Challenges Faced by Students at University

This report discusses the various challenges that students face when starting at university, including time management, home sickness, subject selection, and high expenses. It provides recommendations for overcoming these challenges and balancing personal and academic life.

INDIVIDUAL REPORT

ABSTRACT
Study skills are the competencies and capabilities of students to manage their academics
with other elements of their life. In this report various challenges which a student face at
university is reviewed from which it has been seen that time management is the most influential
challenge as students find it difficult to manage their studies due to commitments towards
family. Also, in this report various recommendations are devised.

Contents
ABSTRACT....................................................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
LITERATURE REVIEW................................................................................................................1
Identifying and evaluating some of the main challenges that students experience when they
start university.............................................................................................................................1
ANALYSIS......................................................................................................................................3
Recommendations for overcoming the challenges......................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................4
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................5

INTRODUCTION
Study skills are the skills which are required by a student as it helps them in analysing and
discussing the course material (Munro, 2011). Study skills for higher education refer to the
ability and skills of a student which are required for the course at University. The main aim of
this report is to develop an understanding about the challenges which can be faced by students
while preparing for University. In this report, literature of various authors is assessed which
states various challenges which students may face when they start at university. Furthermore, an
analysis is also done which provides the recommendations about how students can overcome
from the challenges they face.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Identifying and evaluating some of the main challenges that students experience when they start
university
According to Akanwa, (2015), studying at university can be difficult for students as this is a
new experience from them. Typically, the students of university face various issues as they are
new to a competitive environment. Due to such causes, the most influential challenge which
students face when starting at university is time management. University requires a lot of time
and leaves no time to maintain a social life and what makes it even harder is the lack of
experience. University students typically start their course just after completion of their high
school and the life at high school is considered as dynamically different where time management
is not a problem. This challenge of time management further results into irregular sleep patterns
and unhealthy lifestyle. Life at university requires a maximum hours of a day due to which
students feel difficulty in maintaining their social life and this even sometimes results in
depression and homesickness.
The challenge of home sickness is a major and most common challenge which students face
when they start at university. Universities are probably the first event in student’s life when they
are away from their home due to which they start to feel home sick. The reason behind this
challenge is inability to make new friends and adjust in the new environment. With the help of
current environment where internet is available to every student, they can communicate to their
parents easily. This challenge ends up leading towards the depression and even effect the studies
of students.
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From the view points of Brooker and Lawrence, (2012), selecting an appropriate subject for
masters is also a major challenge which is faced by students when they start at university. The
masters’ subject is the course decision which very student has to take upon which their future
career direction is dependent. Due to lack of direction and assistance, various students’ face the
issue in which they try to analyse which subject is most appropriate for them. This decision of
selecting an appropriate subject also levies a lot of pressure on student.
Along with the above challenges, cost of education is also a major challenge which is faced
by students starting at universities. It is considered that the process of studying at university
requires a lot of funds. These funds cannot be procured by students as they do not hold a degree
to get a valuable job. Typically, students fund their university education by procuring the
finances from their guardians or loans but apart from the study expenses, there are various other
expenses too which these students have to procure and this builds a lot of pressure upon students.
According to Gartman, (2016), social problems are also a major challenge which students
face when they start at university. Social problems are regarded as difficulty in making new
friends, difficulties in adjusting with roommates and others. Apart from these, having too many
friends can also be an issue sometimes at university as it distracts the students and lead towards
the loss of academics. This challenge also results in conflicts between students at university due
to which students end up distracted from their studies. Apart from this anxiety and trauma is also
a major challenge which is not usual but is highly influential. When a student who starts at
university faces the issue of social life, they begin to feel anxiety and loneliness. This anxiety
must be resolved or it can result in trauma. The reason behind social problems is considered as a
