This paper reports on a study to develop a scale of stress measurement and its use with undergraduate students (N=269) at a large land grant mid-Atlantic university. Students, within the classroom setting, were given a questionnaire containing 52 potentially stressful hypothetical situations and were asked to indicate the degree of stress they would feel if they found themselves in this particular situation. Stress-related items were factored into four dimensions having a total of 20 items: death/injury to a valued other; academic achievement; general college pressures; and college nuisances. These four factors accounted for 50% of the variance of the correlation mix. Among the findings was that female students reported more heightened stress than males across all factors. Additionally, some issues of academic achievement were the stress equivalent of "death or injury to a valued other," indicating that experienced stress is dependent on circumstances. It is noted that not only was the goal of developing a measure of college life stresses accomplished, but that an enhanced understanding of the relative magnitude and the interrelationships of the stresses today's college students face was achieved. Contains three references. (GLR)