Dealing with Homesickness

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The "millenials" as this generation is sometimes referred to tend to be closer to their families than past generations. They are in constant contact via cell phone and Facebook. Starting a new life in college away from family can sometimes seem overwhelming despite the e-contact. Watching mom and dad drive away can be a scary moment especially for students who have never been away from home for travel or camp.

Many students have found the following ideas helpful when dealing with feelings of homesickness.

1) Help someone else in any way you can. This can range from computer help to help with laundry. The community may also be looking for student volunteers.

2) Get involved in campus activities. If you are not sure what you want to join yet, tag along with people in your dorm. Try new things that you may never have done before like Ultimate Frisbee or rock-climbing.

3) Try to find work either on or near campus to help you feel connected.

4) Invite a new acquaintance to do something even if it is as simple as going for coffee to talk.

5) Make food for new found friends on your floor. It could be as simple as brownies! yum

There are also some things that should be avoided so as not to increase homesickness.

1) Frequent trips home if you live nearby. This only puts off the adjustment.

2) Phone calls home at times that force you to opt out of campus activities.

3) Listening exclusively to nostalgic music that makes you sad and reminds you of HS days.

4) Inviting HS friends to visit every weekend. In effect you stall your new friendships.

If none of these ideas help you should definitely make an appointment with a professional counselor on staff at your college.

Financial Stability of Colleges

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Mom and Dad are usually not worried about the college their child attends going out of business. It is rare but it does happen. When I toured Ohio Wesleyan last year, I met several students who had formerly attended Antioch college which closed a few years ago. It was sad for those students to leave the bonds they had made and start over again.

The Department of Education just released their list of colleges that fell below their criteria for financial stability. This is a top 100 list that colleges DON'T want to be on. Unfortunately, the list really doesn't reveal the methodology which makes the results hard to evaluate. Honestly, I think that the government should have given colleges a break this year and not released the list since many college endowments were hit hard by the stock market slump last year. What is worth paying attention to are the colleges that have been identified over multiple years.

As a consultant, I don't want to suggest any colleges to my students that are not financially viable. So, I pay attention to things like the size of the endowment, staff layoffs, and the status of the buildings and grounds. If the campus looks run down overall, I am concerned because it may be a sign of financial instability. It really surprised me that Guilford College was on the list this year since I visited recently and found the campus well maintained with many updated facilities. Because Guilford has some special qualities such as a laid back southern atmosphere with Quaker values and strong support of LD students, I will continue to recommend it to the students that fit and hope that the poor rating is just a blip in their history. Unfortunately, the physical plant and the stated endowment do not tell the whole story so it is important to pay attention to college finances in the news.