Why You Aren't Alone If You're Scared About Going To College

From the outside, college can seem like a land of academics and budding young professionals ready to take life by the reins. Even though it’s everyone else’s first year, too, you somehow still feel like a fish out of water on a campus of land creatures.

A whopping 70% of college freshmen (and 30% of all students) struggle with homesickness and adapting to the campus lifestyle. If you’re scared about college, you’re certainly not alone. 

Common Freshman Fears

After 18 years of predictable routines, suddenly, everything is new. The friends you grabbed food with every weekend now live thousands of miles away. You traded your quiet residential neighborhood for the constant noise of a buzzing college town. Terrifying “What if?” thoughts start to pop in your head and spiral out of control.

What if you and your roommate don’t click or lose access to your financial aid? What if your phone dies and you get lost on campus, or your laptop breaks mid-semester?

It can take a few weeks up to six months to feel accustomed and confident on campus. The fear of being disliked and making new friends can feel debilitating, especially for people who never had to move growing up.

Remember: You’re All In It Together

Everyone else is going through the same thing you are. Striking up conversations with strangers may not be your forte, but it’s a skill you’ll only get better at. 

It may surprise you how willing other freshmen are to talk to you. After all, they’re starting over, too. Lean into the loneliness by putting yourself out there. Try to accept that while it may feel uncomfortable at first, it’s ultimately going to help you find your people.

Use Campus Resources, They Reflect Student Needs

Most colleges offer on-campus resources for students struggling to adjust academically, pick a major, explore career options, manage finances, and more. First-generation students (first in their family to go to college) are more likely to be informed about these services but less likely to use them. Whether it’s from embarrassment, imposter syndrome, or believing other students need them more, campus resources are for everybody.

Ironically, students with parents or older siblings who went to college tend to use these services more, seeing them as normal academic tools and knowing more about the self-advocacy university requires. 

Colleges wouldn’t offer these resources if they didn’t see a large need for them in the first place. Even if you never needed one before, you may benefit from working with a career counselor or writing tutor from time to time. Once you get over the ego blow of asking for help, you may find that prioritizing your needs feels empowering, not embarrassing.

Ask Yourself, “What’s the Best That Could Happen?”

Anxiety tends to spark negative thinking spirals that keep you distracted and bogged down. Instead of considering everything that could go wrong, start every day by considering what could go right. College is a land of opportunity, and everyone who works there is literally paid to help you succeed. 

What you can’t find a class for you could end up finding in a student-run club. You could spend winter or summer break studying abroad, seeing the world, and earning credit hours in a country you’ve always wanted to visit. Academic departments typically have money set aside for students who can’t afford study abroad programs on their own. Reach out to academic advisors and college deans to see what scholarships and grants are up for grabs. (Some students even find success by sending an email and asking for aid directly—many colleges have large sums of money set aside but struggle to advertise scholarships well.)

Want more anxiety-coping tools before college? Work with one of our licensed mental health counselors to help you turn fear into freedom this fall. Reach out to learn more about therapy for young adults.