High School Superstar - College Nobody

The superstar athlete who has received every award, all the praise from fans and admirers and hangers-on now has to live up to all of the hype and produce at the college level. Many great high school players sometimes do not make the transition to college superstar status. In high school, many of these superstar athletes were the best on their teams, they showed great athletic ability, superior athletic skills and, at game time, no one could compete with them.

These athletes stood alone; they were unmatched because there was no competition for them to worry about. As these athletes compete, they gain confidence knowing that they are the best in their city and in their community. They shine head and shoulders above everyone who plays their sport. The transition to college, in their minds, will be easy because they have had it easy their entire athletic career while in high school.

These days, athletes receive so much coverage from so many places; magazines, website message boards, they are written about on blogs and talked about on TV as though they were the greatest athlete to have ever played. This type of hype can be dangerous when dealing with teenagers who have no life experience and may not be able to handle the pressure.

All of their athletic lives, they felt no pressure and they've dealt with very little adversity because, as a superior athlete, everything is given to you--everything in the sport world is easy. The transition to college can be difficult for many student athletes who have never lived away from home or dealt with the adversity because once you are at a college athletic program, all the players are good, all the players were also the best at their respective schools therefore, the competition is greater than many of these athletes has ever had to deal with--ever.

For every Lebron James who was a superstar basketball player, there are millions more who wish to be like a Lebron James but fail to achieve any level of success. All over the country, student athletes from all sports believe in their minds that they too will be a success at the college level; they believe college athletics will come easy to them just like it did in high school. Ego plays a large part in athletic failure.

College Student Success Strategies

Succeeding in college is not all that difficult. Freshmen enter the "Halls of Ivy" with optimism and trepidation. They soon learn that it isn't always the smartest students who do the best.

The keys to success in college can be categorized into a few principles:

PERSISTENCE
Often it is the "last ones standing" that walk down the aisle to receive their diploma. Life happens along the way. Health problems, financial difficulties, family problems, etc., are common. Most students are trying to balance work and school, and many are raising a family, too. And, a large number of students today are single parents. It's easy to get discouraged when so many stressors are competing for our time and attention. The simplest solution may appear to be to drop out. However, it seldom is.

So, hang in there and realize that endurance is the most important factor in getting your degree.

PATIENCE
Be patient with yourself and your instructors. Patience will help avoid the escalation of trivial matters into major problems. Most of all, be gentle with yourself. Take matters in stride and you will not experience the degree of stress that leads to impulsivity and poor decisions.

FLEXIBILITY
In college, as the rest of life, things happen. Schedules change, instructors change, rooms change, curricula change, grading standards change, textbooks change, classmates change, etc. Don't let these changes "throw" you.

Many students get frustrated or upset at frequent changes. Yet, their education is intended to help them successfully navigate an unpredictable world full of frequent and profound change.

One of the major difficulties for many students is adapting to the different teaching styles, personalities and manner of the faculty. All students have their "favorites."   They expect faculty to adapt to them, instead of them adapting to their instructor. Just as in the workplace they will have to adjust to, and satisfy the expectations of their superiors (bosses); in the classroom they will have to adjust to the style and expectations of their teacher. In the business world if they fail to meet the standards for performance set by their employer, they will receive poor evaluations. In the classroom these evaluations are called GRADES.

Brainwave Entrainment Is a Beneficial Way to Cope With The Stress Of Going To College

It is no surprise that college students find life very stressful. High expectations, from parents, the college, and themselves, being away from home for the first time-sometimes very far away from home, and trying to enter the adult world in a mature way, can sometimes leave a college student feeling overwhelmed. Being stressed can leave them feeling depressed and unable to cope or function, which in turn, leads to feelings of despair and possible suicide.

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students.

The Associated Press and mtvU, a college TV station, conducted a survey that found that four out of ten college students reported feeling stressed often, one out of five reported that they felt stressed most of the time, one out of four students, experienced daily stress, and one in ten had thoughts of suicide.

Why Students Feel Stressed
In the beginning of their school career, they work hard and the energy needed to succeed is at a high. As time moves one, they lose some of that energy and start to slow down. When that starts to happen, they start procrastinate and stop doing all of their course assignments. They are unmotivated, at this point, because they are mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausted...the ultimate of being stressed out.
There is a great amount of pressure to do better than "well."
The amount of school work is gigantic, and not like in high school, they are pretty much left on their own on how they are supposed to digest the vast amount of information.
Because it all seems overwhelming, they may even start skipping classes, the guilt of which (especially if their folks helped pay for their education) incapacitates them.
There is a strong need to be socially accepted. Going to college generally means that they had to leave some of their friends behind so they need to find new friends. If they are not confident with social situations, this alone in itself, can cause them to be over-stressed.
To feel accepted by their new group of friends, they may do things to their mind and body that they know aren't good for health's sake...like drinking, partying, or doing drugs. This kind of action makes it hard to go to class in the morning or to write exams, or to study.
They can get homesick...a loneliness of the heart, that is very real and has physical symptoms.
They are cut off from their family, in a sense, most of the time because they are so far away. Problems that may be developing at home are out of their control, so they may be worried about their loved ones and feeling guilty because they cannot be there and help.
After a while, there doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day so they sleep and eat less, and don't socialize anymore because they're failing or getting way too far behind...and don't even talk about getting fresh air and exercise...there isn't any time.
The pressure to succeed in their school work eventually causes them to feel defeated and hopeless.........they "burn out." They are depressed and may drop out college or out of life, if they don't do something to help themself.