Returning from a vacation and starting work immediately can be a daunting task for many people and the same goes for a number of students returning to school at Auburn this week. With the final day of fall exams being on Dec. 11, students had exactly 33 days to kick back and enjoy their time off from school.
However, for many people the end of the long, relaxing break means anxiety and stress about returning to school for a new semester with all new classes. The stress and anxiety of going from doing few activities in a day to having a day packed full with classes, studying and other daily activities can send some students into a downward spiral.
Elliot Ordoyne, who is a junior in biomedical sciences returning for his fourth semester as a resident assistant, said breaks in general, especially the winter break, can take their toll on students in a number of ways, but freshmen seem to be affected the most.
“I’ve definitely seen it, but especially in freshmen,” Ordoyne said. “They come here and do well the first semester because they are told how hard college is, so they study hard. Then they go home and celebrate their successes and forget everything they have learned.”
Ordoyne said he believes it is the original success that leads students to the realization that college may not be as scary as previous teachers and others made it out to be.
“They realize college is actually more doable than they originally anticipated, so they feel as if they don’t have to put as much work in as they did the first semester,” Ordoyne said.
It is this realization that often times causes grades to slip, according to Ordoyne.
David Haven, junior in business at Auburn University at Montgomery, is one of those students whose realization negatively effected his studies following his first semester at Auburn.
Haven, who maintained a solid GPA throughout his first semester as a freshman, returned from the break and could not maintain the same success.
“I just thought I already proved I could do it, and while I continued to go to class and do my work, I didn’t put in the effort like I did in that first semester,” Haven said. “I quit freaking out about college because I did well and started hanging out more than I did the previous semester, and my grades reflected it.”
Ordoyne, who said he has seen a number of students find themselves in this situation, said the way to avoid the grade slip is pretty simple and cliché.
“I tell them you have to go to class no matter what,” Ordoyne said. “It doesn’t matter if you don’t like the class or the teacher. You have to go to class and take notes, and there’s really not an excuse not to. Go to class and ask questions. And if you can’t stand the teacher, try going to their office hours and talking to them face-to-face.”
Haven, who admits he did not take the best notes in class his second semester, echoed Ordoyne and the need to not only go to class, but take quality notes.
“Some people have the ability to just sit in class and listen and absorb everything, but most people don’t,” Haven said. “There isn’t really a negative side to taking notes in class. It can only help you.”
As for the students who dread returning to college and leaving their friends and family at home, Ordoyne said not only has he dealt with it as an RA but he dealt with it personally when he moved to Auburn.
“You are trying to find new friends and new activities to do, and it’s really tough to stay focused on why you’re here,” Ordoyne said. “Sometimes you just have to remind people they are here to learn.”
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