ground myself helps. A lot of times I also make lists and refer to my planner so that I feel like I have my life in order even if I don't. Mental health can be a bitch sometimes, but the key is to learn what works for you!”

By Ilana Kaplan

By Donya Momenian

Ben, 18, University of Pittsburgh

If I feel an attack coming and I'm at home, I'll sit down at the piano for 20+ minutes, playing and improvising to get my mind off things. Not at home, I'll turn to music (usually the song time by Hans Zimmer from Inception ) and try to find a place where I can lean back and close my eyes for 5 minutes or so.

Katie, 20, Queens University of Charlotte

“I don't usually have panic attacks, and my anxiety isn't terrible, but I usually have to step away from the situation and just breathe. Whenever I start feeling really anxious, I have difficulty focusing on anything. I usually go to Tumblr and just write a text post to vent about it. It's probably not the healthiest option, but knowing that someone is "listening" to me, per se, helps!”

Georgia, 18, Wagner College

“This might sound ridiculous, but if I’m in my room I’ll put a blanket over my head, close my eyes and try to make sure there’s little noise (or if you have a song that calms you, put that on). I take deep breaths until my panic attack is over or calmed or until I get my head settled and the negativity removed. Then, I come out of the blanket and start the thing that is stressing me out the most or the easiest thing that needs to be done. Or I take a shower to refresh.”

Tori, 19, Sacred Heart University

“Usually, when I start to freak out a little bit, it doesn't take much for me to unravel. My strategies have definitely changed over the years as I've learned how to better cope with my anxiety and actually see what works for me. Usually, I go to some place private for a minute and call a friend and just stay on the line, but I also like to grab my Bible and take a few minutes for myself and God. I know this isn't for most people, but after being in Catholic school my entire life, I've found this to be really effective for me to stay grounded and in the moment, just getting through whatever I seem to be struggling with at that moment.”

Michelle, 19, DeSales University

“I usually turn to a friend or parent to discuss what I’m worrying about and reaffirm myself that I’ll be ok! I enjoy to listen to soothing music or turn on my favorite TV show and just relax. Reading positive affirmations also remind me that I’m in control and I got this.”

Maryam, 18, University of Pittsburgh

“Sometimes I exercise if it's a mild attack. Usually I put on a favorite movie or song and curl up under a blanket with a teddy bear I got a few years ago that I named Cap. He's blue with little Captain America shields all over him. But if I can't do those things, I try to go through the process of photosynthesis in my head to focus my mind — it doesn't really calm me so much as distract me.”

Brenna, 19, La Salle University

“First thing I do is try to take a few deep breaths. Then sometimes I just call my mom, and she helps me calm down. Most times, though, I turn on some music because that always gets me out of my head.”

Caitlin, 20, The Catholic University of America

“My small campus is very green and picturesque, so when I get stressed I find myself going on night walks by myself and enjoying the scenery. It gives me time to listen to my favorite tunes and reflect. It also helps me think, prioritize, and focus on what I need to do in order to get organized and get what I need to done. Sometimes I'll bring a friend along to talk to about my problems and to seek advice.”

Allie, 19, DCCC

“When I feel an anxiety attack coming on the first thing I do is tell myself is that I’m okay and take a few deep breaths. Then if that doesn’t help, I think of something that will get my mind off of it. Like something I'm excited about that I might be doing the next weekend, or someone that I will see soon that makes me happy. Also, I drink lots of water to calm myself down.”

Reed, 19, Thomas Jefferson University

“I usually like to walk away from whatever is giving me anxiety, such as a project or a paper. I walk away and try to change what's on my mind and get my mind to think about something else so I calm down. I’ll then go back to whatever I'm working on with a clear head.”

Aidan, 19, Wagner College

“I am the biggest momma's boy ever. Whenever I am having a moment where I feel like I've hit a brick wall and I can't go any farther, I call my mom on the phone and she talks me through what I am going through and possible solutions. Occasionally I will ask her to just talk about anything so I can focus on something other than the issues that I am being faced with. She is the best support system I could ask for and I thank her everyday for that.”

Angelina, 20, Cabrini University

“I have never had an actual anxiety or panic attack. However, I have personally chosen to exercise for 30-60 minutes a day 5 times a week to cope with my anxiety. I am dedicated to carrying out this daily, all natural remedy in my life, as to medicating through a doctor's prescription. Daily physical activity and proper nutrition brings me to an all-day play of ease and bliss, while I felt as if medication that I was once on was numbing me and altering my inner self in ways I did not like.”

Alexis, 19, DeSales University

“When I have an anxiety attack I try to distract myself. Sometimes I will take a walk which usually helps a lot or I will watch some videos on YouTube. They both help me to calm down.”

