Struggling in College? Executive Functioning Might Be the Reason
September is right around the corner, and that means back to school for many new college students. College is a major life change. Students step away from the structured oversight of home and high school and into a world of self-direction. The freedom can feel amazing for many students. It provides them with a time for growth, change, and discovery. Freedom can also have its downsides.
College asks students to balance academics, social lives, and other responsibilities—all on their own—and this is where challenges can arise. It asks students to tap into their executive functioning skills in order to thrive. What is executive functioning? That’s a great question.
In this post, we’ll explore what executive functioning is, why college can challenge students’ abilities, and provide some tips on improving these skills.
Understanding Executive Functioning
Executive functioning is a set of cognitive processes that help us plan, organize, and manage our thoughts and actions to achieve goals. Executive functioning skills happen in the prefrontal cortex of our brains—and let’s remember, the prefrontal cortex does not fully develop until between 20 and 25 years old. That can add additional challenges for college students.
What does executive functioning look like in practice? Here are some of the tasks involved in these processes:
Task planning and initiation: We need executive functioning skills to look at an assignment and plan out how we will complete it. This includes assessing effort, length, and depth of the task, and then the hardest part—actually getting started.
Inhibitory control: This function allows us to manage our thoughts, feelings, and emotions without acting on our initial impulses. We need inhibitory control to continue writing our paper even when we get a notification on Instagram.
Working memory: Our brain uses working memory to temporarily hold present information and merge it with past understanding in order to complete a task or solve a problem. This is an active process that allows us to hear new information in a lecture, hold the information in our mind, identify a missing piece, and then ask a question about it.
Cognitive flexibility: This process allows our minds to switch between multiple tasks or thoughts. It gives us the power to change our minds or switch between assignments for different classes.
Self-monitoring: We also must be able to be aware of and evaluate our own behavior, thoughts, and emotions, and then adjust them as needed to achieve a goal. For example, if we find a math assignment due next week is taking longer than expected, but we have an essay due tomorrow, we can assess our action plan and decide to switch to the essay.
These key factors of executive functioning allow us to be successful in a college setting. We also find that people with neurodiverse brains—commonly those diagnosed with ADHD and Autism—have challenges in executive functioning.
Why College Can Feel So Hard
The extreme demands of college alone can be enough to tax the most powerful frontal lobes. Students must balance academic pressures, social obligations, physical needs, and daily chores—and this can heavily tax our cognitive loads.
We also find that the freedom that comes from a college environment removes previous sources of support that can offer help in balancing demands, such as parents. Due to those factors, we often see college students struggling to:
Prioritize effectively
Manage large blocks of unstructured time
Complete long-term projects without procrastinating
Balance academic, social, and personal responsibilities
We’ve identified the key components of executive functioning and how they play a vital role in helping students navigate the demands of college life. From planning assignments to managing distractions and shifting between tasks, these skills are foundational for academic and personal success. When students struggle with executive functioning—especially those who are neurodivergent—it’s no surprise that college can feel overwhelming and difficult to manage.
So, how can we better support students during this major transition? In our next post, we’ll share practical tools and strategies that can help strengthen executive functioning skills and make the college experience more manageable. Whether you’re a student, a parent, or a support person, there are ways to foster growth and create a more balanced, supportive environment. Stay tuned!
By Shagufta Khaliq, MD Candidate and Graduate Therapist
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Calm Mind Therapy is a boutique mental health practice located in Ardmore, PA, specializing in the care of children, adolescents, and adults. Our mission is to provide the Main Line with high-quality mental health services for all ages. Our goal is to help our clients achieve emotional well-being and build a life worth living. Serving clients in Ardmore, Bryn Mawr, Wynnewood, Narberth, Radnor, Lower Merion, Haverford, Havertown, Villanova, Swarthmore, Devon, Berwyn, Malvern, Bala Cynwyd, and more.
