Most Hitit University students come from outside Çorum. Data-based insights on adjusting to a new city, homesickness, loneliness and the support available.
Checking the zip on your suitcase one last time, watching your mother wave from the bus window, getting off hours later in a city you do not know at all... Every September thousands of young people make this journey to Çorum, and a large share of them are Hitit University students. According to the university's own data it has around 20,000 students, and the majority of those whose home province is known come from outside Çorum. In this article, in the light of the figures, I focus on the psychology of coming to a new city to study, the difficulties of the first year and what both students and families can do during this process.
Hitit University Student Profile: What Do the Figures Say?
Within Çorum's ageing population, Hitit University is one of the city's largest sources of young people.
Number of students. According to the university's sustainability page, the total number of students in the 2024–2025 academic year was 19,814. According to data for the previous academic year on the official Study in Türkiye portal, 7,652 of the students were on associate degree (two-year) programmes, 9,334 on bachelor's programmes, 1,623 on master's programmes and 220 on doctoral programmes.
Where do they come from? According to a local news report citing university statistics, as of October 2026, 4,286 of the 11,270 students whose home province is known are from Çorum; they are followed by Samsun (829), Ankara (561) and Amasya (456). This is a secondary report and only covers students whose province is recorded; even so, it shows that a significant share of students come from other provinces.
Housing and scholarships. According to the university's promotional page, there are 8 dormitories in the city with a total capacity of 6,092. According to the sustainability page, in 2024–2025 784 students received cash, meal or dormitory scholarship support.
International students. According to university data cited in an academic study, there were 1,294 international students at the university in 2024; students from Azerbaijan form the largest group. Studies carried out with international students in Çorum identified the language barrier, financial difficulties and experiences of social exclusion as factors that make adjustment harder. I will address this topic in a separate article: international students at Hitit University.
Psychological support options. According to the university's 2024 Institutional Self-Evaluation Report, on campus a psychologist assigned by the Provincial Health Directorate provides services two days a week at the Social Support Unit within the Addiction Prevention Application and Research Centre. According to the same report, institutions such as the Çorum Yeşilay Counselling Centre (run by the Turkish Green Crescent, an addiction-prevention organisation) and the Provincial Directorate of Youth and Sports are expected to take part in the orientation for newly enrolled students. This information matters so that students know which resources they can turn to on and off campus.
What should you keep in mind when reading these data?
- Student numbers vary slightly between sources and dates; what matters here is the approximate scale.
- The breakdown by home province was taken from a secondary report and does not cover all students.
- The information on psychological support on campus is based on the 2024 report; there may be other units or services added since.
- No Çorum-specific prevalence data on students' mental health could be found. The psychological observations below are based on general knowledge in the field.
What Factors Shape Adjustment to a New City?
Adjusting to university is a different process for everyone. For students coming to Çorum to study, a few possible factors stand out.
Leaving home for the first time. For most students, university is the first experience of living apart from their family. Responsibilities such as food, laundry, managing money and dealing with health problems on their own arrive all at once.
The city's size and rhythm. For a student from a big city, Çorum may be perceived as a calmer and smaller city; for a student from a village or a small district, it may feel more crowded and faster. The gap between expectation and reality can increase feelings of strangeness in the first weeks.
Climate and seasons. Winters in Çorum are cold, and daylight is short in the winter months. For students coming from the mild Black Sea coast or from southern provinces, the first winter can be challenging both physically and emotionally.
Economic conditions. The cost of living, rent and dormitory fees, and the extra burden placed on the family's finances create a constant background worry in many students' minds.
The short timeline of associate degree students. A significant share of students are on two-year associate degree programmes. Two years is a short time to settle into a city, make friends and then plan for life after graduation. These students may face the question "what comes next?" before they have finished adjusting, which can bring anxiety about the future to the fore early.
The different load of master's and doctoral students. Some postgraduate students are also working, married or have children. For them, adjustment is less about a new city and more about balancing work, family and their thesis. This group should not be overlooked when it comes to loneliness and burnout either.
Rebuilding a social network. High school friends have scattered to different cities. Making new friends takes time, and meanwhile the feeling of loneliness can intensify.
What Might Hitit University Students Experience While Adjusting?
University years are often described as "the happiest years of your life". This expectation can make students who are struggling feel even more alone and inadequate. Yet difficulties with adjustment are extremely common.
Homesickness
Homesickness is not just missing your family; it is missing familiar food, your room, your street, your usual daily rhythm. Especially in the first weeks, crying, loss of appetite, sleep problems and the urge to "drop everything and go back" can appear. For most students these feelings ease over time; as small habits and familiar faces accumulate in the new city, the sense of strangeness also fades.
Loneliness
You can feel lonely in a crowded lecture hall or a full dormitory room. Loneliness is more about the depth of social relationships than their number. In a new city, the feeling that "nobody here really knows me" may be the most common burden of the first term.
Academic anxiety
The pattern of success from high school may change at university. The workload, different forms of assessment and the question "did I choose the right course?" can increase anxiety. Loss of motivation can be seen especially in students who did not get into the course they wanted during the university preference process.
The search for identity
University is a period in which a person questions "who they are" independently of their family. Meeting new ideas, different lifestyles and friends from different cities can be both enriching and confusing.
Financial worry and guilt
Students who know their family is making sacrifices to put them through university may feel guilty about every penny they spend. This guilt can lead them to avoid enjoyable activities and increase the pressure to succeed.