Josie, 18, The Catholic University of America

“I call my mom, my sister, and/or my friends and they help me calm down and focus on what I need to do in the situation and how to move forward.”

Aaron, 19, Marquette University

“I feel lucky because I don’t remember the last time I had a panic attack, but whenever I feel anxious or stressed about something, I usually take a nap. If there’s no time to take a nap, then I try to reason my way out of feeling anxious. I try to understand why I’m feeling anxious and then argue against those feelings using reason.”

Allison, 18, Pennsylvania State University

“Let it happen naturally. I talk it out with my mom and then write a list of what is causing my anxiety and create a plan of how to get the work done. Also taking my mind off it helps. If I can't stop freaking out, I give myself time to watch a YouTube video and then come back to it later.”

Angela, 20, York College of Pennsylvania

“If I find myself getting too overwhelmed, I take a deep breath and lay down and shut my brain off for 5-10 mins.”

Olivia, 19, West Chester University

“Whenever I have either attack, I tend to cry for a while. After that is over, I'll do a few breathing exercises that I have been taught by some of my friends who go through the same thing. The breathing exercises really help you to focus on something else other than the issue at hand! Then for the rest of the day I just try and stay as relaxed as possible.”

Katarzyna, 19, Delaware Valley University

“I like having friends or family to comfort me and let me know everything is ok. I also like taking a bath, sitting outside, or taking a nap in my bed with freshly washed sheets to clear my head.”

Alaba, 17, Syracuse University

“I always make lists. I'll write down everything that stressing me out as fast as I can and when I do, it feels like the weight is lifted gradually with each item I put down. It also makes me feel like it isn't such a big deal so I will get through it.”

Related: How to Handle Four Anxiety Causes

By Angie Jaime

By Jane Houseal

By Tess Garcia

By Lex McMenamin

Dealing with College Anxiety

Anxiety is very common for college students. Many things may cause anxiety, such as living away from home, attending college-level classes, getting good grades, picking a major, entering into new relationships, thinking about life after college, etc. All of these things are big milestones and while they can be exciting, they can also make you feel stressed and be anxiety inducing.

What is Anxiety?

According to the American Psychological Association , anxiety is “an emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts and physical changes like increased blood pressure.”

Have you ever been so worried about passing an important final that you couldn’t even think straight? That’s one example of what anxiety can do to you.

Anxiety from School

Worrying about getting good grades can overwhelm any student. No matter how hard you study, you may still believe or have a fear that you won’t be able to pass.

Here are a few tips that I’ve used to calm my college class-related anxiety:

• Have a study schedule that you stick to 80-90% of the time. It’s easier to study throughout the semester than try to rush and memorize the entire book the night before the exam. Also, it allows you to study in a calm, relaxed manner during times when your grade is not on the line. The more confident that you are in knowing the material the less you worry about the exam.
• Go to sleep! Seriously. Many students underestimate the amount of sleep they need to maintain their body’s homeostasis . Get a good night’s rest. Especially before a big exam! It helps your body relax and re-balance itself.
• Portion out your paper. If you have a big 10-page paper, plan out your time wisely. Try writing a page a week until it’s due. Final papers can be very stress-inducing because you have to make sure everything is correct, researched, cited, and grammatically sound.  Divvy it out over a few weeks so you can take your time to perfect your paper and get an “A”.

Living Away from Home

Living on campus, especially on your own for the first time, can be exciting, but it can also feel overwhelming. You have freedom but you also have the responsibilities that come with it. It can cause a lot of worries, but there are always ways to make your life easier.

Here are a couple of ways to help with anxiety for college students:

• Become Friends with Your RA. The Resident Assistant (RA) in your dorm is there to help you with any problems that might arise. This can range from conflicts with your roommate to dealing with noise disturbances to feeling lonely or isolated, etc. Talk to your RA about what’s going on and see what help they can offer. Usually, they can help settle roommate or dorm disputes, or if not, point you to some extra school resources or clubs that can help.
• Make Friends! Sometimes the most obvious solutions are best. Many times the anxiety of living away from home centers on feeling lonely or isolated. Want to feel better? Start looking to make some friends.  The good news? College is actually a pretty easy place to do so. Most classmates are usually around your age and are going through the same things you are. Make the first move, introduce yourself, join some clubs, go to an on- or off-campus party, etc. People at school are looking to make friends just as much as you are.
• Call Your Family. Just because you are living away from your family doesn’t mean that you can’t still have a connection to them. I love calling my family members at least once a day. It may be for just five minutes or an hour. It feels good to connect with my family no matter where I am, and it can be a great stress reliever.

