More College Students Want To Drop Out Due To Mental Health Struggles, Survey Finds

Mental health problems provoke many college students to consider dropping out, according to a survey.

The survey conducted and published by Gallup and the Lumina Foundation on Thursday found that a large number of college students have thought of dropping out due to their mental health struggles.

The demand for campus counseling services being higher than the capacity of many schools has long been an issue in the U.S. But the situation got worse during the COVID-19 pandemic when college students got isolated and had to deal with abrupt changes brought about by the health crisis.

Though the effects of the pandemic have started to dwindle, many college students still consider stopping their coursework before completing their associate or bachelor’s degree programs.

According to the survey, 41% of postsecondary education program students have considered dropping out in the past six months. At least 55% thought of ditching their educational programs due to emotional stress.

Interestingly, 55% of the students who considered dropping out due to mental health reasons rated their school’s mental health resources positively.

Most respondents cited emotional stress and mental health as the reason for terminating their programs compared to financial considerations and coursework difficulty.

Experts said that young adults are vulnerable to mental health issues, so it’s not surprising that they are experiencing a lot of stress from attending college, as per CNN.

“About 75% of lifetime mental health problems will onset by the mid-20s, so that means that the college years are a very epidemiologically vulnerable time,” Sarah K. Lipson, an assistant professor at Boston University and principal investigator with the Healthy Minds Network, told the outlet.

“And then for many adolescents and young adults, the transition to college comes with newfound autonomy. They may be experiencing the first signs and symptoms of mental health problems while now in this new level of independence that also includes new independence over their decision-making as it relates to mental health,” Lipson added.

The survey was conducted in the fall of 2022. Around 12,000 people who have yet to complete an associate’s or bachelor’s degree responded to the survey.