Mental health of students in higher education

College Report CR166beware of sudden reductions in medication which up to then havestabilised the patient sufficiently to consider starting studies;consider whether it would be helpful for the student to havesomething in writing about how his/her illness and medicationmight affect their ability to study.If there are serious doubts about the prospective student’s ability tocope, it might be better for him or her to ‘test the water’ before moving awayfrom a supportive home environment and embarking on a demanding degreecourse. This could avoid the dashing of high expectations by the inability tomeet the demands of studying or by psychiatric relapse. For example, thestudent could assess his or her capacities to cope with higher educationby studying at a lower level (e.g. access to a higher education course),undertaking a non-degree college course, studying part-time or attending ahigher education institution within commuting distance of home.60 http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk