College Student Mental Health in the Post-COVID Era - Education and Workforce-Aligned Solutions Needed in New England

Oct 15, 2026

College student mental health is analyzed in the post-COVID era, with emphasis on drivers of depression, emotional stress, and suicidal ideation reported across major U.S. surveys. The brief highlights disparities by race: students of color experience higher depression and suicidal ideation rates and engage in “help-seeking” at lower levels than White peers, influenced by stigma and campus conditions. It calls for coordinated action by higher education leaders and state policymakers and outlines seven recommendations spanning needs assessments, resourcing, training, funding, aid and mentoring, and scholarship or loan forgiveness.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages13

Reading Time33 min

AccessFree to download

Key Takeaways

Background

Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on college student mental health

Student Mental Health Disparities by Race

College Student Mental Health in the Post-COVID Era: Education and Workforce-Aligned Solutions Needed in New England Grace Moore, Policy & Research Intern and Rachael Conway, Policy Analyst Key Takeaways • Almost two-thirds (64%) of students who are considering dropping out of college cited emotional stress or personal mental health challenges as the reason—more than twice the percentage of those who cite the cost of attendance--according to Gallup and Lumina Foundation’s 2024 State of Higher Education report. • The mental health crisis disproportionately impacts students of color. According to the Healthy Minds Network’s 2022-2023 Survey, on average, 45% of students of color experienced depression, compared to 41% of White students (Eisenberg et al., 2023) . • There is a critical lack of diversity in the health provider workforce. As of 2021, 75% of early career mental health professionals were White, according to the American Psychological Association. • Higher education institutions and state policymakers should act in concert to address this crisis. This brief contains seven recommendations for leaders in higher education and government, including conducting campus mental health needs assessments with an emphasis on the experiences of students of color; ensuring campus mental health centers are adequately resourced; providing mental health training opportunities for faculty and students; increasing funding for campus-based mental health centers to prevent provider burnout; bolstering financial aid and mentoring programs with a particular focus on students of color; and increasing scholarship and loan forgiveness opportunities for students pursuing mental health careers. Background Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on college student mental health The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent years elevated urgency around addressing the high rates of mental health challenges facing college students, both in the U.S. and internationally (Pasupathi et al., 2022; McLafferty et al., 2023) . Multiple recent surveys have uncovered alarming levels of mental health challenges among college students, including—but not limited to—the following: • Healthy Minds Network’s 2023 annual survey of more than 76,000 college students (both undergraduate and graduate) reported an all-time high for depression, with approximately 44% of students experiencing “any depression,” double the rate of 22% from 2007, the first year that the survey was administered (Healthy Minds Network, 2007-2023) . • The American College Health Association's (ACHA) 2023 national survey of over 18,000 undergraduate students found that 23% of undergraduates were experiencing serious psychological distress, 28% screened positively for suicidal ideation or behavior, 53% were experiencing loneliness, and 79% experienced moderate or severe stress in the past 30 days (American College Health Association, 2023) . Notably, students’ stress levels are comparable to those of returning-combat troops (Lim et al., 2022) . • Gallup and Lumina’s 2023 survey of 14,000 U.S. adults--including current college students, adults who stopped out of college, and adults who never enrolled--found that among current students who had considered dropping out of college in the past month, over half (54%) cited emotional stress as the primary reason and 43% cited personal mental health reasons. For comparison, less than a third (31%) cited the cost of the degree or credential program and a quarter (24%) cited the difficulty of the coursework (Gallup, 2024) . Student Mental Health Disparities by Race According to Healthy Minds Network data from 2023, students of color disproportionately experienced mental health challenges: Depression: Native American students experienced depression at the highest rate of any group at over half (51%). They were closely followed by Pacific Islander students (47.8%), Hispanic students (44.6%) and Black students (42%) . Suicidal Ideation: T

FAQs

What reasons do students cite for considering dropping out of college?

Among students who considered dropping out in the past month, emotional stress and personal mental health reasons are the primary drivers, far exceeding citations related to cost or coursework difficulty.

How do mental health outcomes differ for students of color compared with White students?

Students of color experience higher depression rates and similar patterns for suicidal ideation. They also report lower levels of help-seeking behaviors such as taking medication and going to therapy.

What systemic issue is noted regarding the mental health provider workforce?

The brief highlights a lack of diversity in the health provider workforce, with a majority of early career mental health professionals being White.

Oct 15, 2026

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