A college is a fantastic place and the college years are usually exciting times for the young generation. Stress is common among most college students because of the new challenges.
It includes things such as adjusting to new life and studying. In trying to cope with various new changes, students fall into depression.
The students are usually not 100% ready for university life. In today’s generation, the number of students dealing with depression is much higher than in previous generations. Here is a list of the 55 most depressed colleges in the USA.
Most Depressed Colleges In The USA
Society needs to help students realize they are unique and beautiful. Tell the student to identify their gifts and use them adequately.
Contrarily, society puts extreme stress and pressure on the students, and this causes stress, anxiety, depression, and possible suicide.
According to the available statistical data, here are most depression cases. You can help spread awareness about them and even take part in the measure that will help reduce depression rates.
1. University of Pennsylvania
The university is in Philadelphia city. Benjamin Franklin founded the university in 1740. It ranks under the social Ivy status.
Here, students actively participate in curriculum and extra-curricular activities with the play’s hard work and attitude. Overall the school has a rigorous academic system/structure.
2. The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
The institution is famously known as UCLA and did start in 1919. The university boasts of being one of the best research institutions founded in the 20th century.
All that know and appreciate the value of higher learning, innovation, and research certainly know this institution.
3. Carnegie Mellon
The institution started in 1900, and it’s private. It offers several courses, but the popular majors include electrical and electronics engineering, business administration and management, etc.
Students also have access to several health services, placement services, and many more.
4. Emory University
Emory University came into existence in 1836. It was a small Methodist college in the humble and quiet Georgia, Oxford.
The institution is famous for its great professional schools, liberal arts and has one of the best healthcare systems in southeast America. Emory ranks as 74th best university globally. Ranks are usually according to performance.
5. Brown University
It started in 1764. Today it’s a well-renowned faculty with an excellent research system. Its curriculum focuses on innovation, which builds students’ creativity and intellectual this better academic excellence.
Its undergraduate programs are the open curriculum. Many think Brown University is the most accessible Ivy school to get admission. Therefore many senior high school students tend to send applications to the school.
6. Columbia University
The university started in 1754 at the famous Trinity Church in Manhattan. It was initially a king’s college. It’s the oldest higher education institution in New York.
The university is among the eight colleges under the Ivy League status. Columbia University is quite famous for the Pulitzer Prize that it hosts.
It recognizes and offers awards for various achievements such as online journalism, magazine, newspaper, etc.
7. University of Chicago
The university was founded in 1890 and is private. The institution is in Chicago’s Hyde. The university is among the most prestigious higher learning centers in the country.
Getting into this school is quite tricky, and only about one of the ten applicants gets an acceptance letter. To date, the university boasts having 91 Nobel Prize winners.
Other things that make this institution famous are its location, rigorous academics, and great enrichment programs. The former US president Barack Obama taught law at the institution for 12 years.
8. Yale University
The private Ivy League university did start in 1701. Getting into Yale University is quite hard. It only accepts about 6.5% of the applicants yearly.
Meaning out of 100 students, fewer than seven get the chance to join the institution. To be a competitive applicant, you need to have excellent test scores, almost perfect grades, and your essay needs to stand out.
The university is also quite famous for its excellent music and drama programs.
9. University of Virginia
The university was founded by Thomas Jefferson back in 1819. The public research institution is in Charlottesville, Virginia. It’s among the oldest institutions in America and is the best school in almost all aspects.
10. Johns Hopkins University
The institution was founded in 1876 by a philanthropist Johns Hopkins. He was also a famous American entrepreneur.
Today it ranks among the world’s best and prestigious universities. It’s the first American research university.
11. Harvard
In Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University is private and ranks as an Ivy League. It did start in 1636, and this makes it the first higher learning institution in the new world.
It’s the first university in America and has the best research facilities in almost all fields, from humanities to sciences.
12. Duke University
The research university is private and is in Durham, North Carolina. It was founded in 1838 by Methodists and Quakers in trinity.
