Colleges struggle to keep up with growing mental health problems

Depression and suicidal ideation remain persistently high among college students despite universities expanding mental health services across nearly all four-year institutions and most community colleges. The shortfall reflects a widening gap between rising demand and available resources, driven by academic stress, increased screen time, social media use, and growing student isolation. Mental health struggles have become one of higher education's most intractable challenges, affecting student retention, academic performance, and campus safety. Experts attribute the persistence partly to systemic factors beyond what on-campus counseling alone can address, requiring broader intervention strategies. The trend underscores colleges' difficulty in scaling mental health support to meet the scale of the crisis facing their student populations.