General Anxiety Tips

We’ve talked about some specific anxiety-reducing ways, but here are some more tips for any situation:

• Breathing. Many people underestimate the power of breathing. If you are feeling anxious, try some breathing techniques to help calm you down.  Breathing in and out slowly. This helps slow down your heartbeat and make you feel less stressed.
• Power Napping. Take a 30-minute nap to refresh yourself instead of drinking yet another cup of coffee. Power napping can help you reset, feel more refreshed, and help you focus more on being productive.
• Meditation/Yoga/Exercising. Exercising can help you take your mind off things while helping to keep your body in shape.

Remember, anxiety is a temporary emotion that many people feel, especially college students. Most of us can power through stressful moments. If you have or think you have more a more serious condition—such as anxiety disorders or panic attacks, you should seek help with school health centers. If you’re having difficulty handling your anxiety, it’s okay to ask for help. We can all use some outside perspective and help. Speak to your school advisor or health center if you’re feeling overwhelmed.

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Getting Help for Social Anxiety Disorder at College

Arlin Cuncic, MA, is the author of The Anxiety Workbook and founder of the website About Social Anxiety. She has a Master's degree in clinical psychology.

Steven Gans, MD is board-certified in psychiatry and is an active supervisor, teacher, and mentor at Massachusetts General Hospital.

You Are Not Alone

Understanding social anxiety disorder, how to get help, coping with sad at college, class presentations, positive lifestyle coping strategies.

If you are struggling with  social anxiety disorder (SAD)  at college, it can be difficult to manage the everyday aspects of being a student, such as making new friends and attending classes.

According to a 2011 national survey, more than 62 percent of students with mental health problems who withdrew from college did so because of those issues. Anxiety disorders are among the most prevalent mental health problems experienced by college students today.

If you have lived with anxiety for a long time, it may be hard to understand that your symptoms are a diagnosable illness that can be treated. If you have not already been diagnosed, a good place to start is to read about the symptoms of SAD and criteria for diagnosis .

How Having SAD May Affect You in College

From approaching professors to making new friends and initiating romantic relationships, much of campus life is social. If your SAD is left untreated, all aspects of your college experience may be affected.

• Academics : You may find it hard to participate in class, ask questions, get help with homework, join study groups, give presentations, and approach professors.
• Social activities : You may be less likely to participate in clubs and sports, to initiate friendships or romantic relationships, and to stand up for yourself in difficult situations.
• Alcohol abuse : Students with severe social anxiety are at increased risk of problem drinking if alcohol is used as a coping strategy.

SAD is a  highly treatable  disorder with medication and/or therapy. Receiving a proper diagnosis and treatment is important in managing this illness. The first line of treatment is usually  medication  and/or  cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) .

As a student, you may have access to an on-campus mental health center. Often, these will be staffed with therapists, psychologists, or student interns, and will offer a variety of services such as individual and group therapy. Therapy is usually short-term and may be free or available for a fee.

If your college or university does not have a mental health center, look for a medical center either on campus or in the community and ask for a referral to a mental health professional.

Another alternative is to investigate whether the psychology department at your school offers counseling as part of ongoing research studies. Often, these types of studies are posted on the departments' websites. Participation is generally anonymous and they will assess your symptoms to ensure that the treatment is appropriate for your situation.

As a college or university student, you can do additional things on your own while receiving treatment. Think about using these strategies as you progress through treatment and begin to feel more comfortable in social situations.

Building Friendships

• Smile, nod, or say hello to classmates.
• Make comments about assignments or exams to a nearby classmate. Repeat this process at each class, gradually including more classmates until it seems more natural to talk with them.
• As you feel more comfortable, bring up the idea of a study group or getting together for recreation.
• If getting to know others in class is difficult, consider joining a service organization on campus. Working together with others toward a common goal is a great way to get to know people.
• Consider approaching others who seem shy or nervous—they may be less intimidating.

Body Language and Speech

• Maintain frequent eye contact with others.
• Have a relaxed but alert posture.
• Practice speaking in a moderately loud voice.

Conversation Topics

• Give compliments.
• Read up on current events and campus news.
• Be a curious listener, ask open-ended questions starting with why, how, what, or when.

Most people get butterflies before speaking in front of a group. However, the initial nervousness usually subsides as they begin speaking and become involved in their topic and with the audience. The opposite tends to happen to people who have SAD. They remain nervous during their speech and became focused on their own anxiety symptoms such as a quivering voice, dry mouth, blushing, rapid heartbeat, and feelings of dread and panic.

You will probably at some point be required to give a presentation. If you suffer from severe performance anxiety,  behavioral therapy  such as systemic desensitization can be helpful.

You can also do several things on your own to help lessen the impact of your anxiety:

• If possible, choose a topic that you are really passionate about so that you will get enjoyment from sharing your knowledge.
• Try to get the audience involved at the beginning of your presentation to take some pressure off of yourself. Consider asking your audience's opinion on a topic, having them break into small groups to discuss an issue, or asking for a volunteer to help you demonstrate some aspect of your presentation.

