According to academia.edu, an alarmingly high number of students every year are affected by homesickness, which is defined as the distress caused by separation from home and parents; the statistics around this phenomenon are eye opening:

• 95 percent of students who go away to college experience some form of homesickness.
• 20 percent of freshmen report moderate or severe levels of homesickness.
• Nearly 10 percent of freshmen have depressive, anxious symptoms.
• In severe cases, some students even drop out of school.

Surrounding freshmen with images of friends and family, and other objects that remind them of home, might help ease their separation anxiety.

Here are seven ideas freshmen can proudly rock that will give them comforting feelings of home.

1. Throw blanket with picture

Image: PictureItOnCanvas

This fleece blanket is perfect for when a student is studying, or just relaxing and watching a movie in between classes and hanging out with friends. It can be purchased at PictureItOnCanvas.com for $100.

2. A homemade quilt of their favorite T-shirts from childhood

Image: Anne Grace Nimke

This idea is awesome! Have mom or grandma get together a bunch of old, comfy T-shirts and turn those bad boys into a quilt that will put a smile on the student's face when she/he is away at school.

Above is an example of what it looks like once you select all the T-shirts.

3. Regular Skype or Facetime calls

Telephones are great, but there is no substitute for seeing the face of a loved one. Scheduling time to talk "live" via the computer, mobile phone or tablet is a great way to stay connected to loved ones and friends back home.

4. Let them rep their crib with a T-shirt by The Home T

The Home T has tons of shirt options that will let students show off where they're from and have a little fun. Like this California baseball T-shirt example.

5. Candles that smell like home

Bed Bath and Beyond has a great selection of candles, like this Yankee Candle, pineapple cilantro option. Growing up, my home didn't smell like pineapples and cilantro, but maybe it should have!

6. Photo throw pillow

Image: PictureItOnCanvas

This photo throw pillow is a great way to decorate a dorm or apartment bed and, at a glance, remind the student of friends and family at home! It too can be found at PictureItOnCanvas.com, for only $70.

7. Photo collages on removable wallpaper

And finally, there is WeMontage.com, which is my company, and is the world's only website that lets you turn images into a large collage on removable wallpaper. The removable aspect is key because putting nails in walls to display photos isn't allowed in dorms and some apartments.

Because WeMontage is custom and comes in large sizes, it gives you more of what you enjoy about photos. More love. More happiness. And more inspiration. All of which should help ease homesickness in college freshmen.

Here's a great video made by students at UNC-Chapel Hill explaining why they think removable photo wallpaper is a good option for students:

Prices start at $60 for a 3 x 2-foot WeMontage.

WeMontage is fighting homesickness in college freshmen by giving away 100 removable wallpaper montages to U.S. students via its Facebook page.

There you have it, seven ideas to help students cope with homesickness and get back to having fun in college and being great students!