College students list mental health, stress as top reasons to consider dropping out: Gallup

Mental health and stress are among the top reasons college students consider dropping out of school, according to a recent Gallup poll.

Among students who said they considered leaving their program within the last six months, 54 percent cited emotional stress and 43 percent cited mental health as the reasons why, according to the Gallup poll. Gallup also noted that 35 percent of college students surveyed reported that they have considered dropping out over the last six months.

The percentage of students who said emotional stress was a reason they considered leaving their programs nearly doubled between 2020 and 2023, according to the poll.

Gallup’s poll found significant shares of students pursuing bachelor’s degrees who cited emotional stress and mental health in the new survey. The poll found that about two-thirds of students pursuing bachelor’s degrees cited emotional stress as a reason for looking into leaving their school while about 56 percent cited mental health.

Gallup noted that those enrolled in bachelor’s degree programs were slightly more likely to cite emotional stress and mental health as reasons they considered dropping out than those in associate degree programs. Fifty-eight percent of associate degree students said stress was a reason, while 45 percent included mental health.

Another common reason for students looking into leaving their programs was the financial cost, with 31 percent of students saying so. This includes 39 percent of those pursuing a bachelor’s degree.

The results are part of the Lumina Foundation-Gallup 2024 State of Higher Education Study. The poll was conducted online among 14,032 current and prospective college students Oct. 9 to Nov. 16, 2023.

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