Running head: COLLEGE LIFE 1

College Life: A Review of the Literature

Sara Lang
University of El aso at !e"as
COLLEGE LIFE #
A$stra%t
College life %an $e viewed differently $y &any 'ers'e%tives of the students and others(
)hether it involves s'orts* edu%ation* 'arty* and any a%tivities they are all %onsidered 'art of
%ollege life( College life %an &ean anything that involves %ollege students and how their lives are
$ased on %ollege( It &ay $e 'leasant e"'erien%e for so&e students while it &ight $e the worst
ti&e 'eriod of their life during their %ollege years( !heir %ollege life is affe%ted $y variety of
fa%tors that in%lude things that involve s%hool itself and outside of s%hool a%tivities as well( !his
literature review will infor& the reader with how %ertain a%tivities* 'hysi%al and e&otional
wellness* and 'aying for %ollege affe%ts their %ollege lives( A survey data will %ontri$ute to the
resear%h on how different &ethod of 'aying for %ollege affe%ts the e"'erien%e that students will
have during %ollege and their %ollege life $ased on its &ethod(
COLLEGE LIFE +
College Life: A Review of the Literature
College life is a wide variety of a to'i%( College life %an differ de'ending on whose
'ers'e%tive it is $eing viewed fro&( It %ould $e fun for so&e 'eo'le or for so&e others it &ay $e
$oring( ,any 'eo'le would thin- of %ollege life as 'arty* s'orts* or %lu$ a%tivities li-e .oining
fraternity or sorority $ut there are &ore to it than .ust those( College life %ould also in%lude how
the 'erson is doing at s%hool* having to study for &ost of the ti&e* 'aying for %ollege and
volunteer wor-s or internshi's(
College life %ould $e affe%ted $y different fa%tors( It %ould $e affe%ted $y the students
the&selves( )hatever the students de%ides to do it will affe%t their %ollege life( It &ay turn out to
$e en.oya$le or one of the worst night&ares( In the future if those students thin- a$out their
%ollege life it &ay $e full of fun a%tivities and events they have $een to or full of stress and
dis%o&fort fro& studying and 'aying for tuition( !o further loo- at how the students are affe%ted
$y %ollege life or how %ollege life is affe%ted $y the students* four i&'ortant /uestions need to $e
%onsidered:
1( 0oes hysi%al and e&otional wellness affe%t %ollege student1s %ollege life e"'erien%e2 If
so* how2
#( )hat are so&e a%tivities that students do to get involved in %ollege and outside %ollege2
)hat a$out U!E2
+( 3ow are students 'aying for their %ollege2 0oes that affe%t their %ollege life2
4( 0o %ollege life a%tivities affe%t student1s edu%ation2
!he following review on literature will: 'rovide infor&ation regarding the affe%t on the
%ollege life $y student1s wellness* what they do at s%hool and outside the s%hool* what their
'ay&ent 'lan is* and how their edu%ation is affe%ted $y %ollege life(
COLLEGE LIFE 4
Does physical and emotional wellness affect college student's college life experience? If so
how?
If one1s $ody is not healthy* then &ost of the ti&e nothing see& to go right( It goes sa&e
for the students attending %ollege and at U!E( If the student is not doing so well 'hysi%ally or
e&otionally it &ay affe%t how their %ollege life e"'erien%e will turn out later( A%%ording to
0ile-* as student1s 5levels of 'hysi%al a%tivity5 in%reased 5life satisfa%tion in%reased5 as well
6++78( So as their $ody is &ore a%tive and healthy it will affe%t their %ollege life e"'erien%e to $e
&ore en.oya$le( For e"a&'le* those athletes attending U!E get in.ured and %annot 'lay s'orts
for awhile then they would $e%o&e devastated or not very ha''y( !hey 'hysi%al wellness
affe%ted their e&otional wellness as well( Sin%e their $ody is in.ured and %annot 'lay it affe%ts
their %ollege life e"'erien%e to $e%o&e not so good any&ore( Es'e%ially* if they were getting
s%holarshi's fro& 'laying to 'ay for their %ollege it gives a dra&ati% turn in their %ollege life(
0ile- also stated* 5Life satisfa%tion is defined as the satisfa%tion of one1s own life5 6+#98(
