Attending a university for the first time can be a stressful experience for many
college or
university freshmen (Dyson & Renk, 2006). They are often confronted with a variety o
f new
personal and interpersonal challenges and failing to meet these
challenges and demands has
become the most common reason for undergraduates withdrawing from university (Gerdes &
Mallinckrodt (1994).
In other words, n
ew college/university students wh
o are unable to adjust
themselves to campus life are likely to drop out before
they c
an
proceed to the following
semester.
Previous study
by Molnar (1993) has
shown that
the first six weeks of the first
semester in an institution is considered to be a cruc
ial period in determining retention among
freshmen
.
Studies have
also demonstrated
that adjustment among first year undergraduates
has
a
strong impact on their academic achievement
in the universities
in which
the students are
enrolled in