Students from Çorum studying at home
Not every student comes from another city; among students whose home province is known, the largest group is from Çorum. The experience of students who study while living with their families is different but not always easier. They do not feel homesick; on the other hand, they may struggle with autonomy. When rules and expectations from high school continue at university, the young adult may still feel like a "child". While their friends build a new life in dormitories and student houses, they may feel left out of campus life. Families giving their children space appropriate to their age during this period protects both the relationship and the young person's self-confidence.
The family goes through an adjustment too
Parents who send their child to study in another city go through their own process of adjustment. The urge to call often, weighing the tone of every word, worrying "is she eating, is he warm enough?" are normal. But when the family's anxiety is constantly passed on to the student, the young person has to carry both their own difficulty and their family's anxiety. Some students never say they are struggling so as not to upset their families, which deepens their loneliness.
Risky ways of coping
To cope with loneliness and anxiety, some students may turn to excessive screen use, irregular sleep, alcohol or other substances. The inclusion of the Yeşilay Counselling Centre in orientation programmes also shows awareness of this risk.
I discussed the general stages and signs of adjusting to university in detail in my article on adjusting to university.
Practical Suggestions to Make Adjustment Easier
Let's say a first-year student from Samsun realises at the end of October that she still has not grown close to anyone, that she stays alone in the dormitory at weekends and that she calls her family and cries every Sunday evening. The following steps can help her and students in similar situations:
For students:
- Accept that adjustment takes time. Struggling in the first term does not mean you made the wrong decision. For many students, adjustment takes a term or a year.
- Build a routine. Regular sleep, meals and study times provide a structure to hold on to in an uncertain environment.
- Take small social steps. Joining a student society, a sports club or a volunteering activity makes it easier to make friends through shared interests.
- Explore the city. Visiting Çorum's museums, historic sites and the natural areas around it can help you make the city your own rather than a "temporary stop".
- Be prepared for winter. Making the most of daylight, moving indoors and keeping up social contact can soften the effect of short winter days on your mood.
- Make a budget. A monthly spending plan turns financial worry from uncertainty into something manageable.
- Find out about support resources in advance. Knowing about the social support unit on campus, your academic adviser and counselling centres in the city means you know where to turn when you need to.
For families:
- Rather than calling your child often and saying "come home", listening when they are struggling and trusting their capacity to find solutions supports adjustment.
- Keeping expectations of success somewhat in the background in the first term gives the student room to focus on settling in.
When Should You Seek Professional Support?
Sadness and anxiety during adjustment are natural. However, in the following situations professional support may be helpful:
- If homesickness and unhappiness are not easing by the end of the first term and are getting worse
- If you have stopped going to classes or are too anxious to sit exams
- If your sleep and appetite have been noticeably disrupted
- If you do not want to leave your room and avoid all social contact
- If your use of alcohol or substances to cope with anxiety has increased
- If you are experiencing sudden attacks of fear resembling panic attacks
- If you have thoughts that life is meaningless or of harming yourself
The last point is an emergency; in such a situation, call 112 (emergency services) immediately or go to the nearest emergency department. For milder difficulties, the social support unit on campus, your family doctor and counselling centres in the city can be first points of contact.
How Is Adjustment to University Addressed in Therapy?
Therapy with university students is usually short-term and goal-focused.
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) helps students notice thoughts such as "everyone else has settled in except me", "I'll never finish this course" or "nobody will like me" and evaluate them realistically. Anxiety management, coping with exam anxiety, time planning and social skills work are part of this process.
The schema therapy perspective helps us understand why some students find separation or new environments much harder. In people with strong abandonment, social isolation or defectiveness schemas, coming to a new city can reopen old wounds.
If anxiety symptoms are in the foreground, work in the area of anxiety and panic may be suitable. I work in Çorum with face-to-face and online sessions; for students with busy timetables or who go home for the holidays, online sessions can provide continuity.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many students study at Hitit University?
According to the university's sustainability page, the total number of students in the 2024–2025 academic year was 19,814. This figure includes associate degree, bachelor's, master's and doctoral students, as well as more than twelve hundred international students.
How long does homesickness last?
For most students homesickness is strongest in the first weeks and eases noticeably within a few months. The length varies from person to person. Building a routine, making new friends and keeping balanced contact with family can shorten this process.
I don't like my course; should I drop out?
The reluctance experienced in the first term sometimes comes not from the course itself but from general difficulties with adjustment. Before deciding, it can be helpful to give it one more term, look into the course's later modules and career options, and talk to your academic adviser.
Where can students in Çorum turn for psychological support?
According to the university's 2024 report, a psychologist provides services at the Social Support Unit on campus. In addition, family doctors, the relevant outpatient clinics of public hospitals, the Yeşilay Counselling Centre and independent mental health professionals are among the options. In emergencies, call 112.
Bu yazı genel bilgilendirme amaçlıdır; tanı veya tedavi yerine geçmez. Yaşadığınız güçlükler için bir ruh sağlığı uzmanına başvurmanız önerilir. Acil bir durumda lütfen 112'yi arayın.
Eda Erkan Alapala
Klinik Psikolog. İstanbul Kent Üniversitesi Klinik Psikoloji Tezli Yüksek Lisans mezunu; bilişsel davranışçı terapi, çocuk merkezli oyun terapisi ve çocuk-ergen psikoterapisi alanlarında eğitimlerini tamamlamıştır.
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