Texas State earns Campus Nature Rx certification — and the loneliest year of studying abroad

Texas State has been certified by the Campus Nature Rx Network after a year-long programme of 12 sessions, building a plan to bring nature into student mental health support. Four universities were certified in 2026: Texas State, Texas A&M, Cal State Monterey Bay and NC State.

Why we are covering this

An international student's first year is the loneliest one, and it is rarely discussed in a recruitment conversation. You change time zone, language and friendship group at once, and everything familiar sits a long flight away. Parents ask about safety and cost; almost nobody asks how their child will cope with the first three months.

The 45% figure above is for US college students generally, not international students specifically. But the group furthest from home usually carries the most.

What this means concretely in San Marcos

Here the university has a genuine advantage rather than a slogan: the San Marcos River runs through campus, holds around 22°C year-round, and the campus sits in the Texas Hill Country. Students going to the river is not an activity anyone has to organise — it is already the habit.

The certification means the university now has an implementation plan to turn that existing asset into something structured, rather than leaving it to whoever happens to work it out.

Three things to do in your first term

• Find the counselling service's number and location before you need it. Looking it up while you are fine is far easier than looking it up while you are not.
• Build one weekly habit of getting outside and keep it — the river, a trail, or simply walking home instead of taking the bus.
• Join at least one club in your first month. Friendships do not appear on their own, and by the second term the groups have already formed.

See student support services, what there is to do around San Marcos, or housing.

Source: Campus Nature Rx Academy certification, news.txst.edu, 14 September 2026. The Campus Nature Rx Network is directed by Dr. Don Rakow (Cornell University) and Dr. Dorothy Ibes (William & Mary). The river temperature comes from the student life pages of this site.