When Tiarna Jackson, Eden Graham and Rachel Mugridge all enrolled in first-year architecture at the University of Canberra they spent first semester in shock.
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"It was very different from high school," Ms Jackson said.
"It was a wake-up call, the workload and the expectations."
Ms Jackson also had to deal with relocating from Bathurst, the transition from a country town and making new friendships. It all took a toll early on.
"There was that extra pressure, moving on to residences, living away from home for the first time," she said.
Ms Graham lives at home in Spence. She also found the transition from high school a challenging one and has the added burden of working two part-time jobs, as a waitress and a receptionist in her father's office, while studying full-time.
"There have been times this year when it's all got to be too much," Ms Graham said. "You have these little freak-outs, thinking about what there is to be done and just managing it all."
Ms Mugridge also juggles a part-time job and study. She's saving to buy a new car, and finds the pressure to find time for everything a challenge. She's disappointed not to be playing sport anymore.
"I just couldn't fit everything in," she said.
But the three friends have found support in each other. Socialising, studying, being there for each other, in class and away from the books.
"It's been good to have friends who understand exactly what you're going through," Ms Graham said.
"If you don't understand something in a class, or are just having trouble, we're here for each other."
The women are a good example of what the university is striving to achieve, encouraging a community where students are offering peer support, where students are helping each other and themselves, finding that independence.
But not all students are doing so well.
Vicki de Prazer, a senior counsellor at the university's medical and counselling centre, said her team of seven could sometimes see up to 200 students a week.
"If we had more psychologists we'd have more people book in," Ms de Prazer said.
"The services we provide are varied but there are always students who want to come and speak to one of our team about an issue."
Ms de Prazer said the counselling team was dealing with everything from timetable concerns to serious mental health issues.
"At this time of year we're on the run because all of these concerns have started to blur a bit around exams and assessments period," she said.
The university has just wrapped up Stress Less Week, a week of activities aimed at helping students take their minds off the approaching exams and de-stress in a fun, interactive and positive way. There have been jumping castles, petting zoos, massages and fluffy kittens to cuddle.
Many universities are starting to recognise the importance of good mental health and wellness in the study environment.
A 2013 study by the Australian Medical Students' Association University Student Mental Health: The Australian Context cited research that indicated the 16-24 age group exhibited the highest incidence of mental health disorder and this age group was less likely to access mental health services.
It cited a 2010 study by Dr Helen Stallman which compared psychological distress in university students to the general population, which found elevated distress levels among the university population were almost double those of the general population. It also revealed that financial stress doubled the rate of reported mental illness.
Ms de Prazer said current students often placed too many demands on themselves.
"One thing we have noticed in the past few years is that more students are in paid employment," she said.
"They feel as though they need to work more, not just to pay the rent but they want a certain lifestyle as well.
"A few years ago students were content to do things on the cheap … but now they want the high life, to go to music festivals, a trip to Bali, things students of the past didn't aspire to."
She's hesitant to blame social media, or label an "entitled" generation.
"There's expectation, it's not seen as an additional extra or a luxury, it's seen as this is what everyone does so I should do it too, that places a lot of pressure on them," Ms de Prazer said.
Ms de Prazer has been at the University of Canberra for about three years and in practice for decades.
She is buoyed by fact more people seem to be accessing mental health services than ever before.
"There is less of a stigma surrounding it now," she said.
"Less of a stigma in admitting you need help. I've worked in many, many settings, the corporate world, privately, and this age group is fun to work with. You can be provocative with them to prompt them along, other times they need so much support and nurturing.
"Eventually all of them seem to make some gains, which is rewarding, because it's a time of transition, a time when many of them are still very immature.
"You see a lot of students where you have to hold their hand and be gentle over a long period of time but then suddenly that sense of self and identity kind of kicks in and that's wonderful."
That's not to downplay the serious cases. Ms de Prazer said depression, anxiety, eating disorders, binge drinking and even domestic violence were issues the team at the centre dealt with every day.
As well as the counsellors, there are medical doctors, nurses, a social worker and a psychiatrist on staff working around the clock for the well-being of the students.
"We do have cases that can get pretty complex, people do have serious mental health issues which are managed by the whole team, whether that means intervention, counselling or medication, whatever is in the student's best interest," Ms de Prazer said