Some positive coping strategies that you can start using today include:

Regular exercise is good for maintaining both a healthy mind and body. Choose an activity that you will stick with and enjoy. Go for a walk or jog, try out that new yoga video or just play some frisbee!

Your college or university may even offer on-campus facilities or exercise classes—with the added bonus of the chance to make some new friends.

Proper Nutrition

The typical student diet can wreak havoc on your health. Try to eat regular meals and snacks throughout the day, and avoid caffeine and sugar when possible as these may aggravate anxiety.

A Word From Verywell

As a student with social anxiety disorder, you will face more challenges at college or university. However, with proper diagnosis, treatment, and coping strategies, your odds of having a fulfilling experience are very high. Remember to take every day as it comes, be mindful of your anxious thoughts, and focus on your goals both in terms of your education, making friends, and growing as an individual.

• Anxiety and Depression Association of America. College Students .
• University of Texas at Dallas. Self-Help: Overcoming Social Anxiety Disorder.

By Arlin Cuncic, MA Arlin Cuncic, MA, is the author of The Anxiety Workbook and founder of the website About Social Anxiety. She has a Master's degree in clinical psychology.

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Opinion Guest Essay

This Is Peak College Admissions Insanity

Credit... Illustrations by Pete Gamlen

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By Daniel Currell

Mr. Currell, a lawyer and consultant, was a deputy under secretary and senior adviser at the Department of Education from 2018 to 2021. He is a trustee of Gustavus Adolphus College.

• May 1, 2024

Selective college admissions have been a vortex of anxiety and stress for what seems like forever, inducing panic in more top high school seniors each year. But the 2023-24 admissions season was not just an incremental increase in the frantic posturing and high-pressure guesswork that make this annual ritual seem like academic Hunger Games. This year was different. A number of factors — some widely discussed, some little noticed — combined to push the process into a new realm in which the old rules didn’t apply and even the gatekeepers seemed not to know what the new rules were.

It happened, as these things often do, first gradually and then all at once.

It started with a precipitous rise in the number of people clamoring to get in. The so-called Ivy-Plus schools — the eight members of the Ivy League plus M.I.T., Duke, Chicago and Stanford — collectively received about 175,000 applications in 2002. In 2022, the most recent year for which totals are available, they got more than 590,000, with only a few thousand more available spots.

The quality of the applicants has risen also. In 2002, the nation produced 134 perfect ACT scores ; in 2023 there were 2,542 . Over the same period, the United States — and beyond it, the world — welcomed a great many more families into the ranks of the wealthy, who are by far the most likely to attend an elite college. Something had to give.

The first cracks appeared around the rules that had long governed the process and kept it civilized, obligating colleges to operate on the same calendar and to give students time to consider all offers before committing. A legal challenge swept the rules away, freeing the most powerful schools to do pretty much whatever they wanted.

One clear result was a drastic escalation in the formerly niche admissions practice known as early decision.

Then Covid swept through, forcing colleges to let students apply without standardized test scores — which, as the university consultant Ben Kennedy says, “tripled the number of kids who said to themselves, ‘Hey, I’ve got a shot at admission there.’” More applications, more market power for the schools and, for the students, an ever smaller chance of getting in.

Last year, the Supreme Court’s historic decision ending race-based affirmative action left colleges scrambling for new ways to preserve diversity and students groping in the dark to figure out what schools wanted.

Finally, this year the whole financial aid system exploded into spectacular disarray. Now, a month after most schools sent out the final round of acceptances, many students still don’t have the information they need to determine if they can afford college. Some will delay attending, and some will forgo it entirely, an outcome that will have lasting implications for them and, down the line, for the economy as a whole.

These disparate changes had one crucial thing in common: Almost all of them strengthened the hand of highly selective colleges, allowing them to push applicants into more constricted choices with less information and less leverage. The result is that elite admissions offices, which have always tried to reduce the uncertainty in each new year’s decisions, are now using their market power to all but eliminate it. This means taking no chances in pursuit of a high yield, the status-bestowing percentage of admitted students who enroll. But low uncertainty for elite colleges means the opposite for applicants — especially if they can’t pay the full tuition rate.

Canh Oxelson, the executive director of college counseling at the Horace Mann School in New York, says: “This is as much uncertainty as we’ve ever seen. Affirmative action, the FAFSA debacle, test-optionality — it has shown itself in this one particular year. Colleges want certainty, and they are getting more. Families want certainty and they are getting less.”

In 2024, the only applicants who could be certain of an advantage were those whose parents had taken the wise precaution of being rich.

