Mental Health Is a Top Drop Out Driver. Here’s How to Stay Well (And Enrolled)

Q: How does mental health affect students’ academic performance?

Mental health can affect your grades, attention to class, overall energy, and mood. Poor mental health can cause you to withdraw from things you enjoy and makes school work much harder. If you need to take a break or lower your course load to feel better, speak with your counselor or academic advisor.

Q: How can parents and educators support students’ mental health?

Parents and educators can directly support a student’s mental health by checking in on them if they notice they’re exhibiting signs of poor mental health (ex. academic performance decline). Parents and educators can also advocate for mental health services on campus by voting for legislation, writing to college and local government, and supporting existing mental health services for college students.

Q: How can schools and universities improve their mental health services?

Colleges can improve their services by taking a holistic approach to mental health, whereby colleges provide general services for everyone and specialized services for those who may need it. Colleges can also partner with local counselors and online mental health services to compensate for a smaller on-campus staff size.

Mental health is the biggest cause for dropping out. Here are some ways you can stay in school while getting better.

Updated on May 7, 2026

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Key Takeaways

If you’re struggling with mental health in college, try your college’s mental health services website or contact your campus services center to see what resources you can receive to help you.
One study found that 68% of students reported experiencing at least one day of academic impairment in the past four weeks due to emotional or mental difficulties
Colleges can offer online telehealth counseling services, though students should note that most counseling licenses are limited to the state they practice in.

Poor mental health can make it harder to go to class and finish assignments. Even leaving your home or logging in for class can feel like monumental tasks.

A majority of students report that mental health negatively impacts their academics. In the 2024-25 Healthy Minds Study, 68% of students reported experiencing at least one day of academic impairment in the past four weeks due to emotional or mental difficulties.

If you’re a college student experiencing mental health struggles, there are options to get better through on-campus services, online college resources, and ways to care for yourself in a hard season.

“These services are very needed,” said Dominic Rossi, a graduate from Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. “Coming into young adulthood, especially right now, it’s filled with uncertainty and confusion, and being boots on the ground, I talk with a lot of people my age, and a lot of kids are scared. People can’t find a job, AI is terrifying. …The services are so needed, and I think it’s very important that colleges that do have services like St. Joe’s are able to provide those.”

Rossi was also the founder and president of the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI) on Campus at St. Joe’s, and is now a grad student in mental health counseling at Westchester University, also in Pennsylvania.

How Does Mental Health Disrupt Enrollment?

While college student mental health has improved since the COVID-19 pandemic, it is still the number one reason why students want to stop pursuing their education.

The good news is that 2024 had the least amount of adult students considering stopping out due to mental health than any other year since 2020. That number peaked in 2022 with 41% of adult students considering stopping out, and is now down to 32%.

However, mental health-related struggles are still the top reason students consider dropping out. Nearly half (49%) mention emotional stress and 41% mention mental health reasons to explain why they considered it, according to Lumina. The third-biggest stressor was the cost of attendance, but that was less of a concern than emotional stress (24%).

BestColleges asked Ryan Patel, the director of college psychiatry and the assistant director at the Counseling and Consultation Service at The Ohio State University, how students can stay healthy in college and how to consider taking a break from class for mental health and to transition back into school.

Taking a Break From School

Patel told BestColleges that students should seek advice from their mental health professional before considering pausing their education. Then, afterward, if you’ve decided to take a break, seek out academic support services to make sure a pause won’t disrupt your studies.

“I would encourage you to think about, like, what are you going to do during that time to improve your mental health,” Patel said. “You know, sometimes a break can, in itself, be beneficial, but having a plan of, okay, during this time, I’m going to take the following steps to address my mental health concerns, so that when I return to classes, you know, I’m better suited to continue my studies, right? So you have to have a plan.”

Once you’re done with your break, Patel recommends reflecting on the tools that helped you and making a plan to continue some of the support you had during school.

Sometimes, when students return to campus, they can end some of the help they were receiving, such as therapy and treatment, Patel pointed out. However, he added that even though you may not need to continue exactly what helped you during your break, he recommends continuing something to help you stay better. That could be a partial course load to help you ease back into school, or scheduled check-ins with your mental health professional.

Support Services for Students: When and How to Use Them

Students can visit their college mental health center or online site as a first stop for mental health resources.

At Ohio State, students can receive both general services for everyone and specialized treatment for those who need it.

