The toll of the pandemic on student mental health is evident. For example, more than half (55%) identified substantial (“very much” or “quite a bit”) increases in depression, hopelessness, or loneliness due to COVID. In addition, more than half (53%) identified substantial feelings of mental exhaustion.

Although the majority of entering students across racial/ethnic groups (80-89%) were optimistic about their first year of college and most (76%) did not believe that COVID-19 interfered much with their college plans, mental health challenges present a lingering concern.

Notably, mental and emotional exhaustion may be related to expectations of academic difficulty. Nearly 70% of entering students who experienced a substantial increase in mental and emotional exhaustion indicated high expectations of academic difficulty, compared to 42% of their peers who did not experience substantially increased exhaustion. The combination of exhaustion and expected academic difficulty suggests an imperative for colleges and universities to implement widespread, early, and frequent check-ins by faculty, academic advisors, and student life staff to offer the support and—if necessary—intervention to help students be successful in their first year of college.

In response to these concerns, many colleges have strengthened their academic outreach or offered bootcamp-like programs to help students make up deficiencies, while others have expanded peer tutoring options. Given entering students’ realities and the ongoing influence of the pandemic, winter and spring 2022 is a prudent time to check in on first-year students. Because expectations of academic difficulty may persist, instructors of first-year students may offer early assessments to help students gauge the level of their preparation or need for learning support. Student success staff could also check on students’ mental health needs and offer reminders about healthy participation in campus events and available learning support resources. Checking in with first-year students about their transition to college at this mid-point may be more important than ever, and particularly sensitive to pandemic-related mental health and learning needs.

To learn more about findings from BCSSE 2021, view the webinar, Students Entering College Fall 2021: What Colleges & Universities Should Know and explore the BCSSE COVID data on the new dashboard.