The university is famous for its basketball. Its basketball team is known as Blue Devils and is among the most successful teams in the USA.
It has participated in 11 championship games and won five national championships. Their most famous players who made it to NBA include Kyrie Irving etc.
13. WUSTL
The institution is popularly known as WUSTL or WashU, which stands for Washington University in St. Louis. The university’s name is after George Washington did begin in 1853.
The school is among the best higher institutions in the USA. It has challenging admissions and exceptional academics and offers students unique experiences. In some circles, it’s referred to as “hidden Ivy.”
14. Vanderbilt University
The institution is in Nashville, Tennessee, and is private. It has professional and graduates degrees plus 70 undergraduate majors. It did start in 1873, and its research and education are transformative.
15. Princeton University
Princeton, New Jersey, the higher learning institution, is a private Ivy League. Formerly it was the college of New Jersey in Elizabeth and did start in 1746.
It is the 4th oldest higher learning institution in America and is among the nine colonial colleges. Princeton is the second hardest institution to get into after Harvard.
The institution has an extra focus on the undergraduates and offers them great undergraduate research opportunities.
The other great thing about Princeton University is its excellent, generous financial aid package and exceptional academic quality.
16. University of Missouri- Columbia
The institution is also known as the University of MU or Mizzou and is public as the name suggests its located in Columbia, Missouri.
It’s the largest higher learning institution in Missouri and did start in 1839. It is among the top-tier universities in the USA and is famous for its excellent research and teaching.
17. NYU
NYU is known as New York University ad is in New York City. The New York legislature chartered it in 1831. Some New Yorkers started it as a private institution, and it’s pretty selective.
It’s famous for its very urban location, and its prestige comes from its excellence in business (Alan Greenspan) and arts (Anne Hathway, Lady Gaga)
18. Virginia Tech
It’s a public higher institution, and its main campus is in Blacksburg, Virginia. Formerly, it was a military-technical institute. It has several educational facilities in six regions in different states.
The research powerhouse usually encourages its students to invent the future. It has two university research centers and seven research institutes that offer graduate and undergraduate students research opportunities.
19. UC Irvine
The research university is in Irvine, California. It offers 129 professional and graduate degrees and 87 undergraduate degrees.
It did start in 1964, and today it has more than 30,000 undergraduate students, which is a vast number. The university is ideal for intellectual undergraduates since it’s competitive academically and comfortable.
20. University of Southern California
The institution was founded in 1880 and is one of the most prestigious universities in the world. It has alumni that have made incredible contributions to almost all significant fields.
The university is in Los Angeles. The city is a famous metropolis globally, and people revere it for its great media and entertainment industry.
The university offers a fantastic blend of outstanding academics and social life. The famous sport is Trojan football, but it also has a Greek life. It has one of the most famous film schools in the US, and its business programs are top ranking.
21. Penn State University
It’s known as the Pennsylvania State University, its public, and has facilities and campuses across Pennsylvania.
The higher learning institution started in 1855; initially, it was the Farmers High School of Pennsylvania.
It ranks among the top research institutions in the USA. The founders’ mission was to have an institute that offers expert research, high-quality teaching, and global service.
22. Boston University
The university is in Boston, Massachusetts, and is private. The Methodists founded it in 1839, and its first and original campus was in Newbury, Vermont.
In 1867 it moved current location, Boston. Higher learning institutions rank among the best universities globally for many reasons.
It has several study programs that offer exceptional education quality, such as Medicine College, Economics, and Law School. Its research lab is also top-notch.
23. Temple University
The institution of higher learning is in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and is public state-related. Baptist minister Russel Conwell did found it in 1884.
The institution is famous for its extra level of students’ ethnic diversity. It’s one of the US higher institutions that has produced many lawyers, podiatry, pharmacy, medicine, and dentistry.
24. Stanford University
Its official name is Leland Stanford Junior University, in Stanford, California. The private institution of higher learning sits on 8,180 acres.
