Dear First Years,

For most students the first year at Kalamazoo College is an exciting and challenging time, filled with new experiences, ideas, viewpoints and concerns. Many students find that, in order to adapt effectively to college life and its demands, they need to develop new ways of coping, academically, interpersonally, and personally. To learn more about these coping skills, please visit our resources page .

Before you read about specific concerns, we want you to know that we’re aware of both how wonderful and how difficult the first year at K can be. The personal growth that students experience is often quite amazing—but not always easy or smooth. First year students frequently report that they feel stuck in the process of adapting to college life. We believe that everyone needs help getting “unstuck” at times. That help can make the difference between reaching your educational goal and dropping out of college. We hope you’ll come to the Counseling Center when you feel stuck and your usual ways of getting “unstuck” aren’t working as well as they have in the past. We also hope you’ll come to the forums we’re offering to first year students to talk more about arriving at K. Hopefully, they’ll give you a chance to think through whatever issues this major life transition brings to you.

-The Counseling Center Staff