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Welcome to Fairfield University!

College can be a wonderful, fun time of your life. College can also be stressful and there are a lot of changes and adjustments. We have provided some links to information that can be helpful in settling in to Fairfield University.

If you want to talk over some of the stresses or problems you are experiencing, Counseling & Psychological Services is a free, confidential service. If you want to schedule an appointment, please click here


Adjusting to College

Top Ten Ways to Successfully Adjust to College Life

  • Get involved. Involvement with others and campus activities are healthy pursuits. Involvement can breed positive thoughts and feelings and is related to good self-esteem and academic success.

  • Stay positive. Work toward maintaining an optimistic attitude and interacting with others in productive ways. Be accepting and tolerant of yourself and others.
  • Go to class. Attendance in class ought to be one of your top priorities. Your academic success and successful stress management is dependent upon good attendance.
  • Party smart. If you enjoy partying, do it in ways that don't result in harm to yourself or others, and doesn't result in poor academic performance. Do everything in moderation.
  • Stay on campus when you can. The college years are a time to develop independence and autonomy. This occurs when you become your own person and develop new relationships in your new community.
  • Eat and sleep well. We function at our best when our bodies are appropriately nurtured.
  • Practice good stress management. While some stress is inevitable, there are things we can do to prevent or reduce stress. Seek out and learn these methods.
  • Communicate productively. Be assertive with others so that your own needs are met, but do this in ways that respect others and their differences.
  • Maintain healthy relationships. Work to avoid "toxic" relationships, but also do a lot of give and take with your friends. Put effort into resolving conflicts in ways that honor yourself and others. Stay in touch with those who support you.
  • Stay focused. Academic life requires students to focus and concentrate.  Work to avoid or reduce things that interfere with your concentration.

Homesickness

Survival Tips for Homesickness

  • Set your room up with something familiar from home
  • Make an effort to talk to someone new
  • Try to leave your door open sometimes when you are sitting in your room; someone might pass by and say 'hello'
  • Get into activities which build up a storehouse of good new memories for you
  • Talk to someone else about how you feel - any new student will probably feel much the same as you do
  • Invite a friend from home to visit, sharing with them aspects of your new life at college eases the transition
  • Respond to the invitations of others to places or events where you will meet more people
  • It is hard to let go of home, but calling home too often in the first few weeks may prolong homesickness for you
  • Recognize that this is a grief experience. Have a good cry; it is nothing to be ashamed of, when you're really feeling down
  • Jot down thoughts, experiences, and dreams in a journal, and try to make some sense out of the different pieces
  • Be kind to yourself - it is okay to miss home and perfectly normal. After all, you have spent most of your life there until now, so tears can be cleansing
  • You can get help to work out creative ways of dealing with homesickness from the counselors in Counseling & Psychological Services