College students’ mental health takes a turn—for the better

Student mental health—long a top concern of higher education leaders—now appears to be improving, according to the latest edition of the annual Healthy Minds study. It found that 38 percent of undergraduates surveyed in the 2023–24 academic year experienced moderate or severe depression symptoms—down from the peak of 44 percent two years prior. To be sure, the decrease is relatively slight, and the share of college students experiencing depression still hovers slightly above pre-pandemic rates: In fall 2019, 36 percent of students reported depressive symptoms. But it’s the second year that the number has dropped, signaling that the downward movement might be a trend rather than an anomaly.