The strains of student life

words by Hannah Atterbury and Nicole Muller

A third of students are more concerned about debt problems than they are about their exam results according to a survey by this website.

But the pressure of exam deadlines cause the most stress to those questioned and is leading to a rising concern over the welfare of undergraduates.


The Canterbury Tales decided to carry out the survey after a suicide attempt shocked those at Canterbury Christ Church University last Sunday, when a student attempted to jump from one of their buildings.

The 20-year-old climbed over a glass balcony on the second floor of St. Augustine House in Canterbury city centre. The police were alerted at 5.25pm by the library security staff and it took them an hour to persuade the distressed young man to return to the ground floor.

He was taken to St. Martin’s Hospital where he was later placed under Section 136 of the Mental Health Act.

This unsettling story prompted us to question the extent of stress placed upon students today. Students have always been regarded to have an easy lifestyle with their three-day weeks, long lazy lie-ins and ongoing partying schedule. This young boy’s trauma shows that some students suffer in silence.

• 37% of students blamed work deadlines for their anxiety.

• 34% of students we asked felt that not having enough money to survive away from home   was far more worrying than their workload.

• 15% stated that the pressure of exams was a huge stress factor.

• 5.3% expressed apprehension about finding a job after they’ve completed their degree.

• 5.3% sighted personal reasons as the main reason for stress.

Emma Harmer, 20, said: “I sometimes have more than one assignment due in on the same day. This means that I can’t always complete work to the best standard and I find this really frustrating!”

With most students accumulating more than £7000 worth of debt per academic year, it’s not surprising that second on the list was money. What we found most interesting was that 61.1% of all people we asked do not have a job to fund their studies and rely solely on their maintenance loans.

We found that on average students have between three and seven exams at the end of each year and Lara Murphy, 19, said: “I have seven exams this year, all in the space of two weeks and I’ve even got two in one day. I break out in a sweat just thinking about it.”

Surprisingly, not many students seem concerned about their future. In the current economic climate, it has become notoriously difficult for students to find work having completed their degree but not many students we spoke to even mentioned the prospect of finding a job after University.

If you’re feeling the strain of University life you can call Connexions Direct on 080 800 13 2 19, text on 077664 13219 or alternatively you can visit their website for help and advice by clicking HERE.