The aim of this study is to understand the effects of perceived stress, self-esteem, and positive future orientation on the college adjustment of North Korean defectors in South Korean universities, and to examine the mechanisms through which self-esteem and positive future orientation affects the association between stress and college adjustment from a risk and resilience perspective. Convenience sampling strategy was used to obtain a sample of 103 North Korean defectors who were enrolled in universities around the Seoul Metropolitan area. Self-administered survey questionnaires were utilized for data collection. Multivariate regression analyses and bootstrapping method were employed to examine the mediating and moderating effects of perceived stress, self-esteem, and positive future orientation on college adjustment. The analytic results indicate that perceived stress has a direct and indirect negative effect on college adjustment. Self-esteem, and positive future orientation are positively associated with college adjustment at the level of statistical significance. Significant indirect effects of stress on college adjustment through self-esteem and positive future orientation suggest that students with higher level of stress are not only at risk for poor college adjustment, but also more likely to have reduced level of self-esteem and more negative outlook on the future, which ultimately leads to poor college adjustment. No significant moderating effects between key independent and the dependent were found. Implications of the study findings are discussed.