)hen one is not satisfied with life then it affe%ts &a.ority of things whi%h in%ludes
%ollege life as well( !hat a''lies to the students who are attending %ollege and they are at the
&ost %ru%ial 'art of their %ollege life* e"a&s( !hey &ay $e stressed e&otionally and &entally(
:ye &entioned in his $oo- that 5an"ious thoughts and stress %an affe%t the students during the
test and in %ollege5 6#+8( Going $a%- to 0ile-1s state&ent and %o&'aring it to what :ye
&entioned* they $oth have si&ilar ideas and how it %an affe%t the students( ;eing
overwhel&ingly 'ressured and stress fro& tests or other fa%tors %ould lead the students to
e&otional and &ental stress( )hen students are in a &a.or 'ressure and stressing a$out e"a&s
they 'ro$a$ly are not satisfied with how their lives are( For sure &any students that are attending
in U!E also have si&ilar 'ro$le&s with stress and 'ressure( :ye also wrote that students are
COLLEGE LIFE <
$eing 'ressured $y stress and ta-ing tests as well as so%iali=ing with other students 6948( If the
students are not so%ially outgoing and do not have &any 'eo'le to tal- to during %ollege it &ay
$e%o&e a 'ro$le& and affe%t the& e&otionally( )hen they are e&otionally distressed their
%ollege life &ay $e one of the worst things they &ay e"'erien%e(
College life led $y those students that are not 'hysi%ally and e&otionally well will not $e
as good as those with 'hysi%al and e&otional wellness( )hen their $ody is doing well then their
satisfa%tion and ha''iness during %ollege would $e higher than those who are not doing so well(
It is i&'ortant to -ee' one1s $ody healthy and $e e&otionally healthy as well( College life would
$e &ore 'leasing when the students have 'hysi%al and e&otional wellness(
!hat are some activities that students do to get involved in college and outside college?
!hat a"out #$%&?
!here are &any a%tivities that are 'resented in %ollege and in U!E for students to attend(
It is there to hel' the students to get &ore involved in s%hool and have a good %ollege &e&ory as
well as %ollege life( In U!E there are &any events that are held every year( In their student life
we$'age it states that ,iner'aloo=a is largest 'e' rally at U!E and %onsistently voted 5;est
Annual Event5 6El aso ,aga=ine8( It %ould $e one of the &ost &e&ora$le events that are held
at U!E and for students to en.oy while in %ollege( Aside fro& $eing stressed with s%hool they
are a$le to en.oy wearing U!E shirts and su''orting their %ollege $y attending those events(
!here are &any other a%tivities as well as %on%erts that students are a$le to attend( Es'e%ially*
going to U!E ga&es wearing U!E shirts to su''ort their %ollege and tea&s set the& to have
$etter %ollege life e"'erien%e than those who do not(
As students attend &ore a%tivities or events they are to have higher satisfa%tory level in
life than those who do not( A%%ording to Anye* students who 'arti%i'ate in religious a%tivities
COLLEGE LIFE >
have higher satisfa%tory s%ores 641+8( It is not .ust religious a%tivities* it %ould involve any
a%tivities or events that students 'arti%i'ate in that %ould affe%t their %ollege life( It does not
always have to $e a%tivities to get involved at s%hool( !he students %an $e involved in s%hool $y
having good grades or studying for their %lasses( !here are also &any grou's or %lu$s that
students .oin to $e involved &ore with s%hool( Angell stated that &any %ollege students .oin
either fraternities or sororities 6>>8( Angell also &entioned that those who .oin so&e -ind of
%lu$s have &ore en.oya$le %ollege life and have &e&ories that they %an share with the others
69?8( So* a%%ording to Angell and Anye* it %an %learly $e seen that those students whether it is
so&e religious a%tivities or .oining %lu$s are &ore satisfied with their %ollege life than those who
do not engage the&selves with those a%tivities and %lu$s(
'ow are students paying for their college? Does that affect their college life?
