The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to investigate how first-year college students describe their experiences with stress and coping. This study sought to understand what coping mechanisms first-year college students use when they experience stress. Prior to this dissertation, it was not known how first-year college students describe their experiences with stress and coping. This dissertation is an original independent research study that contributes to the fields of education and psychology. This study included twelve first-year college students from a small university in central Texas. Data collection included individual interviews and a focus group. Emerged codes and themes revealed that first-year college students describe stress as a feeling of overwhelm, overload, and anxiety. The first-year college students described nausea, headaches, and tiredness as physical symptoms of stress. First-year college students reported coping through physical: working out, listening to music, activities: reading, writing, playing an instrument, other: talking, taking a break, and nature. The results of this study identify that first-year college students believed that peers had more unhealthy coping mechanisms, including cellphone use, procrastination, and avoidance. Participants reported relying on their mothers, friends, and family as roommates as a source of support when stressed. The findings of this study could be used to explore how to best combat first-year stress and the adverse effects it has on students by examining and including outlets for the coping mechanisms first-year college students reported. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]