We recently compiled a list of the 21 Colleges With the Unhappiest Students and in this article we will discuss the college that topped our list.
Are Americans Becoming Unhappier?
According to the 2024 World Happiness Report developed by the University of Oxford’s Wellbeing Research Center, the USA ranks in the 23rd spot with a 6.725 score. This marks the first year since the report’s first edition in 2012 that the USA did not rank among the top 20 happiest countries in the world. It dropped from the 15th spot to the 23rd between 2023 and 2024 alone. The happiness ranking is especially concerning for younger generations (aged 30 or under). The report ranks the USA in the 62nd spot with a score of 6.392, while the country ranks in the 10th spot for the ranking of happiness in older adults (aged 60 and above). The drastic disparity between the happiness levels of the two segments of the country’s population points to worsening estimates for the young population, a significant majority of which are students.
Unhappiness Trends Among Students
Recent studies suggest that people with more education are happier. Survey data from the US General Social Surveys indicates that 94% of people with a bachelor’s degree or higher reported experiencing happiness in their lives, while 89% of high school graduates said the same. However, these trends do not apply to all students studying in various academic institutions across the USA. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that more than four in 10 students reported feeling excessively hopeless and sad in 2021 alone, which translates to 42% of students.
Similarly, about one-third of students (around 29%) grappled with poor mental health. Such complications led more than one in five students (approximately 22%) to seriously consider suicide, and one in ten (around 10%) actually attempted suicide. These trends varied across different groups, with black and LGBTQ+ students more likely to attempt suicide and experience feelings of desolation and unhappiness. Suicide remains the second leading cause of death among young adults, with 39% of college students experiencing serious mental health issues. Student mental health is taking a hit by almost all metrics. The American Psychological Association reported results of a nationwide survey, which showed that more than 60% of college students met the criteria for having at least one mental health problem during the 2020-2021 school year.
Why Are American College Students Unhappy?
Although there are innumerable reasons behind the worsening mental health and increasing unhappiness of college students, the most prominent reason remains financial and academic distress. College education in the United States is expensive and challenging, and is only affordable for a small social class without education aid. Similarly, postgraduate degrees in the US are competitive, with the mounting social and academic pressure leading a majority of college students to their tipping point. These two reasons are also the primary drivers behind the increasing popularity of EdTech platforms in the country. These platforms, such as Udemy (NASDAQ:UDMY), offer users an affordable and accessible platform to gain the education necessary to take on employment in various industries, without having to worry about hefty college fees and juggling in-person classes with work. Udemy (NASDAQ:UDMY) was founded in 2010 as an EdTech company, and has now expanded globally with hubs all over the world. It conducts both academic and professional tutoring in more than 60 different languages. For academic education, it offers self-paced college courses. For students looking forward to learning professional skills to land jobs, Udemy (NASDAQ:UDMY) provides technical certifications. Its business customers include more than 50% of the Fortune 100 companies.
On June 6, Udemy (NASDAQ:UDMY) announced plans to join hands with Amazon Web Services to launch a generative AI upskilling program. Titled Unlocking GenAI Opportunities with AWS, the program will be offered through the Udemy Business Leadership Academy (UBLA). The six-week cohort learning program will help learners get a grasp on GenAI tools and use them to drive digital transformations within their respective organizations. With the applications of GenAI in industries on an all-time high, the program will help students and professionals alike, offering them an accessible and affordable platform to either excel in their careers or kickstart a new one with the right skill set.
On June 20, the company announced an expansion of its Badging and Certification preparation offering, which will now be available to all learners with the Personal Plan subscription. Udemy (NASDAQ:UDMY) also introduced new features for its Udemy Business users, allowing them access to organized content helpful for third-party certification exams. The users will also be able to track their progress through the innovative and personalized insights dashboard. Since the company is a certified 1EdTech Open Badges v2.0 host, it also allows its customers to host newly acquired certifications and badges on the Udemy Business platform. The company thus offers growth and learning opportunities comparable to brick-and-mortar colleges to students across the globe.
A line of students working on their computers in an after-school tutoring center.
Our Methodology
In order to compile a list of the 21 colleges with the unhappiest students, we used a consensus approach and a visitor survey through Reddit. Firstly, we consulted ten online education expert resources to compile a list of the 50 colleges with the unhappiest students. Next, we looked at ten Reddit threads that asked commenters to mention the colleges with the most unhappiest students in the USA. We only chose threads that had more than 20 comments and studied more than 300 comments to shortlist the colleges that had the most mentions by Reddit users. We then counted the number of upvotes on each comment and chose the top 21 colleges with the most number of upvotes. The 21 colleges with the unhappiest students are arranged in ascending order of their number of upvotes on Reddit.
Note: This list is not exhaustive and does not reflect our opinion. The ranking is solely based on the opinions of mass consumers on Reddit.
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The College With the Unhappiest Students
1. Simmons University
Number of Reddit Upvotes: 436
Simmons University ranks first on our list of the 21 colleges with the unhappiest students with 436 Reddit upvotes. This private university is located in Boston, Massachusetts, and was established in 1899. The institute was previously named Simmons College, established by John Simmons. However, it reorganized its structure in 2018, changing its name to Simmons University. The average cost to attend the institute is around $18,000 after aid, with a 76% acceptance rate and an 81% graduation rate. The institute is well-known among the masses, with academic stress likely to be the reason behind its students’ unhappiness. Nevertheless, the institute is a reputable private university with an undergraduate enrollment of 1,746 in the 2021-2022 academic year.
Curious to learn about other colleges that made it to our ranking? Check out the detailed report on the 21 Colleges With the Unhappiest Students.
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