It’s one of the largest institutions in America and enrolls more than 17,000 students. Stanford admits students with the passion and the drive for intellectual development.
25. Cornell University
The excellent research university is private and under the Ivy League status. The institution’s founders were Andrew Dickson White and Ezra Cornell in 1865.
The intentions teach and make a significant contribution in all fields such as sciences, classics, etc. The university is famous for awarding the first-ever journalism and veterinary degree.
It also awarded the first industrial engineering and electrical doctorates.
26. Rutgers University
Formerly the Queen College and its charter did happen in 1766. It’s the 8th oldest institution in the US and is among the nine colonial colleges.
The school admission requirements aren’t harsh but moderately selective. Therefore if you exceed their requirements, you have a higher chance of joining the institution.
27. University of Notre Dame
The institution is popularly known as ND or Notre Dame.
It’s a Catholic and private research university. It’s in Notre Dame, Indiana.
The founder of the institution was known as Edward Sorin in 1842. Its acceptance rate is 17.7%, which means it is highly selective.
28. University of Alabama
People refer to it as UA, and it did begin in 1831. Its public and is popularly known for its excellent law school.
29. NC state
The institution is public and is in North Carolina. It’s the largest university in Carolina and did start in 1887. Higher learning institutions are engineering, science, math, and technology powerhouses.
30. University of Wisconsin
The university was founded in 1848 and is public. It tops the rank of the best public universities in America and its 4th in the overall ranking.
The ranking considers several factors such as social mobility, national service, research excellence, and many more.
31. University of Maryland
The institution is public and did begin in 1856 in college park, Maryland. It’s one of the top universities in the US and ranks in the best 100 universities globally.
32. University of Houston
The university is public and located in Houston, Texas, and did start in 1927. It has over 46,000 students, making it the third-largest institution in Texas.
Most know the institution as the leader in environmental education, law, health research, and business.
33. UC San Diego
The institution is in San Diego, California, and its establishment was in 1960. It ranks among the top fifteen research universities in the world.
It focuses on collaboration which helps drive the economy and advance society. Higher learning institutions are service-oriented, student-centered, and research-focused and have opportunities for all.
34. University of Georgia
The institution was founded in 1785 and had its main campus in Athens, Georgia. It’s the 7th largest public university in America and has more than 100 programs on its five campuses.
35. Ohio State University
The university is commonly known as Ohio State, tOSU or OSU. It’s public and among the few institutions with the Ivy status.
It’s among the best public universities in the US, and its overall education system and excellence are amazingly perfect.
It has some accomplished alumni, including 4 Nobel Laureates, 7 Pulitzer winners, and a former US president Rutherford B Hayes.
36. University of Florida
The institution is in Gainesville, Florida, and did begin in 1853.
The most popular majors in the university are marketing, business, engineering, management, etc. Research places it at 16th on the party schools list.
37. University of Michigan
The public institution is in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and did start in 1817. It offers excellent graduate programs such as has excellent schools such as Medical school, Law school, college of engineering, and school of business.
38. CU Boulder
It’s officially known as the University of Colorado Boulder and is public. It started in 1876 in Boulder, Colorado, five months before Colorado officially became a state.
The public research institution is comprehensive and has five Nobel laureates and many more.
39. Dartmouth College
It’s in Hanover, New Hampshire. It began in 1769 by the visionary Eleazar Wheelock.
It’s one of the colonial colleges and the ninth oldest university in the USA.
The university is private and also an Ivy League. It’s the birthplace of one popular programming language, BASIC.
40. UC Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley is popularly known as UC Berkeley and is public. It did start in 1868, and today it has more than 130 academic departments.
The 80 interdisciplinary research units are into one school and five colleges.
41. University of South Carolina
The institution is public and has more than seven satellite campuses. It’s in Columbia, South Carolina.
It sits on over 359 acres from downtown Columbia near the South Carolina State House. According to ranks, the university is getting better daily, and today it’s on the 22nd spot among flagship universities.
