Mentor Resources
The Stages of Adjustment to College
Stage A: Honeymoon
- Before students arrive at school and for the first few days.
- Students are enthusiastic and want to meet new people. They want to get away from home and start out on their own.
- University faculty and staff are very welcoming.
Stage B: Culture Shock
- New set of surroundings are hard to adjust to. Difficult to adjust to roommate.
- Too many or too few people around (depends on the size of the student’s home community).
- Expectations and values differ from prior experiences.
- Student has difficulty finding his/her way around and feels lost.
- Community bathroom is problematic.
- Excitement wears off and people withdraw.
Stage C: Initial Adjustment
- Physical adjustment occurs and students feel more “at home”.
- This stage occurs more quickly for extroverts than for introverts.
- Gap between home and university customs and values persists.
Stage D: Mental Isolation
- Even though the student has adjusted to the physical environment, other things stand out as “different.”
- Feeling that getting to know others is hard.
- Feeling that no one else feels the same.
- Feeling alone.
- Values are challenged.
- Students tend to sit in their rooms alone.
- Cliques may form here.
- Critical time period for many students.
Stage E: Acceptance & Integration
- Students feel good again.
- Students feel more completely “at home”.
- Students feel they are a part of their new environment.
- Home values reconciled with university values.
Taken from http://www.lc.iastate.edu/appendixa.pdf
Last Updated: June 21, 2011