Mental Health and Wellness: Tips for a Successful College Transition

The transition from high school to college can be tough. There’s a whole new landscape to navigate, with many options and a path that may seem less clear.

To handle the inevitable stress, Coresair Mack, a wellness professional at Elgin Community College, recommends setting schedules, finding your strengths, and drawing on resources to help you succeed.

Set some structure

High school provides structure and routine. College, on the other hand, is looser, as students typically have to figure out more on their own.

For mental health support, ECC’s Wellness Services offers confidential in-person, over-the-phone, and virtual sessions. Current students can schedule appointments through AccessECC or Wellness Services.

Wellness professionals can work with you to chart out your day, following up with check-ins to make sure your plan is a success.

“While you might have a class schedule, we can help you implement a schedule for everyday life, including time to eat meals, do homework, study, take care of family obligations, work, and set aside time for fun and self-care,” Mack says.

Play to your strengths

Know your learning style, whether it is visual, auditory, reading/writing, or tactile.

For instance, if you are an auditory learner, you may need to hear something to understand it, but you might not absorb as much by reading.

“We help you figure out what works best for you, and then we work with you on techniques to be more effective. That way you’re not working against yourself,” trying to adapt a style that isn’t a fit, Mack says.

Pace yourself

Don’t try to do too much at once.

“Many students try to get through at a quick pace,” Mack says. “But there’s no time limit for getting through community college or university. You don’t have to take 15 to 18 credit hours a semester. You can slow it down, take 12 to 14, and still have full-time student status. We want to make sure that you’re successful while you’re here and not overwhelmed, stressed out, and burnt out.”

Find the fun

Self-care — such as reading a book, going for a walk, or talking to a friend — helps us de-stress, relax, and get negativity out, Mack says.

Fun helps us re-energize and get positivity back in. Fun is usually more activity-based, such as going out to eat or playing a sport.

“Figure out what works for you,” Mack says. “So that way when you start feeling stress coming on, boom, you have a self-care plan and a fun plan to help you recenter yourself.”

Connect with resources

“There are a whole bunch of resources that students don’t know about, especially coming from high school to college,” Mack says.

Whether student success coaches, online and drop-in tutoring, the Write Place, Student Life clubs, apprenticeships, financial aid, and career development services, the ECC student services list is extensive.

Take advantage of the resources to reduce stress and ease your transition into a successful ECC experience.