The Early Bird Gets the Dorm

For Ivy Wydler, an elite college seemed like an obvious destination, and many of her classmates at Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School in Washington, D.C., were headed along the same trajectory. After her sophomore year of high school, she took the ACT and got a perfect score — on her first try, a true rarity. Her grades were stellar. So she set her sights high, favoring “medium to big schools, and not too cold.”

Touring campuses, she was dazzled by how great and exciting it all seemed. Then she visited Duke, and something clicked. She applied in the binding early decision round.

It’s a consequential choice. Students can do so at only one college, and they have to promise to attend if accepted, before knowing what the school’s financial aid offer will be. That means there is at least a chance an applicant will be on the hook for the full cost, which at Duke is $86,886 for the 2024-25 year. Students couldn’t be legally compelled to attend if they couldn’t afford it, but by the time they got the news, they would have already had to withdraw their other applications.

If full tuition isn’t a deal killer, as it wouldn’t be for Ivy’s family, the rewards are considerable. This year, just over 54,000 high school seniors vied to be one of only 1,750 members of Duke’s incoming class. The 6,000 who applied in the early decision round were three times as likely to get in as the 48,000 who applied later.

Until recently, early decision was a narrow pathway — an outlier governed, like the rest of this annual academic mating season, by a set of mandatory practices laid out by the National Association for College Admission Counseling, which is made up of college admissions officers and high school counselors. Those rules said, for example, that colleges couldn’t recruit a student who was already committed to another school or actively encourage someone to transfer. Crucially, the rules said that colleges needed to give students until May 1 to decide among offers (noting early decision, which begins and ends in the fall, as a “recognized exception”).

The Justice Department thought those rules ran afoul of the Sherman Antitrust Act, which bars powerful industries from colluding to restrain competition. At the end of 2019, NACAC agreed to a settlement mandating that the organization “promptly abolish” several of the rules and downgrade the rest to voluntary guidelines. Now, if they chose to, colleges had license to lure students with special offers or benefits, to aggressively poach students at other schools and to tear up the traditional admissions calendar.

At that point, nothing restrained colleges from going all in on early decision, a strategy that allows them to lock in students early without making any particular commitments about financial aid. Of the 735 first-year students that Middlebury College enrolled last year, for example, 516 were admitted via binding early decision. Some schools have a second round of early decision, and even what amounts to an unofficial third round — along with an array of other application pathways, each with its own terms and conditions.

With the rules now abandoned, colleges got a whole new bag of tricks. For example, a school might call — at any time in the process — with a one-time offer of admission if you can commit on the spot to attend and let go of all other prospects. Hesitate and it’s gone, along with your chances in subsequent rounds. “We hear about colleges that are putting pressure on high school seniors to send in a deposit sooner to get better courses or housing options,” says Sara Harberson, the founder of Application Nation, a college advising service.

To inform these maneuvers, colleges lean on consultants who analyze applicant demographics, qualifications, financial status and more, using econometric models. High school seniors think this is checkers, but the schools know it’s chess. This has all become terrifying for students, who are first-time players in a game their opponents invented.

Application season can be particularly intimidating for students who, unlike Ivy, did not grow up on the elite college conveyor belt. When Rania Khan, a senior in Gorton High School in Yonkers, N.Y., was in middle school, she and her mother spent two years in a shelter near Times Square. Since then she and her younger brother have been in the foster system. Despite these challenges, she has been a superb student. In ninth grade, Rania got an internship at Google and joined a research team at Regeneron, a biotechnology company. She won a national award for her study of how sewage treatment chemicals affect river ecosystems. Looking at colleges, she saw that her scores and credentials matched with those of students at the very top schools in the country.

One of the schools she was most drawn to was Barnard. “I like that it’s both a small college and” — because it’s part of Columbia — “a big university. There are a lot of resources, and it’s a positive environment for women,” she said. And it would keep her close to her little brother.

Barnard now fills around 60 percent of its incoming class in the early decision round, giving those students a massive admissions advantage. It would have been an obvious option for Rania, but she can’t take any chances financially. She applied via the general decision pool, when instead of having a one in three chance, her odds were one in 20.

Officially, anyone can apply for early decision. In practice it’s priority boarding for first-class passengers.

Unstandardized Testing

When selective colleges suspended the requirement for standardized testing, it didn’t really seem like a choice; because of the pandemic, a great many students simply couldn’t take the tests. The implications, however, went far beyond mere plague-year logistics.

The SAT was rolled out in 1926 as an objective measure of students’ ability, absent the cultural biases that had so strongly informed college admissions before then. It’s been the subject of debate almost ever since. In 1980, Ralph Nader published a study alleging that the standardized testing regimen actually reinforced racial and gender bias and favored people who could afford expensive test prep. Many educators have come back around to regarding the tests as a good predictor of academic success, but the matter is far from settled.

