Students entering college are more depressed, timid and stressed about finance as they enter the higher education ranks according to information released this week by UCLA’s annual survey of the nation’s entering students at four-year colleges and universities.

Half of students reported a 3.4% downturn in their emotional health compared to 2009’s similar analysis. As this information is self-reported, 46% of female students were far less likely to report high levels of emotional health than the 59% of males. Women were also more than twice as likely as men to feel frequently overwhelmed as high-school seniors.

Sylvia Hurtado, co-author of the report and director of the Higher Education Research Institute explains:

“The increasing cost of higher education poses a significant barrier to college access for today’s students. Students and families are now charged with the task of becoming more resourceful and strategic in finding new and creative ways to pay for college.”

The proportion of students using loans is 53%, and 74% of students are reporting receiving grants and scholarships. This is an increase of 3.5% since a year before, 2009.

John H. Pryor, lead author of the report and director of the Cooperative Institutional Research Program continues:

“Stress is a major concern when dealing with college students. If students are arriving in college already overwhelmed and with lower reserves of emotional health, faculty, deans and administrators should expect to see more consequences of stress, such as higher levels of poor judgment around time management, alcohol consumption and academic motivation. The chief benefit of college is that it increases one’s earning power.”

However there is an upside. Obviously students’ perceived emotional health took a dip, but their drive to achieve and their academic abilities are better these days. Seventy one percent of students feel their academic talents are excellent and they plan on “winning” in the academic game. In UCLA’s report, high levels of drive to achieve and academic ability could also contribute to students’ feelings of stress.

The percentage of students reporting that their fathers were unemployed, five percent, is at an all-time high. Students additionally reported that 8.5% of their mothers were unemployed. These facts, at the core level, stress new students out and they feel more pressure and responsibility to exceed.

Carol Schneider, president of the Association of American Colleges and Universities is positive however as new students are more liberal although the cloud of heavy monetary debt lingers:

“I am heartened to learn about students’ overwhelming support for extending equal rights and dignity to gays and lesbians. Students’ willingness to engage different perspectives and experiences is a virtual precondition for their own intellectual development in college and one of higher education’s most important contributions to the future of a just and diverse democracy.”

Source: University of California, Los Angeles

Written By Sy Kraft, B.A.