oa To what extent are SQU first year students willing to adjust to college life?

This paper investigates first year students’ willingness to accommodate to college life and its demands. It first reviews the literature on the topic, and shows how factors such as family, peers, self-esteem, extroversion and students counselling centres may influence students’ adjustment process. This paper is based on a study conducted at Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) in Oman. Moreover, the paper analyses data obtained through two different questionnaires distributed among 72 students, and interviews with 8 participants; for example, the Tutorial Centre Coordinator, a teacher of Career Guidance Subject, a parent, and first year students and freshmen students’ class observation. The findings of this study are interesting as they contradict with the literature in some aspects. They show that, in the Omani context, students tend to be self-confident and optimistic; therefore, they could cope easily with college life. The paper concludes that this result could be due to media and globalization as they can get information about college life and get prepared. Indeed, it recommends that more research needs to be done regarding the influence of college teachers and cultural issues like gender on students’ adjustment to college environment.