Adjusting to college life can be challenging, as students navigate newfound independence and more rigorous courses. It can feel especially daunting for students who face mental health challenges, which for many were heightened by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Campuses are facing what many experts call a mental health crisis. For example, 70% of students said they’ve struggled with mental health since starting college, according to a U.S. News/Generation Lab report, which surveyed 3,649 college students in March 2024.
?”Many of the students were in high school or college during the pandemic, which was a very difficult time for mental health for young people in particular,” says Dr. Annelle Primm, senior medical adviser at the Steve Fund, a nonprofit that supports the mental health of young people of color. “Some struggle with remote learning, some had a hard time not spending social in-person time with their peers.”
The pandemic is just one of many factors contributing to the high rates of students experiencing mental health challenges. Uncertainty during the current political and cultural climate in the U.S. has also sparked concerns, some experts say.
?”Uncertainty heightens stress and anxiety for most people,” says Dr. Lindsey Mortenson, chief mental health officer at the University of Michigan. “When you’re thinking about the college experience, anything that impacts their learning, their health and safety, or their perceived job prospects has the potential to disrupt the kind of development we like to see in college. … Uncertainty is a word we’re hearing a lot from parents, families, students, faculty and staff. That can be distracting if you’re spending a lot of time thinking about the ‘what ifs’ and worrying about what might be on the horizon. It can take meaningful time and energy away from learning and positive social experiences.”
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Mental health is also becoming more broadly defined by the general public, says Markie Pasternak, senior manager of higher education at Active Minds, a nonprofit that promotes mental health awareness and education for young adults.
“People who are in the mental health field have had a holistic model of mental health in their brain for a long time; thinking mental health isn’t just whether you have a disorder or a condition or not,” she says. “It includes your stress level, it includes if you’re feeling lonely, it includes grieving, it includes your ability to focus; all these different attributes. I think now we’re also seeing students understand that, too.”
Many Students Struggle But Don’t Seek Help
Despite expressing a need for care, however, most students are not seeking it. Per the report, only 37% of respondents searched for mental health resources at their college. Many students said they chose not to look for support because of negative past experiences, feeling that mental health care is ineffective, fear of social stigma, cost or uncertainty about how to connect with help resources.
Of students who participated in the U.S. News/Generation Lab poll and indicated they wanted mental health support, 77% said they were successfully connected to mental health care. Most of them — 70% — said they received resources for help right away or after about a week, while 7% said they had to wait more than three months.
Role of Colleges in Addressing Students’ Mental Health
Colleges have a “huge responsibility” to address students’ mental health challenges, from prevention to treatment and recovery, Mortenson says.
“Many college students are on campuses that actually have greater resources and support than are often available at home,” she says. “For this reason, I tend to think of colleges ideally supporting what’s sometimes called ‘recovery in place’ — this idea that healing, resilience are more likely when people stay in a supportive environment.”
When you look at the experiences of many faculty and staff members “who are supporting college students today, we kind of grew up in a slightly different era where if students wobbled or struggled in college, they might have been sent home,” Mortenson says. “So I think colleges have a really unique opportunity and responsibility to support recovery in place if that’s the best environment for the student.”
Among students today, “there’s less stigma and more openness to help-seeking and disclosing mental health struggles,” she says.
To further reduce the stigma, there should be efforts to “make mental health a community issue,” Pasternak says. “This is everyone’s issue to tackle.”
Faculty and staff should be trained to recognize “warning signs of a mental health issue or of suicide risk” and connect students to support “without expecting them to act as therapists,” says Tony Walker, senior vice president of school programs and consulting at The Jed Foundation, a nonprofit that aims to protect emotional wellness and prevent suicide among teens and young adults.
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Range of Needs and Resources
Students sought care for a range of reasons, such as anxiety, depression, self-harm and suicidal thoughts, substance abuse and trauma. Among survey respondents who received support, 69% said it was sufficient.
To address these issues, many colleges offer counseling services on campus and partner with national telehealth services to provide around-the-clock care. Telehealth can provide students with “access to a diverse array of clinicians,” Pasternak says.
“There may not be a lot of counselors or staff on specific campuses who have the same identity or look like or have the same background to a student who may feel that they have a marginalized identity,” she adds. “It can be a racial identity, it could be a sexual orientation identity. But a telehealth option allows students to say, ‘I really want a therapist who’s going to understand where I’m coming from, from this specific seat.'”
There’s also a greater sense of privacy, Primm says.
“They don’t have to walk through a door or into a building that says ‘Mental Health Center’ or ‘Counseling Center,’ especially if they have concerns about being identified as someone seeking help,” she says. “That is a form of stigma, but for those people who are concerned about that, I think the privacy is a plus.”
However, some students may prefer an in-person experience, experts say.
“As a psychiatrist myself, I am conscious of the inability to track things like vital signs, especially for students who might be on prescription medications for their mental health need,” Primm says. “So we miss that opportunity to gather that important information.”
In addition to counseling services, many campuses offer peer support options. NAMI On Campus, for instance, is a nationwide student-led club that raises mental health awareness by educating the campus community through guest speakers and panels, and advocating for better on-campus mental health resources.
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How to Seek Help in College
Before stepping onto campus, be aware of available mental health resources, Primm says.
“It may even be an important factor in choosing which college to go to and knowing that certain colleges may have more resources than others,” she says. “I think becoming aware of what the campus has to offer in the way of mental health support is critical. Know where those buildings are, know who those people are, where to go when someone is in an emergency.”
If you are experiencing problems that are “becoming overwhelming” and that start to interfere with your ability to function, it’s time to reach out for help, Walker says.
“If a student has a feeling that something is wrong, trust their gut and talk to someone about their concerns,” he says. “The good news is that most schools provide free counseling for a set number of visits, which is really effective most of the time. But it’s about making that initial phone call because we know that’s often the hardest part. And yet, many students who delay visiting their counseling center say, in retrospect, that they wish they would’ve done it sooner because it was so helpful.”
Some research has indicated that the average American works with three therapists before finding the right fit.
“Time is almost universally the number one impediment that students report to getting more help,” Mortenson says. “If you make a call and you don’t get the appointment and the exact time frame that you wanted, or don’t find the perfect therapist right away, don’t give up. Make your health and mental health a priority and schedule that into your week, so six months don’t go by and you haven’t gotten the help that you still need.”
If you’re seeking additional resources, another option is to text or call 988 for the suicide and crisis hotline, or use the organization’s chat feature.
But if there’s immediate danger of harm or a medical emergency, experts say, call 911.
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Mental Health at College: What to Know originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 06/03/25: This article was published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
