Erin Sullivan had two weeks until her move from Connecticut to the District for her first year at Catholic University. Like most freshmen, she was jittery about the transition: Would she get along with her roommate and make friends? Could she be as heavily involved as she was in high school? Would she ever decide on a major? Could she handle life in the city after growing up in a suburb?
Then, Sullivan’s parents asked her and her two younger brothers to sit down for a family discussion.
“They were like, ‘We are getting divorced,’ ” Sullivan said. “They just told us, and no one wanted to talk from there.”
Sullivan ran upstairs in tears, lay on her bed and tried to figure out what it all meant. She was already worried about college, and now this.
She suddenly had a whole new set of unknowns: What if her brothers couldn’t deal with this without her? What if she had to transfer to a school closer to home? What if her parents fought in front of her roommate? And where would she live during breaks?
The questions ran through her mind as she packed and rode the train to Washington with her mother. Her father drove separately.
The first day was easier than she thought it would be, and her parents got along so well that her new neighbors assumed they were happily married.
The first few weeks also went smoothly. Sullivan made the cut for an a cappella group and volunteered in the community with fellow freshmen. All of the girls on her floor would routinely hang out.
“It’s the honeymoon phase,” she said. “Everyone loves each other. Everyone loves everyone on the floor.”
Then, the summer camp feel began to wear off. Obligations and homework began to pile up, and Sullivan realized her roommate would never become her best friend. She kept getting pulled into drama at home.
“I felt guilty being away,” she said. “My brothers would say: ‘It’s so unfair you’re away at school.’ I told them: ‘Believe me, I’m dealing with it here.’ ”
Although her new friends likely weren’t able to tell, Sullivan didn’t feel like herself. She ate pizza for too many meals and didn’t have energy for the gym. She cried a lot.
Then, she returned home at Thanksgiving. She walked into the house and burst into tears.
“I didn’t want to be home. I wanted to be back at school,” she said. “It just felt so weird. My family was so different. It was like two different families.”
* * *
The members of the incoming Class of 2015 have been lectured on the value of a college degree for most of their lives. But getting that degree has never been more expensive, especially at a time when some families are dealing with unemployment, cut wages and other financial hardships. Record numbers of freshmen are arriving on campus already stressed out, and campus resources are stretched thinner by demand.
After enduring the college application process, some students then feel pressured to succeed at everything: making friends, earning high grades, keeping scholarships, getting internships, leading clubs and posting happy photos on Facebook. They want the “perfect” college experience that leads to a dream career, even in a bad job market.
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