Remarkably, students still take the exams in the same numbers as before the pandemic, but far fewer disclose what they got. Cindy Zarzuela, an adviser with the nonprofit Yonkers Partners in Education who works with Rania and about 90 other students, said all her students took the SAT this year. None of them sent their scores to colleges.

These days, Cornell, for example, admits roughly 40 percent of its incoming class without a test score. At schools like the University of Wisconsin or the University of Connecticut , the percentage is even higher. In California, schools rarely accept scores at all, being in many cases not only test-optional, but also “test-blind.”

The high-water mark of test-optionality, however, was also its undoing.

Applicants tended to submit their scores only if they were above the school’s reported median, a pattern that causes that median to be recalibrated higher and higher each year. When Cornell went test-optional, its 25th percentile score on the math SAT jumped from 720 to 750. Then it went to 760. The ceiling is 800, so standardized tests had begun to morph from a system of gradients into a yes/no question: Did you get a perfect score? If not, don’t mention it.

The irony, however, was that in the search for a diverse student body, many elite colleges view strong-but-not-stellar test scores as proof that a student from an underprivileged background could do well despite lacking the advantages of the kids from big suburban high schools and fancy prep schools. Without those scores, it might be harder to make the case .

Multiply that across the board, and the result was that test-optional policies made admission to an elite school less likely for some diverse or disadvantaged applicants. Georgetown and M.I.T. were first to reinstate test score requirements, and so far this year Harvard, Yale, Brown, Caltech, Dartmouth and Cornell have announced that they will follow. There may be more to come.

The Power of No

On Dec. 14, Ivy got an answer from Duke: She was rejected.

She was in extremely good company. It’s been a while since top students could assume they’d get into top schools, but today they get rejected more often than not. It even happens at places like Northeastern, a school now ranked 53rd in the nation by U.S. News & World Report — and not long ago, more than 100 slots lower than that. It spends less per student on instruction than the Boston public schools .

“There’s no target school anymore and no safety school,” says Stef Mauler , a private admissions coach in Texas. “You have to have a strategy for every school you apply to.”

Northeastern was one of the 18 other schools Ivy applied to, carefully sifting through various deadlines and conditions, mapping out her strategy. With Duke out of the picture, her thoughts kept returning to one of them in particular: Dartmouth, her father’s alma mater. “My mom said, ‘Ivy, you love New Hampshire. Look at Dartmouth.’ She was right.” She had wanted to go someplace warm, but the idea of cold weather seemed to be bothering her less and less.

Meanwhile Rania watched as early decision day came and went, and thousands of high school seniors across the country got the best news of their lives. For Rania, it was just another Friday.

A Free Market in Financial Aid

In 2003, a consortium of about 20 elite colleges agreed to follow a shared formula for financial aid, to ensure that they were competing for students on the merits, not on mere dollars and cents. It sounds civilized, but pricing agreements are generally illegal for commercial ventures. (Imagine if car companies agreed not to underbid each other.) The colleges believed they were exempt from that prohibition, however, because they practiced “ need-blind ” admissions, meaning they don’t discriminate based on a student’s ability to pay.

In 2022, nine current and former students from an array of prestigious colleges filed a class-action antitrust lawsuit — later backed by the Justice Department — arguing that the consortium’s gentlemanly agreement was depriving applicants of the benefits of a free market. And to defang the defense, they produced a brilliant argument: No, these wealthy colleges didn’t discriminate against students who were poor, but they sure did discriminate in favor of students who were rich. They favored the children of alumni and devoted whole development offices to luring the kinds of ultrarich families that affix their names to shiny new buildings. It worked: Early this year, Brown, Columbia, Duke, Emory and Yale joined the University of Chicago in conceding , and paying out a nine-figure settlement. (They deny any wrongdoing.) Several other schools are playing on, but the consortium and its rules have evaporated.

This set schools free to undercut one another on price in order to get their preferred students. It also gave the schools a further incentive to push for early decision, when students don’t have the ability to compare offers.

For almost anyone seeking financial aid, from the most sought-after first-round pick to the kid who just slid under the wire, the first step remained the same: They had to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form, or FAFSA.

As anyone knows who’s been through it — or looked into the glassy eyes of someone else who has — applying for financial aid can be torture at the best of times. This year was the worst of times, because FAFSA was broken. The form, used by the government to determine who qualifies for federal grants or student loans, and by many colleges to determine their in-house financial aid, had gotten a much-needed overhaul. But the new version didn’t work , causing endless frustration for many families, and convincing many others not even to bother. At mid-April, finished FAFSA applications were down 29 percent compared with last year.

