Academic Burnout in College: Symptoms, Statistics, and Prevention Strategies

Stress is a regular part of the college experience. Between part-time jobs, extracurriculars, and balancing several classes at once, the pressures of college life can be challenging. It’s normal to get overwhelmed at times. But if you’re feeling completely disengaged from your academic and social life, you may be experiencing burnout.

Burnout is more common than you might think, especially among nontraditional students and adult learners who often carry additional responsibilities like caregiving and work while pursuing their degrees.

In this report, we cover what symptoms to look out for and how to prevent academic burnout from impacting your educational goals.

The World Health Organization (WHO) describes burnout as an “occupational phenomenon” that results from chronic, unmanaged workplace stress. In school, this can look like:

While about 49% of college students surveyed by the American College Health Association (ACHA) in fall 2024 reported problems or challenges with their academics over the last 12 months, 41% said their academics have caused them high levels of distress.

So, what’s the difference between stress and burnout?

Early studies of burnout found that it was primarily characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and low personal accomplishment. However, for people who are suffering from it, it often feels like much more than that.

Here are some symptoms to look out for that signal you may be experiencing burnout rather than standard stress, according to the Mayo Clinic:

According to Keyes, some of the major warning signs of burnout also include “cynicism or ‘letting go’ of previously identified goals and relationships, feeling like a failure, and, when negative coping is involved, escapism through increased alcohol and/or drug use.”

If you find yourself losing interest in social and extracurricular activities, lacking motivation, or feeling lonelier and increasingly irritable, those may be telltale signs you’re burned out.

Burnout can be triggered by a variety of factors, but it’s most often caused by overwhelming work demands and prolonged levels of intense stress. That said, there are other lesser-known factors as well.

“Having the wrong friends, the wrong level of support, the wrong major, the wrong goals, etc., will rather quickly lead to burnout, even when other functioning is adequate,” Keyes explained.

While the term “burnout” is sometimes used loosely to describe feeling stressed and tired, it’s actually a bit more severe than that — and harder to recognize.

Academic burnout manifests in students as extreme fatigue and apathy that results in a decline in academic performance. Along with suffering grades, those who are experiencing burnout tend to lose interest in maintaining their social life, physical health, and overall well-being.

Rather than reaching a breaking point or a full collapse, students experiencing burnout typically continue pushing forward when they’re already in a state of exhaustion.

This overexertion can cause an array of serious health issues like “…depression, infections, susceptibility to viruses, and even immune system issues and cancer,” Keyes said. “With burnout, this trajectory can be altered when it is successfully addressed.”

You’re not alone if you’re experiencing burnout symptoms. In a 2022 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health study of 506 university students, just over 1 in 4 (27%) met the criteria for psychological distress.

Similarly, in ACHA’s fall 2024 survey, 27% of respondents reported experiencing high levels of stress over the last 30 days. An even larger percentage (34%) said that stress had negatively impacted their class performance over the last 12 months.

Though it may not seem like it, preventing academic burnout is possible. In fact, there are a number of steps both students and their schools can take to prevent its impacts.

Here’s how colleges can support their students:

Here are some actionable steps for students to improve their mental and physical health and help alleviate stress and anxiety:

The good news about burnout is that you can reverse it before it becomes a serious health issue. To do this effectively, you need to listen to your body and understand why you’re stressed. Once you identify the sources, you can start to manage them.

“The first task is to identify being under stress,” said Keyes. “Slow down, remove yourself from the ‘noise’ and negative coping so you can feel and think. Once sources are identified, each one will have multiple solutions arrived at through creative problem-solving.”

Here are some other essential tips for recovering from burnout:

If you feel completely overwhelmed with stress or helplessness and are unable to perform your daily activities, you should strongly consider seeking professional help.

Keyes encourages students to “see a college therapist at [their] campus center. They know students best and also know the nuances of campus life better than off-campus providers. Burnout must first be distinguished from other life problems.”

So remember that you’re not alone. Don’t be afraid to reach out to your friends and family for help. Most importantly, always seek professional support if you feel you can’t reverse burnout on your own.