Student mental health is in a pivotal and complex moment, with national data showing a mix of meaningful progress and persistent challenges.
While students are demonstrating improved mental health outcomes in 2025, reports show that after years of heightened political uncertainty, financial concerns, and pandemic-related stress, students continue to struggle with well-being, connection, finding support, and thriving on their campus.1, 2
These findings underscore a critical truth: improving mental health requires more than just treating symptoms. As we dive into 2026, leaders in college health are met with an opportunity to evaluate which mental health initiatives are working for students, and which are not.
Signs of improvement
The Healthy Minds Study, the nation’s largest study of student mental health, has reported declining rates of depressive and anxiety symptoms for the third consecutive year, displaying a short-term trend of improving mental health outcomes.3
The 2024-2025 report, with responses from more than 84,000 students across 135 colleges and universities, showed a drop in severe depression symptoms from 23% in 2022 to 18%. Similarly, from 2022 to 2025, suicidal thoughts fell from 15% to 11%, moderate to severe anxiety symptoms from 37% to 32%, and loneliness from 58% to 52%.
One cause may be the growing array of resources students have access to that help manage their mental health, like clinical treatment (accessed by 60% of students with depression or anxiety symptoms), counseling or therapy (37%), and psychiatric medication (30%).1
Still, barriers to mental health treatment remain. Students are reporting that they are primarily limited by the lack of free time, financial flexibility, and a low comfort level managing their mental health with someone outside their family.1
Persisting challenges
Despite the positive trends published by Healthy Minds, students have reported declining levels of flourishing — representing psychological well-being — down to 36% from 38% in 2024.1
According to data from Inside Higher Ed’s Student Voice survey, just 27% of undergraduates described their mental health as excellent or above average, a decline from last year’s results, where 42% of students rated their mental health as good or excellent.2 The change in the survey response options means a clear difference between the years cannot be measured, but the trend of decline is evident.
In Inside Higher Ed’s survey, nearly 70% of provosts said their institution had been effective in responding to student mental health concerns, yet 80% ranked mental health as the number one threat to student safety and well-being.4 Similarly, a recent survey from the American Council on Education on senior campus leaders found that two in three respondents have moderate to extreme concern about student mental health and well-being.2
Maintaining improvement
While we continue to see positive results, the fact remains that one in three college students experiences depression or anxiety. To continue pushing progress, provosts said the top three actions they are taking to promote mental health on their campuses include emphasizing the importance of social connection and/or creating new opportunities for campus involvement and investing in health facilities and/or services to promote overall well-being.2
Social connection
Loneliness can be detrimental to emotional well-being. Data from the National College Health Assessment for Fall 2024 found that 48% of students feel lonely, while the Student Voice survey found 40% feel isolated.5
Building connections with others can foster a sense of purpose and identity, reducing feelings of stress and anxiety. Students have reported primarily receiving emotional support from their friends, and finding struggles in the lack of such care.
The recent upward trends of loneliness, described as an epidemic by Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, are often associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, where prolonged isolation has prevented teens and young adults from building the social skills to connect with their peers.6 Social media has a role to play in the widespread issue as well, keeping students attached to their phones rather than prioritizing new connections. Providing opportunities for students to socialize with their peers is nothing new, but helping students forge connections through a broad range of activities and events may be more important now than ever.
Promoting overall well-being
Mental health is just one area of well-being that students struggle with, on top of academics, unhealthy coping mechanisms, community building, financial literacy, and self-care.2 One significant category of well-being, for example, includes sleeping habits. A 2024 study found that 44% of students rated their sleep as poor or below average. Compared with their habits and overall well-being, researchers found that time spent on electronics may be correlated with poor sleep outcomes, and, in turn, poor sleep is correlated with increased loneliness.7
Ensuring a mentally sound student population requires more than traditional modes of care. It requires a holistic approach that considers each aspect of the students, such as an evidence-based intervention that decreases student loneliness by improving sleep habits.
Takeaways
The data tells a clear story; the mental health crisis among college students is far from over, but some interventions are helping. As we look to the spring semester, colleges and universities have a responsibility to listen to their students, and close the gaps in loneliness, overall well-being, and mental health services that are leaving students struggling. This calls for continued collaboration between campus leaders, student affairs, and health services to prioritize helping students break through isolation, nurture the interrelated dimensions of well-being, and continue removing barriers to care, ensuring every student has the support they need to thrive.
Stay updated on student health trends by subscribing to the Campus Health 360 Newsletter for monthly updates.
References
- University of Michigan School of Public Health. (2025, September 9). Healthy Minds Study: College student depression, anxiety decline for third consecutive year. Accessed on December 5, 2025. https://sph.umich.edu/news/2025posts/college-student-mental-health-third-consecutive-year-improvement.html
- Flaherty, C. (2025, October 30). Student Mental Health Challenges Persist. Accessed on December 5, 2025. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/student-success/health-wellness/2025/10/30/college-student-mental-health-remains-wicked
- Eisenberg, D., Lipson, S., K., et al. (2025, September 9). The Healthy Minds Study, 2024-2025 Data Report. Accessed on December 5, 2025. https://healthymindsnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/2024-2025_HMS-National-Data-Report_Student.pdf
- Inside Higher Ed, Hanover Research. (2025, September). 2025 Survey of College and University Chief Academic Officers. Accessed on December 5, 2025. https://www.insidehighered.com/reports/2025/09/12/2025-survey-college-and-university-chief-academic-officers
- American College Health Association. (2025, October 7, 2025). National College Health Assessment, Fall 2024, Reference Group Executive Summary. Accessed on December 5, 2025. https://www.acha.org/wp-content/uploads/NCHA-IIIb_FALL_2024_REFERENCE_GROUP_EXECUTIVE_SUMMARY.pdf
- Alonso, J. (2023, November 8). The New Plague on Campus: Loneliness. Accessed on December 5, 2025. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/students/physical-mental-health/2023/11/08/new-epidemic-gripping-college-campuses-loneliness
- Sy, J., R., T., Dietch, J., R., et al. (2024, November 4). Screen Time and Insomnia among College Students: The Moderating Effect of Loneliness. Journal of American College Health, November, 1–10. doi:10.1080/07448481.2024.2428413. Accessed on December 5, 2025. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07448481.2024.2428413?scroll=top&needAccess=true
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