The effects of quarantine on college students

BY JOLEE SKINNER / Managing Editor 

In March of 2020, I was a senior in high school. I was getting ready for my choir competition, enjoying spring break with my family, and waiting for senior prom to get here. I was also taking dual credit classes at my local community college as well.

Then, April 2, 2020, Texas when into lockdown. Everyone was given the “stay at home” order. People were told that going into quarantine would slow the spread. 

Two weeks later, students across the country were told they would not return to class. Senior prom was cancelled, competitions were cancelled, sports were suspended and graduation didn’t happen for a lot of high school students. 

Since quarantine was almost four years ago, most students how were in high school during quarantine are now college students. How have students recovered since that unprecedented time? 

The National Library of Medicine published a survey that interviewed 195 college students to see how Covid-19 has affected their mental health. This survey was published in Sept. of 2020.

Out of the 195 students, 71% of students indicated increased anxiety and stress due to the Covid-19 outbreak. The survey also found that students had increased thoughts of depression. The indicators found that led to this increase are lockdowns and isolation.

86% of students were found to have increased disrupting sleep patterns, due to worrying about their loved ones and the outbreak. 

Another key factor of the Covid lockdowns was all students going from in-person classes to remote learning. How did remote learning affect college students?

According to studies in New York and New Jersey, remote learning causes more stress. 

Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, many students were unfamiliar with remote learning. Only 35% of students enrolled in online courses according to the National Center for Educational Statistics. 

The lockdowns that were forced onto college students made cause severe mental health issues and caused disruption in learning. And when students returned to class, many did not do so well back in the classroom.

In an article for The Hechinger Report, the fall of 2021, 25% of students failed Uri Treisman’s first-year calculus class at the University of Texas. According to him, in a normal year, only five percent fail.

Overall, lockdowns had a severe impact on college students in terms of mental health, grades and emotional well-being. There may need to be other solutions besides quarantining if a virus were to break out like this again.