!here are several different ways that students 'ay their %ollege tuitions( So&e 'ay for
their %ollege with the hel' of finan%ial aid* 'arents* s%holarshi's* or even out of their own
'o%-ets $y wor-ing( :ye wrote that students are stressing a$out how to deal with %ollege life and
'aying for %ollege 61+?8( Even with the hel' of finan%ial aid so&e students aren1t a$le to 'ay all
of the fees at on%e( So&e have to de'end on loans to 'ay for their %ollege( !here are also several
re/uire&ents that have to $e &et in order to get finan%ial aid* get a %ertain GA and $e a full
ti&e student(
Ellis re'orted that there are shortages of guidan%e %oun%ilors with /uality ti&e 67:7@8(
!hose students who need hel' figuring out what to do in order to 'ay for %ollege do not have
&u%h guidan%e fro& those who -now what to do( Student1s %ollege life is affe%ted $y how they
are 'aying for %olleges( Giovanni* a %ollege fresh&an* stated that the 'ro%ess of 'aying for
%ollege was overwhel&ing and he did not -now where to even start 67:1+8( Li-e it was
COLLEGE LIFE @
&entioned $efore* if the students are getting finan%ial aid they &ust -ee' a good grade and 'ass
all their %lasses( It leads the& to study &ore effi%iently and harder so they %ould -ee' getting that
aid fro& the govern&ent( A student na&ed A&anda said wor-Astudy given $y finan%ial aid %an
hel' %over the %ollege e"'enses 6College ;oard8(
!hose who wor- while in %ollege also have to &a-e ti&e to study and wor- at the sa&e
ti&e( !hey are %onstantly in 'ressure with wor- and %ollege( It affe%ts their %ollege life sin%e it
does stress the students not .ust 'aying for %ollege $ut also having good grades( ;igfuture
we$'age underlined the %on%e't of %ollege tuition 'ay&ent 'lans are given to those students who
%annot 'ay the tuition all at on%e 6College ;oard8( !he o'tions of 'ay&ent 'lans are 're'ay&ent
of four years1 tuition or &onthly 'ay&ents( It is to hel' the students who are struggling with
finan%ial 'ro$le&s(
!here are even students whose %olleges are 'aid $y their 'arents( !hey are less stressed
and have very little worries a$out having to 'ay for their own %ollege fees( Bot all students have
that advantage and o''ortunity as they do( Li-e those students who de'end on finan%ial aid there
are also students who de'end on s%holarshi's( Es'e%ially with athletes in %olleges de'end
heavily on s'orts s%holarshi's to attend %ollege( !heir %ollege lives %onsist of .ust doing $est in
s'orts and ho'e to not get in.ured and -ee' those s%holarshi's(
,any students even ta-e out loans given $y finan%ial aid or other resour%es( Gris$y wrote
that student who is ta-ing out student loans to finan%e %ollege will %hoose the &ost e"'ensive
living arrange&ent 6>18( !hose students get their &oney right there and there $ut without
thin-ing a$out the future e"'enses( Bot all students who ta-e out loans are li-ely to turn out that
way( !hey do 'ay it $a%- little $y little as the ti&e goes on and their %ollege life during %ollege is
%onsisted with worrying a$out 'assing the %lass and after is to 'ay off the de'ts(
COLLEGE LIFE 9
!he gra'h $elow shows the result of the surveys that I have done in U!E( It was ta-en
$y &ulti'le students that attend U!E( !he results show that there are &ore students who are
'aying off their %ollege with the hel' of finan%ial aid( !here are %ases where the students 'ay off
the %ollege tuition with &ulti'le &ethods( !he students %ould $e getting finan%ial aid $ut also
wor- at the sa&e ti&e* there are ti&es where the finan%ial aid is not enough and they end u'
getting loans* or they a''lied to everything( !he one with the highest nu&$er of students that
said that one &ethod has the &ost affe%t was wor-( One student &entioned that wor-ed said that
$e%ause he wor-s and his s%hedule is so 'a%-ed that wor- does affe%t his %ollege life and have to
&a-e ti&e for his friends* fa&ily* and studying 6U!E student8( !he results have shown that
%ertain fa%tors do affe%t the student1s %ollege life and so&e affe%t &ore than the others(
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
Work Financial
Aid
Parents Loans
Yes
No
Has an effect
(igure )* +howing the num"er of students with different method of paying for college and if they feel that it
affects their college life*
Do college life activities affect student's education?
COLLEGE LIFE ?
Students do different a%tivities and other things during %ollege whether it &ay $e
studying* 'artying* and engaging the&selves in s%hool %lu$s whi%h %an all affe%t their edu%ation(
,indru' stated that 5students1 strong sense of &otivation and a$ility to thrive and su%%eed in
%ollege de'ended on their %ollege life5 6#8( So* those who study hard and want to su%%eed in
%ollege %are a$out what they do during %ollege( ,%0onald dis%usses that de'ending on what the
student de%ide to do during %ollege affe%ts their 'rogress in edu%ation 6+@8( )hatever students do