“And we offer a variety of services, something you can do right away, something that you can do while you wait, something that you know you can do simultaneously, and so on and so forth.”

Patel told BestColleges that Ohio State is a JED Foundation Campus, one of 500 campuses partnering with the foundation to build a comprehensive system of mental health and suicide prevention.

As part of their holistic approach to mental health, the university offers a variety of resources and services, including:

Some general on-demand services that students can access anytime include:

An online blog written by Patel
A short video series on mental health strategies
Resources on current events impacting mental health
The Psych Bytes Podcast through the Office of Student Life Counseling and Consultation Service

Specialized services students can participate in:

Workshop programs via Zoom
Online therapy/counseling appointments
Informal 15-20 minute talking consultations with a mental health professional
Drop-in workshops

Patel said that while you can find these resources online, there’s a personal touch that your university provides when you use these services.

“If you’re at university X, does University X have specific things that they’re providing for the students at university X? That personalized touch would be useful because those resources can specifically address the topics that they may be experiencing,” Patel told BestColleges. “So, it’s more personalized and more relevant to those students.”

For online students seeking mental health counseling at their university, one thing to note is that if you’re attending a university online from another state, telehealth services may only be available to those in-state due to clinical license limitations. However, your school should be able to connect you to a counselor practicing in your state.

Resources Outside of Your School

Another resource is the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

“People think of 988, often like, ‘Oh, it’s a suicide crisis hotline.’ But it doesn’t have to be for that, Patel said. “If you don’t know where to turn, that’s a great resource where you can call, speak to a professional, and they can help point you in the right direction.”

If your university is smaller or may not offer as many services, ask your university’s mental health services office whether they partner with any online on-demand platforms; sometimes they are discounted or even free for students.

Lastly, if you have health insurance, you can call the number on the back of your card or access your insurance provider’s website to find counselors within your plan and even see who is taking patients at the moment.

Online Mental Health Services

There are lots of online services out there, including digital mental health interventions designed to help you prevent, support, and treat mental health by connecting you to real professionals and giving you tools to self-manage. These can look like apps, platforms, and web services like:

Talkspace
BetterMynd
TimelyCare
Intellicare for College Students
Depression and Bipolar Society of America (support groups)
American Psychiatric Association App Advisor
Wearables
Virtual reality

Ultimately, if you’re looking at a commercial online service on your own, it’s important to check with a mental health professional to see if it’s reputable and then suitable for you.

Patel cautions that these services are not intended to replace therapy or to be used for crises; instead, they are used to improve skills and develop a plan to improve your health.

There are also a few online sources that Patel warns against, including AI.

“An AI therapist, right? That’s not a thing, but there are products out there that kind of market themselves as that. I would be cautious about that,” he said. “Similarly, while there are some apps and programs that students can get on their own that can be beneficial for their mental health, some of them need further development.”

Rossi strongly cautions students against some commercial apps like BetterHelp, which his counseling program has criticized for not paying counselors well and for allocating most of the budget to advertising and marketing.

Rossi generally warns against “quick and easy” mental health phone apps that typically keep features behind a paywall. However, some apps may work better for some than others.

Students can also go to NAMI for free virtual services. NAMI offers low-commitment online support services available over Zoom. There are highly trained facilitators leading the group, so each person can have a few minutes of check-in and talk about life.

Rossi can’t speak any higher about NAMI, and if you don’t have a NAMI on Campus, you can start one.

As for your university’s counseling and mental health services, the university ultimately funds them, but clubs like NAMI on Campus can raise awareness among the university and students about potential reforms.

Self Care

But Rossi said self-care will always be your biggest tool for mental health. Self-care can look like things you personally enjoy to wind down from stress, as well as ways to challenge yourself to stay active and healthy.

“That’s personal,” Rossi said. “You know, you can’t go wrong with feeding yourself and going to the gym, you know? But whatever that self-care looks like, it’s very important, I think, to find that, especially post-grad, you know? To know what works for you. But for some people, that may be a movie or something.”

Wearables like Oura Rings or Apple Watches can also help you track your health and sleep cycles and even remind you to reach your step goals and explore other ways to stay healthy.

Frequently Asked Questions About Mental Health in College Students

Where can I go to get mental health help in college?

Search your college’s website for their mental health services center to see what resources and counseling services are available to you. If you can’t find it, ask an advisor for help. You can also pursue counseling services through your insurance provider.