Title: From enrollment to exams: Perceived stress dynamics among first-year physics students

Abstract: The current dropout rate in physics studies in Germany is about 60%, with the majority of dropouts occurring in the first year. Consequently, the physics study entry phase poses a significant challenge for many students. Students' stress perception can provide more profound insights into the processes and challenges during that period. In a panel study featuring 67 measuring points involving up to 128 participants at each point, we investigated the students' stress perception with the Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ), identified underlying sources of stress, and assessed the self-estimated workload across two different cohorts. This examination occurred mostly every week during the first, and for one cohort also in the second semester, yielding a total of 3,206 PSQ data points and 5,823 stressors. The PSQ data indicate a consistent stress trajectory across all three groups studied that is characterized by significant dynamics between measuring points, spanning from $M=20.1, SD=15.9$ to $M=63.6, SD=13.4$ on the scale from 0 to 100. The stress level rises in the first lecture weeks, followed by a stable, elevated stress level until the exams and a relaxation phase afterward during the lecture-free time and Christmas vacation. In the first half of the lecture period, students primarily indicate the weekly exercise sheets, the physics lab course, and math courses as stressors; later on, preparation for exams and the exams themselves emerge as the most important stressors. Together with the students' self-estimated workload that correlates with the PSQ score, we can depict a coherent picture of stress perception among first-year physics students. This study enhances the understanding of stress perception and its potential management.