Adjustment is a key contributor to student success and thriving. One definition of adjustment is “to achieve a mental and behavioral balance between one's own needs and the demands of others.”
Many students, especially in their first year, have to adjust to an academic workload and standards that are higher than they experienced in their high school or previous college. This understanding often comes with the first exams, around the end of September or early October. Getting a grade other than an A may be a shock, but it can help motivate them to learn how to study differently and step up to handle the workload.
The need for adjustment varies greatly. In particular, international students typically have to adjust a great deal, including attuning to a different English dialect and a new culture, with different expectations and rules. Even the timing of sunrise and sunset can be a surprise, not to mention winter!
Students are constantly making adjustments, for example, with:
- Time management, in response to class demands and other involvements, and students often find that it helps to actively manage their schedule
- Relationships, social identity, and affiliation, which are often key to students’ sense of belonging to the community and their individual well-being
- Feelings such as loneliness, self-doubt and imposter syndrome, which are common among students but may go unacknowledged
- Self-care, and how much they can or want to prioritize self-care such as sleep, monitoring their use of electronic devices, and asking for help
Alexis Kittner, Junior in Sociology and Pre-Med, explained:
At Michigan, it’s an ongoing process of balancing time and managing stress and self-care, and each semester you learn more, you’re more experienced...I realized that I won’t feel better about myself if I’m not taking care of myself.
The University of Michigan supports student well-being in many ways as they make continual adjustments. If your student may benefit from using campus resources, please encourage them to do so. Resources and more information can be found at Success is a Balancing Act.
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