Coronavirus has battered college life. Students are still scrambling to stanch the cash-bleed from leaving campus in early March. As the dust settles, students must remedy massive financial, professional and social wounds.
College students lost key lifelines like meal plans, dorm housing and campus healthcare when they were ordered off campus, and lack the $1,200 shock-cushion extended to most Americans. And the withering economy has forced companies across industries to cancel and delay job offers to young workers. The immediate financial concerns blend with anxiety over long-term job prospects, which could be stunted by graduating into a recession.
The hard financial shocks, and soft social shocks have sparked a third trend: heightened mental distress. Being torn from friends, blocked from campus resources and losing jobs has exacerbated mental health struggles.
The pressure from finances, personal adjustments, and the new market paradigms are affecting students’ mental health, with majority of students reporting at least “a good amount” of mental health distress. Some schools are taking steps to lower the pressure on students and help them improve their well-being in the midst of this crisis. But their ability to serve students has also been limited, perhaps when the students need them the most.
Students’ experiences with virtual learning have been subpar , with over three quarter of students claiming that it has been worse than in-person learning. And over 40% of students rely on academic support – like tutoring - which they now may only receive improvised formats, if at all.
Amid the coronavirus outbreak, college students have had to make profound adjustments to transition out of their life on college campuses. Many are facing personal financial distress, without relief by the stimulus package. On top of that, they are facing large economic uncertainty. These developments are expected to have long-term effects on the behavior and trajectory of a generation.
Key Findings 3
“ As the dust settles, students must remedy
massive financial, professional, and social wounds ”
Ø Over 90% of students are worried about
the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the job market
Ø Programs for 73% of student who already
had internship or post-graduation work arrangements have either been cancelled or moved to remote work
Ø Over a half of students are experiencing at
least a good amount of mental health distress
Ø One third of students are concerned
about their personal financial situation and would need the $1,200 stimulus check, not being issued to them
Ø Three quarter of students are having a
worse experience with virtual classes than the in-person ones
Statistics 4
Table I
Not concerned 2.18%
Not really concerned 7.23% The US economy and job market Moderately concerned 41.60% Very concerned 48.99% Not concerned 8.59% Not really concerned 32.13% Personal health Moderately concerned 39.93% Very concerned 19.35% Not concerned 3.81% Given the coronavirus Transmitting the virus to the elderly Not really concerned 10.21% outbreak, how concerned and immunocompromised Moderately are you about the population concerned 32.69% following Very concerned 53.28% Not concerned 8.15% Not really concerned 24.67% Social isolation Moderately concerned 39.41% Very concerned 27.77% Not concerned 9.81% Not really concerned 24.35% Personal financial situation Moderately concerned 35.71% Very concerned 30.12% Not at all 13.16% Not very much 35.58% Mental health distress A good amount 36.28% A great deal 14.99% To what extent are you Not at all 14.78% experiencing the following Not very much 42.66% Financial distress as a result of the A good amount 28.61% coronavirus outbreak? A great deal 13.94% Not at all 8.61% Concern about job and internship Not very much 19.79% opportunities A good amount 30.60% A great deal 41.00%
Statistics 5
Table II
Not at all 54.51%
College's meal Not very much 21.25% plan A good amount 15.64% A great deal 8.61% Not at all 55.71% College healthcare Not very much 27.18% (including mental A good amount 10.04% How much did health services) A great deal 7.06% you depend on Not at all 62.08% the following? Not very much 16.41% Work study A good amount 11.03% A great deal 10.48% Not at all 32.67% Academic support Not very much 25.97% (tutoring, TA A good amount 25.17% sessions etc A great deal 16.19% I didn't have any plans 30.49% How have your internship or post- My plans were canceled 26.16% grad work plans have changed My plans were switched to remote work or since the coronavirus outbreak? delayed 25.40% My plans did not change 17.95% Much better than in-person classes 3.34% Somewhat better than in-person classes 10.25% How would you describe your The same as in-person classes 9.23% experiences with virtual courses? Somewhat worse than in-person classes 49.34% Much worse than in-person classes 27.83% College students were excluded Desperately need it 24.53% from the $1,200 stimulus checks. Of Need it 41.29% course, everyone can use extra Do not particularly need it 29.61% money, but how much would $1,200 affect your financial wellbeing? Don't need it 4.57% Do you intend to return to school I would continue with online education 85.08% next year if the pandemic means I would take time off 13.34% social distancing is still necessary? I would transfer to an online school 1.58%
Methodology 6
General: College Reaction utilizes multiple measures throughout the polling process to maximize accuracy, ensure internal and external validity, and provide reliable information. This data was weighted by geographic region.
Sampling: College Reaction has a customized approach to get the most accurate randomized sample of students at each college. Samples are aimed to represent the specific population of each college, demographic trends, and the national student population at large.
Depending on the availability of public information and resources available to us, we have a “non-probability” sample of recruited students who have opted-in to participate in our surveys in exchange for a monetary incentive. We have focused our efforts to minimize biases in our recruitment process through different randomizing processes. College Reaction utilizes publicly available information and contacts a randomized group of students with an offer to opt-in for receiving our polls in exchange for an incentive.
College E-mail Address: We utilize students’ college email addresses to prevent multiple responses. We collect demographic information from students. We compare this data to each school’s demographic trends and the national student demographic information to ensure that our sample of students are representative of the target population. This data is also utilized in weighting responses for accurate results.
Survey process: College Reaction sends the survey designed by the client to the requested sample of students via email. The email asks the respondent to complete the attached survey. Student typically have 24 hours, or in case of long surveys certain number of days, to fill out the given survey. There are a few factors that might impact accuracy of the question process or introduce biases, such as question design, order, and whether or not the respondent can be identified.
Question design: The response accuracy could be influenced by the subject of the poll and the wording of the questions. The responsibility of designing questions and the potential biases that it introduces to the outcomes falls on the client. College Reaction is willing and able to provide assistance in survey design. College Reaction takes active measures in the design of its polls to mitigate introduction of any biases
Methodology 7
Weighting: The proportions have been weighted by gender and race according to each respondent's self-identified response. The weights were generated by comparing the sample proportion of each combination of gender and race to the corresponding true proportion of college students in the fall of 2015. The true proportion was found on the National Center for Education Statistics website under the total fall enrollment for 2015.
The purpose of weighting the results is to provide a distribution of results that most closely resembles the distribution had the entire population of college students been surveyed. By weighting, the new results are based on a population that, percentage wise, matches the demographics of college students across the nation. When weighting is not conducted, certain demographics are vulnerable to underrepresentation or overrepresentation.
Respondent anonymity: Identifiable responses introduce biases and lower response rate. College Reaction utilizes an anonymous and de-identified survey approach.
Results: The responses to our polls are monitored for multiple responses and accuracy of answers through tracking time spent on the survey, email address, and other traceable web identifiers.