42. Arizona State University
The public institutions of higher learning are in Phoenix metropolitan area. The Arizona Territorial Legislature did found it in 1885.
According to enrolment, it’s among the largest universities in the USA. It’s the most innovative school in the country.
The faculty and students work with NASA on various space explorations. Pulitzer winners and Nobel laureates teach master learners here.
43. University of Central Florida
It’s public and has its main campus in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. The most popular majors in the institution are marketing, health professions, etc.
44. University of Illinois
The public university is in Illinois, the twin cities of Urbana and Champaign, beginning in 1867.
It has a fantastic department of psychology, college of engineering, and school of information sciences that rank among the county’s best.
45. University of South Florida
The main campus of the public university is in Tampa, Florida, and has satellite campuses in Sarasota and St. Petersburg.
The university faculties are highly distinguished and offer world-class interdisciplinary research, academics. Plus, it’s pretty diverse, has sunny weather, and its student body is diverse.
46. Michigan state
The public university is in East Lansing, Michigan, and it began in 1855. The institution is known to have many parties.
47. Florida State University
The research university is public and is in Tallahassee, Florida. It did start in 1851. It has a 4.07 GPA, which is relatively high. You must have exception grades like nearly all straight A’s to qualify.
48. Indiana University
It’s a public university in Bloomington, Indiana, with more than 40,000 students. The institution also has Ivy League status.
49. University of Minnesota
The public institution is in the twin cities of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota. It’s among the most prestigious and comprehensive public institutions in the US.
50. Lehigh University
The private institute of higher learning is in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and it did start in 1865. The founder of the institution is known as Asa Packer.
51. Coastal Carolina University
The institution is public and famous for liberal arts. It was founded in 1954 and is in Conway, South Carolina.
The university owns the natural laboratory parts of the Atlantic barrier and Waites islands.
52. American University
The institution is private and is in Washington DC. The main campus covers 90 acres. The chartering of the university was in 1893.
The founder was a Methodist bishop, John Fletcher Hurst. His main idea was to create an institution that promotes pragmatic idealism, internationalism, and public service.
53. Northeastern University
The institution is private and located in Boston, Massachusetts. It’s in the RI (high research) institution category and did begin in 1898.
54. Indiana University
The public university has more than 11,000 students and has about 46,000 students at the Bloomington campus. The multi-campus university is in Indiana.
55. Clemson University
The institution is public and is in Clemson, South Carolina. It began in 1889, and today, it has the 2nd largest university student population in South Carolina.
The Depression In University Students
Entering colleges is usually exciting because of various things such as new friends, classes, more freedom, etc. You should know that all the new opportunities have a dark side.
Most college students experience physical and emotionally harmful levels of anxiety and depression. According to reports, over 41% of college students deal with depression.
The Popular Causes Of Depression Among University Students
Stress
Things that stress students while in college are countless, but the most popular are grades, finances, deadlines, etc. Plus, students that join colleges with unaddressed mental issues struggle because of a lack of a support system.
Anyone prone to depression cannot withstand the stressors for long. It indeed pushes them past the threshold. The stressors include drug abuse, lack of sleep, interpersonal conflict, overwork, and many more.
As parents or educators, you need to screen your child for potential depressive disorder before joining the university.
The strategy effectively helps identify those at risk, and preventive interventions improve the situation.
Students who hugely depend on their parents usually have a difficult transition. Therefore they tend to fall into depression often. They lack the necessary survival skills and thus do not know how to embrace failure.
The students have to learn how to overcome difficulties and solve day-to-day problems. If they can solve their problems, they will have more confidence and resilience.
Lifestyle Changes
According to research, there is a direct relationship between mental health, sleep quality, and physical activity levels. A person can decrease depression symptoms by exercising regularly, eating healthy, and sleeping regularly.
However, college life involves cafeteria food, cramming, parties, late nights, etc., and therefore it’s hard for one to keep a healthy lifestyle. Plus, substance and drug abuse also lead to depression.