during %ollege is %onsidered as %ollege life e"'erien%e( )hether they go to 'arty* events*
a%tivities or even studying %an affe%t their %ollege life( ,%0onald and ,indru' have si&ilar
ideas* whatever the student de%ides to do during %ollege %an affe%t their edu%ation and wanting to
su%%eed in %ollege( If the students de%ide to only 'arty and not %are a$out s%hool wor-* they &ay
lose the sight of i&'ortan%e of edu%ation and get %aught u' with so%iety and friends( !hose who
strive to get high GA and grades in %ollege will &ore li-ely study &ore and engage the&selves
with s%hool a%tivities &ay$e even volunteer wor-(
!hose students who &ostly %are a$out 'artying and 'o'ularity tend to fall down in
edu%ation( Edu%ation %o&es se%ond for the& and friends and 'arty %o&es first( !hey want to $e
re%ogni=ed $y those around the&( Stevi% e"a&ined the students and those re%eiving re%ognition
and an undergraduate1s involve&ent in %hanging and develo'ing as an individual have resulted in
higher edu%ational level 6<#48( On%e the students are %aught u' on &ore a%tivities and events
rather than ho&ewor- and study they are &ore li-ely to have lower GA s%ores( ,any students
$elieve that $eing in %ollege &eans &ore freedo& and fun a%tivities( It is true that they are not
$ound $y the tea%hers and s%hool on their $a%- telling the& what to do( !hey have the free will
to leave the %lass if they want and do what they want( ;ut $y having those freedo&s they have
the restri%tion of getting good grades and doing what is right for the&( Sin%e they do not have
COLLEGE LIFE 17
anyone to guide the& unless they figure it out the&selves they do not %onsider %ollege as
i&'ortant(
!here are also those students who have to wor- while attending %ollege( )orrying a$out
'aying for %olleges &any students wor- 'art ti&e and get stu%- at wor-( !hat leaves students
with little or no ti&e to study and %are a$out the %lasses( !hey $e%o&e &ore worried a$out
tuition instead of their edu%ation( !he students often have hard ti&e finding the right ti&e to 'ut
s%hool and wor- together whi%h interferes with their edu%ation( So&e students even ta-e
internshi's to hel' the& in the future( In their %ollege life so&e students go a ste' further to hel'
the& a%hieve what they want and do what is $enefi%ial for the&( Eli=a$eth interviews
C3U;;CSOB insuran%e %o&'any wor-er and she said that internshi's hel' and %reate
o''ortunities for students to get .o$s after %ollege 67:498(
Conclusion
College life %an $e viewed differently $y &any others de'ending on their situations(
So&e student1s %ollege life %an %onsist of 'arty and fun a%tivities while others %onsist of wor-
and studying( !here are great nu&$er of a%tivities as well as events and grou's that students
attend or .oin in order to $e &ore involved with s%hool( !here are other things that students do
outside of s%hool during %ollege as well( Anything that students de%ide to do %an deter&ine their
%ollege life( aying for %ollege %an $e%o&e a 'ro$le& for &any students and their %ollege life
%an $e deter&ined $y how they 'ay for their tuitions( ,any fa%tors 'lay in how the student1s
%ollege life will $e and how they are affe%ted $y the&(
COLLEGE LIFE 11
Referen%es
Angell* R( C( 61?978( The campus, a study of contemporary undergraduate life in the american
university( Bew Dor-: Arno ress(
Anye* E( !(* Gallien* !( L(* ;ian* 3(* C ,oulton* ,( 6#71+8( !he relationshi' $etween s'iritual
wellA$eing and healthArelated /uality of life in %ollege students( Journal of American College
Health, 616@8* 414A4#1(
0ile- Guven* S(* O=%an* A(* !asgin* O(* C Arslan* F( 6#71+8( !he relationshi' $etween health
%ollege students1 'hysi%al a%tivity status and life satisfa%tion( International Journal of Academic
Research, 5648* +#@A++1( doi:17(@91+E#7@<A41#4(#71+E<A4E;(49
Ellis* R( 6Re'orter8* C )illia&s* ;( 6An%hor8( 6#711* A'ril 18( Guiding Low In%o&e Students to
3igher Edu%ation( F!elevision series e'isodeG( !C ightly e"s( Retrieved
fro&htt's:EEar%hives$$(n$%learn(%o&E'ortalEsiteE;$3igherEdE$rowseE2%ue%ardH<#@<#
Grigs$y* ,( 6#77?8( College life through the eyes of students( Al$any* BD: SUBD ress(
htt':EEstudentlife(ute'(eduE
,%0onald* )( ,( 6#77#8( Creating campus community #In search of ernest $oyer%s legacy 61st
ed(8( San Fran%is%o: IosseyA;ass(
,indru'* J( S( 6#71#8( Academic and social e&periences of undergraduate college students at a
$ranch campus# A case study' 6h(0(* !he University of Iowa8( (ro)uest *issertations and
Theses, ( 617+7447+4?8(
Stevi%* C( R(* C )ard* R( ,( 6#7798( Initiating 'ersonal growth: !he role of re%ognition and life
satisfa%tion on the develo'&ent of %ollege students( +ocial Indicators Research, ,-6+8* <#+A<+4(
COLLEGE LIFE 1#
:ye* C(* S%holl.egerdes* J(* C )el%h* I( 0( 6#77@8( .nder pressure and over"helmed #Coping
"ith an&iety in college( )est'ort* Conn(: raeger(
htt's:EE$igfuture(%ollege$oard(orgE