PHILADELPHIA — This year’s class of U.S. college freshmen is reporting record-low levels of emotional health, with more students saying they frequently felt overwhelmed by work as high school seniors, according to an annual survey being released today.
Yet the new students generally expressed positive attitudes toward higher education, even as they struggle to finance it. More students than ever, about 73 percent, believe it will help their earning power, researchers at the University of California in Los Angeles said.
The study, ” The American Freshman: National Norms,” found 51.9 percent reported their emotional health was above average, a drop of 3.4 percentage points from last year. The study is based on the responses of 201,818 first- time, full-time students at 279 of the nation’s four-year colleges and universities.
