By Genesis Bu-Chinchilla
Trinity Times Correspondent

When Amelia Tolentino prepared for her freshman year living in the dorms at Trinity Washington University, she never imagined the wave of homesickness that would wash over her once her family left campus after moving her in.

But that’s exactly what happened in the fall of 2023. Once Tolentino settled into the dorms, she suddenly missed her family in a way she hadn’t expected.

Now a sophomore in Trinity’s nursing program and more solidly adjusted to residential college life, Tolentino recalled the difficult transition of leaving home and beginning her freshman year. She now sees it as a rite of passage.

Her experience is a familiar one.

A 2016 study by the National Library of Medicine found that 94% of students experienced homesickness during the initial days of their college experience.

“Homesickness is the experience of emotional distress or discomfort, like heartache, when we’re separated from loved ones, pets, familiar places, and people that we miss,” said Anne Cosimano, a licensed clinical social worker and a counselor at Trinity’s Health and Wellness Center.

Homesickness most often affects freshmen and transfer students, Cosimano told Trinity Times, noting that it isn’t limited to those groups and can impact anyone going through a period of adjustment.

In her decades serving as a counselor at Trinity, Cosimano has seen students from all grade levels deal with homesickness — usually at the beginning of a semester, but sometimes just as intensely after returning to campus from a long break.

“When the year first starts, I think that’s probably when I feel it the most after coming back from a summer spent at home,” said Annette Perez, a sophomore journalism and media studies major from Arkansas, who transferred to Trinity in the fall of 2024.

As the semester progresses, the homesickness eases, Perez said, and by the end of the term, it’s gone.

It’s important for students to know that homesickness is common during many of life’s major transitions and milestones, and that there are many ways to cope with the deeply sad feelings that can accompany it, Cosimano said, adding that Trinity is committed to helping students make that adjustment.

Trinity’s Health and Wellness Center offers an “Adjusting to College” workshop during freshman orientation and again early in the fall semester.

“I think there are things that we can do to help people ahead of time too,” Cosimano said. “So maybe we should even send something out in the summer because it’s good to have a plan of action when you come” to campus.

She said it’s a good idea for students preparing to go away to college to set up a schedule for FaceTime calls with family members, pack objects that remind them of home, and ask family to send care packages regularly throughout the semester — because “it’s something that reminds you they’re thinking of you.”

“Prevention strategies — efforts made before arrival on campus — are especially important because they shape attitudes and refine coping skills,” according to a 2012 study published by the Journal of American College Health. “The more confident and optimistic students feel in the months leading up to [enrollment], the less likely they are to develop intense homesickness.”

Dorm life can be lonely, and it’s easy to isolate yourself in your room when not in class, Tolentino said.

Shortly into her first semester, she pushed herself out of her comfort zone and began seeking out campus activities and getting to know the other young women living on campus.

That building of community helped ease her loneliness, and she discovered the joys of campus life.

Moving away from home and entering college is a pivotal moment in any young adult’s life, Cosimano said, and it comes with both sorrow and exhilaration.

Both Tolentino and Perez said they found campus resources helpful in making the transition to life away from home, including team-building activities throughout the semester and housing events that encourage resident students to get to know each other.

As the two students prepare to say goodbye to the graduating seniors this May and make their way home for the summer, they are eager to welcome the incoming freshmen and transfer students in the fall — and perhaps help ease their transition.