Thesis advisor: Celeste Wells / It has been identified that academic stress is an issue plaguing college undergraduates across the country. A significant amount of academic stress can have a negative impact on both the physical and mental state of the individual. Six elements were identified as contributing to the make up of an individual’s stress profile and as a result, influenced the subsequent impact that academic stress may have on their daily life. Those elements included the following; definitions of stress, reactions to stress, timing, organizational strategies, support group and peer opinions. While the abundance of academic stress observed throughout colleges and universities is discouraging, its prevalence provides a large amount of data. By identifying the factors that contribute to the severity of academic stress, the avenues to a solution were identified as well. This study surveyed 16 participants at a large, private institution known for its academic rigor and competitive undergraduate environment thus rendering it an ideal setting for a study focused on academic stress. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2017. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Departmental Honors. / Discipline: Communication.

One of the most painful events in life that an adolescent can face is the loss of someone with whom they had a strong emotional attachment (Harvey, 2002). This loss could be a friend, relative, parent, or any person that was strongly attached to the adolescent. In today's literature, there is a lack of attention given to adolescents, college students in particular who experience loss. This retrospective study consisted of 224 university students who had lost someone during adolescence or preadolescence. I examined if the impact of the stress accompanied by the loss and the coping strategies used to deal with loss differed by gender and the time in which students experienced their loss. Results from this study indicate that gender plays a significant role in both coping behaviors and the impact of the loss on the individual. In particular, females were found have more coping behaviors and felt a higher degree of impact of the loss than males. Another variable that played a significant factor in this study was the time of loss, early or later in life. Those students who experienced their loss later in life (between 13-19) were impacted more than those who experienced their loss early in life (between 5-12). However, time of loss did not play a role in the individual coping behaviors exhibited. / Master of Science

"The purpose of this study is to gather information concerning some factors which may have operated to influence science majors in North Texas State College toward science careers."--4.

The purpose of this study is to gather information related to the characteristics of two groups of undergraduate non-science majors; namely, those students who once considered science as a career and subsequently changed to a non-science major and those who have never considered a career in science. It is frequently observed that children in the elementary school have an intense interest in science. One of the principal concerns of this study is how and for what reasons has the interest in science changed between elementary school and college? It is also the purpose of this study to gather information related to the attitudes of these college students toward the science courses they have had in high school and toward their science teachers. In attempting to arrive at an answer, the group who once considered a science career and those who have never considered an occupational choice in a field of science will be compared in the following areas: 1. General information such as sex, age, size of high school attended, rank within their graduating classes, college classification and military experiences. 2. Occupations and hobbies of parents. 3. Experiences which may influence attitudes toward science such as elementary school science, high school science courses, high school science teachers, attitudes toward science requirements, high school courses liked most, high school courses liked least, and membership in science clubs. 4. College science courses completed. 5. Extent of the interviewees' present interest in science, Finally, the circumstances surrounding the tentative choice of a science career by those who once considered such a career will be discussed.

The bibliography will comprise books, current magazines, annuals, and bulletins available in the North Texas State College Library. Some publications from other libraries in the area will also be included; namely, the Texas Woman's University Library, Denton; the Dallas Public Library; the Fort Worth Public Library; and Southwestern Medical College Library, Dallas. The bibliography is intended primarily for freshmen majoring in art, although the publications will be of value also to those students minoring in art.