For many students, embarking on higher education can pose particular threats and challenges, not only to academic identity, but also to fundamental, personal aspects of the self. This paper reports a methodological study that employed quantitative and qualitative research methods to explore the impact on the sense of self and self-esteem of a group of female first-year undergraduates. Results from a "Self-esteem inventory", a variation on Q Methodology, an "Ideal-self inventory" and a semi-structured interview revealed different but complementary aspects of the self and indicated that participants' self-esteem increased over the duration of the study, as recorded on all four measures. It is suggested that the most appropriate way of uncovering and understanding mediators of self-esteem may be through a mixed-method approach. (Contains 3 tables.)