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The purpose of this study is to examine first-year students’ experiences with information overload, with the motive of furthering the discussion within this scientific field by providing research covering a relatively unexplored demographic. To be exact, it examines the context in which information overload manifests, what types of reactions the students have to information overload, as well as which coping strategies they use to handle and combat it. Individual interviews were held with four students to collect data that was then analysed using thematic analysis. The results showed that IO typically occurs in situations where a large quantity of information needs to be processed within a short time frame. The most common reactions were emotional ones, such as anxiety and insecurity. For coping strategies there were several different ones that were presented, with planning and pausing appearing with the highest frequency.