major challenge faced by students at university is that this challenge is the cause of most of the
issues. Due to social problems, students are unable to make friends at university and also face
health problems. Social problems result when a student is unable to communicate with fellow
students which develop a social anxiety in them. If the anxiety continuous for months, it can
even result in trauma. Trauma is a situation where students suffers from social distancing and
even find difficult to concentrate in studies.
As per the opinion of Hew and Cheung, (2014), Health issues are the major challenge which
students who start at university face. These health problems are considered the result of
disorganised eating habits and sleep patterns. It is difficult to manage attendance in every class
and in order to do so, students lead to sleeping patterns due to which their health impacts
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negatively. Along with the sleep patterns, students also do not get time to eat at time due to
which their immunity system starts to be weakening which in long run results in various health
problems. As per the views of Levy and Petrulis, (2012), students often find solutions to their
problems by using drugs which help them in keep awake and concentrate more. But these drugs
usually result influence health of students. These drugs surely keep them awake but due to not
getting adequate sleep. Slowly the health of students starts to diminish.
From the above challenges discussed, it has been analysed that it is important for a student
to address all the issues which they are facing so that they can easily concentrate at their studies
and can even find solutions to their issues. In order to do so, all the challenges which are
analysed above are analysed in below section and various recommendations are provided to
resolve these challenges.
ANALYSIS
Recommendations for overcoming the challenges
It is usual for students to face challenges but it is important to find solutions for those
challenges as well. The most influential challenge discussed above is time management. Students
at university find it difficult to manage their time. A solution to this challenge is recommended
which is to create a functional time table which can allow student to invest time for all important
activities. By this solution, students can divide their time for studies, sleep and for eat as well. By
this, the challenge of unhealthy lifestyle can also be resolved.
Another major challenge which is discussed in this report is home sickness. This issue can
also be resolved by effective communication. Students should try to make friends in university
and should ensure to communicate with their parents from time to time by which they will
involve themselves in changing life. This recommendation of effective communication can also
address the challenge of social anxiety and trauma. It has been seen that students face such issues
of anxiety when they feel lonely. Interacting and communication is the best way to overcome
with the issue of social distancing.
High expenses are also a challenge which has been reviewed in this report. A
recommendation for this challenge is devised which states that students must fund their
education by taking a bank loan if their parents are unable to fund the education. Also for petty
expenses, students can participate in university programs which can win them money so that
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students can fulfil their miscellaneous expenses. This issue can even be resolved by a part time
job but this recommendation can also result in distraction from studies.
Another challenge discussed is issue while selecting a master’s subject. Every student who
is starting at university faces this issue in which they have to select an appropriate subject. A
recommendation for this challenge is consultancy. If a student has lack of knowledge, then he or
she can seek help from consultant (Sarrayrih and Ilyas, 2013). These types of services are also
available at universities as well. Or students can engage in the exercise of self evaluation, in
which they can decide which subject they are interested in and what type of career they want in
future.
All the above recommendations can help students to fight with the challenges which they
face at university. These recommendations can also help a students to avoid all the distractions
due to academics are impacted.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it has been concluded that there are various challenges which a
student can face when they start at university. But every challenge has a solution by which
personal and academic life of students can be balanced.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Akanwa, E.E., 2015. International students in western developed countries: History, challenges,
and prospects. Journal of International Students. 5(3). pp.271-284.
Brooker, A. and Lawrence, J.A., 2012. Educational and Cultural Challenges of Bicultural Adult
Immigrant and Refugee Students in Australia. Australian Journal of Adult Learning.
52(1). pp.66-88.
Gartman, K.D., 2016. Challenges of International Students in a University Setting. MPAEA
Journal of Adult Education. 45(2).
Hew, K.F. and Cheung, W.S., 2014. Students’ and instructors’ use of massive open online
courses (MOOCs): Motivations and challenges. Educational research review, 12, pp.45-
58.
Levy, P. and Petrulis, R., 2012. How do first-year university students experience inquiry and
research, and what are the implications for the practice of inquiry-based learning?.
Studies in Higher Education. 37(1). pp.85-101.
Munro, L., 2011. ‘Go boldly, dream large!’: The challenges confronting non-traditional students
at university. Australian Journal of Education. 55(2). pp.115-131.
Sarrayrih, M.A. and Ilyas, M., 2013. Challenges of online exam, performances and problems for
online university exam. International Journal of Computer Science Issues (IJCSI). 10(1).
p.439.
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