Kean Students and Back-to-School Stress

By Adaora Nnakwe | Published October 14, 2022

The fall semester is in full force and many Kean students are experiencing back-to-school stress while trying to adjust to the habit of the new workload. 

Back-to-school stress can lead to sleepless nights, fatigue, and anxiety for students who are trying to balance their schooling with their personal life. According to Jeffrey Borenstein, M.D., President & CEO of the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation, students can defuse the tension of stress by creating a consistent routine, lessening screen time usage, and making free time available. 

Sophomore Whitney Ogara, who commutes to school, believes that back-to-school stress causes feelings of fatigue and anxiety. 

“It’s not so much of the work that is given that is stressful, but it’s the balancing of the classes during the first semester that adds to the stress,” Ogara said.

Last year, Kean students were stressing about COVID-19 and wearing masks, but now it’s stress on doing well and maintaining good grades for the fall semester. There is especially a lot of pressure on those who want to maintain a high GPA and remain on the Dean’s list. 

“I find myself studying a lot and staying up past 11 p.m. just to get assignments done before 11:59 p.m,” said junior Gabrielle Tumaneng, who made the 2022 dean’s list. “Sometimes I have to spend an entire day doing assignments and studying for exams and it’s only October.”

As weeks lead to midterms in October, we expect to see more students studying, and working to get ahead of their classes.

“I’m really looking forward to the outcome of the semester as I know soon enough, I will get the hang of the school-life balance, but like the saying goes, this too shall pass,” Tumaneng said.

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