The nature of the college atmosphere encourages crazy partying. If a student falls into the traps and does it excessively, it can lead to risky behaviors, resulting in depression and mental health issues.
The students need to integrate self-care into their lives to manage depression or anxiety.
Genetics and Personality
Here the family genetics play a huge role. It’s because depression can be inherited. Your genetics can have links to depression, but it doesn’t mean that everyone with the genes will experience the symptoms of depression.
Personality also usually has some influence. Those with low self-esteem can’t withstand stress and usually experience depression more. Plus, those who have a pessimistic outlook are also prone to depression.
Associating With Those Depressed
As mentioned today, depression is so rampant among college students. The chance of one getting depressed because they are in an environment with people with depression is high. You should know that anxiety and depression lead to stress, isolation, and loneliness.
Fear of the Future and Uncertainty
People are always anxious out of the unknown. For example, college students do not know how they’ll pay bills in the future, live, or get a job after completion.
College students fear the unsuccessful transition to the adult world full of responsibilities and work. It becomes worse when one sees their friends transitioning quite well when it’s not working for them.
The lack of inspiration or direction can also be another issue. The best advice is to try hard and identify your calling while in college as a student.
Plus, avoid comparing your experience and life with that of your peers. There is usually no wrong path when it comes to your calling.
The Signs Of Depression
Major depressive disorder is also known as depression. It’s simply a mental disorder and has negative impacts. Depression affects how one acts, feels, or thinks.
Mostly it leads to physical, mental, and emotional problems. Plus, it affects a person’s productivity in their day-to-day activities.
You need to know that depression is common and has treatment. The depression signs do vary from individual to individual. However, these are some common signs you need to look out for.
- Insomnia
- Irritability
- Lack of energy
- Loss of interest in activities you enjoy
- Feeling worthless, hopeless, guilty, etc.
How It Affects College Students
Depression is quite alarming since it can take a toll on one’s well-being. It can affect one’s academic performance. In others, depression can be extreme to the point where they cannot do their daily routine.
College students with depression tend to have unhealthy habits. Most turn to substance and alcohol abuse which they use to deal with stress.
The rate at which students abuse drugs usually increases at the semester’s end. It’s because of pressure such as course loads and deadlines.
The students with depression do not drink a lot like some of their peers. However, they engage in riskier behaviors such as unprotected or street drugs, etc. The most alarming part of depression is suicide.
Suicide and College Students
Today suicide is the second cause of death. According to reports, most people between the ages of 15-34 have died of suicide.
Those with serious suicidal thoughts are 8.3%. The youth is pretty suicidal because of depression. Other issues that lead to suicidal thoughts are:
- Access to guns
- Stress
- Substance abuse
- Self-harming behavior
- Mental illness
How To Diagnose And Treat Depression In College Students
The college environment is usually stressful; the faculty and parents need to be close to the students. Any student who shows depression needs immediate referral to a counselor.
Most students don’t seek help because of the social stigma tied to depression. The medic needs to do a mental health evaluation before the treatment plan.
It helps get to the root cause by looking at the students’ performance, family health history, and development.
The best treatment for depression is talk therapies and anti-depressant medications. It is also possible to control depression through a healthy diet, exercise, and rest.
Alcohol and drugs worsen depression rather than control it. As a student, you should manage stress better with activities, such as spending time with friends.
In addition, never hide how you feel. Always open up to family and friends. It will help you feel better.
Conclusion
Depression is so widespread among students and negatively affects many’s academic performances. However, the rate of students who commit suicide is much lower than the general population.
Only one out of five college students with depression choose to commit suicide. Those having suicidal thoughts are around 6% to 8%. Today’s society is quite challenging with a lot of pressure, especially in college.
Therefore many people get acute pain and major depression. Suffering is a part of life that no one wants and is unavoidable.
References:
https://www.apmreports.org/episode/2021/08/19/under-pressure-the-college-mental-health-crisis
