However, if you feel bad or somehow inadequate because you feel stressed, think again. No one escapes stress. A major difference between more effective and less effective students is not the presence or absence of stress, but the ability to recognize stress when it occurs and to manage it. There are many sources of stress unique to students attending a commuter college. Commuter students often have jobs in addition to school and family responsibilities.
Many students live at home and experience conflicts about privacy, space and freedom.
Sometimes students may even feel pressured by the challenge of making friends in a new and perhaps intimidating setting which is exacerbated by a feeling of anonymity imposed by large classes. Finally, traveling to and from school and work and home on public transportation can be another source of stress. Work, family, friends and travel are all possible sources of stress for commuting students. In addition to the unique problems of attending a commuter college, there are the problems of adjusting to college life in general. Learning how to meet the study and time demands of college level courses is one such problem.