Why Students Hesitate to Seek Campus Support

Colleges and universities have long provided a range of support services to help students navigate academic, financial and personal challenges, but just because those resources are available doesn’t necessarily mean students will use them. A new report from TimelyCare finds that many students face barriers to seeking support, even when they know where to find it.

The report draws on an online survey conducted by College Pulse in August and September of more than 1,500 college and high school students, including nearly 1,200 undergraduates at two- and four-year institutions. The research examines how students move from recognizing personal challenges to deciding whether to seek help, identifying the disconnect between awareness of available resources and their use as the “activation gap.”

While 92 percent of college students knew their institution offered at least one of eight types of support, only 59 percent reported using one or more. The services surveyed included academic, basic needs and health care resources.

Seli Fakorzi, director of mental health and client liaison at TimelyCare, said the findings highlight the need to make accessing support easier for students.

“What we’re seeing is that there needs to be an easy on-ramp, an easy first step,” Fakorzi said. “Something that is going to allow them to understand what they need next. But that entry point has to be the simplest first step.”

Barriers to support: The survey found that students aren’t always forthcoming about their struggles. Some 68 percent of undergraduates reported telling someone they were fine or OK when they weren’t during the previous 30 days. Only 35 percent said they would answer a private digital check-in from their institution honestly.

Reaching out proactively to students, including at high-pressure periods in their journey, can be effective in engaging students in care, Fakorzi said. “Not just waiting for them to raise their hand for help—because we know that that’s going to be a hurdle for them early on.”

Taking the first step toward support can itself be a barrier. Some 46 percent of undergraduates identified not knowing where to start as a moderate or major barrier, while 45 percent cited the effort required to take that first step and 44 percent noted feeling their concerns weren’t serious enough.

Despite these barriers, students expressed interest in more accessible ways to seek support. Some 83 percent agreed that a low-pressure first step would help them decide whether to talk to someone, while 77 percent wanted guidance on when to connect with a professional.

Fakorzi said the barriers students face can vary depending on their circumstances, including their level of education and concerns about privacy. Undergraduate and graduate students, for example, may have different reservations about seeking support, while high schoolers may worry about whether their parents will find out.

“When the risk is low, it’s easier for them to contemplate what those next steps are going to be,” Fakorzi said. “Something like having services available 24-7, making sure that students are able to access care wherever they are and understanding that that low-pressure first step should also be an entry point that helps them decide whether they need additional support is a good place for us to investigate what those easier on-ramps are.”

The findings also point to potential implications for student persistence. More than one in five undergraduates had seriously considered stopping out, transferring or leaving their institution during the previous six months. That figure rose to 24 percent among students who described themselves as doing OK or getting by, compared with 12 percent among those who said they were thriving.

“There could be fear, there could be just a lack of knowledge on health literacy and education of mental health resources,” Fakorzi said. “But that tells us that even if they’re saying they’re OK but considering not returning next semester, there’s something missing there.”

Making support accessible: Fakorzi acknowledged that campus health and support professionals are often balancing multiple responsibilities while working with limited resources, making it challenging to ensure students can access the help they need.

Ultimately, Fakorzi said, the findings underscore the importance of understanding what prevents students from seeking support and creating more accessible avenues to appropriate care.

“One of the biggest things for us is just understanding how the gap shows up for our students,” Fakorzi said. “Giving students a frictionless first step, connecting them to human coaching, licensed care or crisis support—this is the conversation for that.”

“How do we easily get them to that point and then also ensure that it’s proactive engagement? That’s something we can start as soon as possible,” she added.

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