“The FAFSA catastrophe is bigger than people realize,” says Casey Sacks , a former U.S. Department of Education official and now the president of BridgeValley Community and Technical College in West Virginia, where 70 percent of students receive federal funds.

Abigail Garcia , Rania’s classmate and the 2024 valedictorian of their school, applied to in-state public colleges as well as Ivies. She couldn’t complete the FAFSA, however, because it rejected her parents’ information, the most common glitch. She has financial aid offers from elite schools, all of which use a private alternative to the government form, but she can’t weigh them against the public institutions, because they are so severely delayed.

For most students, 2024’s FAFSA crisis looks set to take the uncertainty that began last fall and drag it into the summer or beyond. “That’s going to reduce the work force in two to four years.” Ms. Sacks says. “FAFSA completions are a pretty good leading indicator of how many people will be able to start doing the kinds of jobs that are in highest demand — registered nurses, manufacturing engineers, those kinds of jobs.”

As the FAFSA problem rolls on, it could be that for the system as a whole, the worst is still to come.

Can Any of This Be Fixed?

On the numbers, elite college applicants’ problems are a footnote to the story of college access. The Ivy-Plus schools enroll less than 1 percent of America’s roughly 15 million undergraduates . If you expand the pool to include all colleges that are selective enough to accept less than a quarter of applicants, we’re still talking about only 6 percent of undergraduates. The easiest way to alleviate the traffic jam at the top is to shift our cultural focus toward the hundreds of schools that offer an excellent education but are not luxury brands.

Luxury brand schools, however, have real power. In 2023, 15 of 32 Rhodes scholars came from the Ivies, nine from Harvard alone. Twenty of this year’s 38 Supreme Court clerks came from Harvard or Yale. If elite colleges’ selection process is broken, what should we do to fix it?

Here’s what we can’t do: Let them go off and agree on their own solution. Antitrust law exists to prevent dominant players from setting their own rules to the detriment of consumers and competitors.

Here’s what we won’t do: Legislate national rules that govern admissions. Our systems are decentralized and it would take a miracle for Congress not to make things worse.

But here’s what we can do: Hold the schools accountable for their processes and their decisions.

Institutions that receive federal funds — which include all elite colleges — should be required to clearly state their admissions criteria. Admissions as currently practiced are designed to let schools whose budgets run on billions of taxpayers dollars do whatever they want. Consider Stanford’s guidance to applicants: “In a holistic review, we seek to understand how you, as a whole person, would grow, contribute and thrive at Stanford, and how Stanford would, in turn, be changed by you.” This perfectly encapsulates the current system, because it is meaningless.

Colleges should also not be allowed to make anyone decide whether to attend without knowing what it will actually cost, and they should not be allowed to offer better odds to those who forgo that information. They should not offer admissions pathways tilted to favor the rich, any more than they should offer pathways favoring people who are white.

It just shouldn’t be this hard. Really.

The Envelope Please …

Ivy has the highest academic qualifications available inside the conventional system, and her family can pay full tuition. Once upon a time, she would have had her pick of top colleges. Not this year.

Over the course of the whole crazy admissions season, the school she had come to care about most was Dartmouth.

Along with the other seven Ivies, Dartmouth released this year’s admissions decisions online on March 28, at 7 p.m. Eastern. Ivy was traveling that day, and as the moment approached, she said, “I was on the bed in my hotel room, just repeating, ‘People love me for who I am, not what I do. People love me for who I am, not what I do.’”

She was rejected by Duke, Vanderbilt, Stanford, Columbia and the University of Southern California, where Operation Varsity Blues shenanigans could once guarantee acceptance but, as Ivy discovered, a perfect score on the ACT will not. She landed on the wait list at Northeastern. She was accepted by Michigan and Johns Hopkins. And Ivy was accepted at both her parents’ alma maters: the University of Virginia and Dartmouth, where she will start in September.

For Rania, the star student with an extraordinary story of personal resilience, the news was not so good. At Barnard, she was remanded to the wait list. Last year only 4 percent of students in that position were eventually let in. N.Y.U. and the City University of New York’s medical college put her on the wait list, too.

A spot on a wait list tells applicants that they were good enough to get in. By the time Rania applied to these schools, there just wasn’t any room. “It was definitely a shock,” she said. “What was I missing? They just ran out of space — there are so many people trying to get into these places. It took two weeks to adjust to it.”

She did get lots of other good news, a sheaf of acceptances from schools like Fordham and the University at Albany. But then came the hardest question of all: How to pay for them? Some offered her a financial aid package that would leave her on the hook for more money than undergraduates are allowed to take out in federal student loans. Even now, some colleges haven’t been able to provide her with financial aid information at all.

