Back to School — A Questionnaire from What to Do When College Is Not the Best Time of Your Life

David Leibow’s new book What to Do When College Is Not the Best Time of Your Life comes just in time for those returning to school, particularly for those whose experience has been disappointing.

At the beginning of his book, Leibow presents a questionnaire designed “to help you clarify whether you’re having the college experience you hoped for—and that you still could have if you made a few changes.” Below are some questions from the questionnaire and you can download it in its entirety here :

General
1. Is college a disappointment? Is it less fulfilling or fun than youthought it would be?
2. Are you having more trouble fitting in or getting adjustedthan you expected?
3. Do you think about transferring or dropping out?
4. Do you feel you’re not ready to be in college or in this college?
5. Do you feel lost, confused, overwhelmed, stressed out, or sad a lot of the time?
6. Do you get anxious or depressed when you think of returning to college at the end of a vacation or visit home?
7. Does it seem as though everyone else is enjoying college more and adjusting to it better than you are?

Academic Problems
1. Is the academic work harder or more time-consuming than you expected?
2. Do you feel anxious or unbearably restless before getting down to work?
3. Does it take forever to start or complete papers?
4. Do you surf the net, watch TV, smoke pot, or just daydream to avoid doing schoolwork?
5. Do you fall asleep when you try to study or read?
6. Have you decided to make academics a lower priority than socializing?
7. Are you more than two weeks behind in your work?
8. Do you begin most assignments just before they’re due?
9. Do you skip classes more than once a week?
10. Have you had incompletes at the end of the term?
11. Have you had to drop a class because you fell too far behind in the work?
12. Have you exaggerated an illness or emotional problem to get an extension?
13. Do you conceal your grades from your parents?
14. Have you changed your educational or career goals because of poor grades?
15. Are you starting to hate college because of the academic pressure?

Drugs and Alcohol
1. Do you drink or smoke pot more than a couple of times a week?
2. Do you almost always drink to get drunk?
3. Do you need to get intoxicated in order to socialize?
4. Have you tried to avoid alcohol or drugs to prove you don’t have a problem?
5. Do you worry that your alcohol or drug use might have gotten out of hand?
6. Have you missed classes, injured yourself, gotten into fights, blacked out, engaged in reckless sex, or driven a car after drinking?
7. Do you use cocaine or hallucinogens regularly?
8. Have you ever used methamphetamine, opiates, ecstasy, or other “hard” drugs?