Rania had all but settled on Hunter College, part of the City University system. It’s an excellent school, but a world away from the elite colleges she was thinking about when she started her search. Then at almost the last moment, Wesleyan came through with a full ride and even threw in some extra for expenses. Rania accepted, gratefully.

For Rania, the whole painful roller coaster of a year was over. For so many other high school seniors, the year of broken college admissions continues.

Daniel Currell, a lawyer and consultant, was a deputy under secretary and senior adviser at the Department of Education from 2018 to 2021. He is a trustee of Gustavus Adolphus College.

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Why You Can’t Cope Your Way Out of Anxiety

How can using coping skills be short-sighted and perpetuate anxiety.

Posted May 4, 2024 | Reviewed by Ray Parker

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• Coping skills are helpful for temporarily managing symptoms of anxiety.
• Managing symptoms like taking painkillers after breaking a bone provides exclusively short-term relief.
• Avoidance of psychological distress perpetuates and often worsens anxiety.
• The only way "out of anxiety" is by confronting the "scary thing" head-on.

I’ll come right out and say it: I'm anti-coping skills. The phrase triggers me almost as much as the chronic overuse of the phrase “triggers me” to mean “I don’t like it.” Being anti-coping skills might be a controversial perspective. But it’s really just my mildly rebellious response to the overreliance on pathology-worsening avoidance tactics frequently prescribed during the course of psychotherapy .

It's one of my greatest pet peeves as a therapist when I ask a patient what they’ve done in previous therapy, and their answer is that they’ve been working on coping skills. I have a hard time understanding why that would take more than a session or two. Coping skills are pleasurable, relaxing behaviors we engage in to mitigate anxiety . Certainly not a long-term strategy for success in your battle with anxiety symptoms. There is a distinction between coping skills and risk-reduction behaviors (like calling a friend instead of relapsing into addiction or engaging in healthy exercise instead of self-harming), which I fully support.

I contend that you can’t cope your way out of anxiety because coping is anxiety avoidance, and anxiety itself is a symptom of avoidance. Like trying to put out a fire with matches. To be fair, I’ll admit that in high-pressure, time-limited situations, like before a job interview, we might all be wise to take a few deep breaths, go for a run, or remind ourselves that our success in the interview does not define our value as human beings (coping skills). But, if coping skills remain our approach to anxiety management after months (years?) of treatment, then we’re simply putting a band-aid on a wound that requires stitches.

So what’s to be done instead? Effective psychological treatment for anxiety can be accurately summarized as follows: clearly identify the scary thing, slowly and surely confront the scary thing, and continue to do so until the scary thing is not as scary. According to most empirical research, this roadmap is the core effective component of psychotherapy (Wampold & Imel, 2015; Ougrin, 2011, among many others). Whether it’s fear of spiders (understandable, if you ask me) and your psychologist recommends exposure with response prevention (ERP) or fear of crowds and your psychologist recommends cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for social anxiety or post- traumatic stress disorder ( PTSD ) and your psychologist recommends narrative exposure therapy (NET), the core mechanism is shared: that the scary thing (spiders, crowds, or memories) must be confronted until it’s not so scary anymore. Good therapy enacts this process in a supportive, empathetic , and genuine context.

Instead, what would therapy that focused primarily on identifying and practicing coping skills be communicating? The way to improve your anxiety is by avoiding it. There are few (are there any?) aspects of life where the easy/pleasurable route is the most advisable. And this approach to therapy almost implies that there isn’t a clear solution. But there is. The only way out is through working with your therapist on facing the scary thing head-on. Slowly, yes, have a plan for confronting your fears. If coping skills must be used, ensure that they are only being used to help you confront the fear instead of to help you avoid the fear.

Perhaps we should define and contrast confrontation coping with avoidance coping. I can confront my anxiety about my upcoming work presentation by practicing and thinking back on all the good presentations I’ve given in the past. Or, I could listen to music, watch TV, and take a bath every time I think about my presentation to cope with the anxiety. The latter perpetuates the psychopathology of avoidance and, ironically, increases the likelihood of a sub-par presentation and future low self-efficacy beliefs about my ability to present.

As long as therapy is particularly careful not to enable avoidance, I might be willing to reconsider my anti-coping skill stance.

Ougrin, D. (2011). Efficacy of exposure versus cognitive therapy in anxiety disorders: Systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Psychiatry , 11 (1). https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-244x-11-200

Wampold, B. E., & Imel, Z. E. (2015). The great psychotherapy debate: The evidence for what makes psychotherapy work . Routledge.

Daniel Flint, Ph.D. , is an assistant professor at Baylor College of Medicine and a pediatric psychologist at Texas Children's Hospital, where he specializes in the treatment of child and adolescent eating disorders.

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