Student Life During COVID-19: Survey Results, Observations, and Takeaways

In early 2019, COVID-19 took over all parts of life for people across the world as shelter-in-place orders and social distancing measures were enacted to curb the spread of the virus and save lives. While the coronavirus has affected everyone in some way, college students faced particular challenges: many were forced to leave their campus homes, transition to virtual learning, and say an unexpected, early goodbye to their friends and professors at their schools.

These challenges haven’t gone unnoticed by those in the business world, as college students are coveted consumers for many brands and businesses. In the marketing world, professionals are having to adapt their strategies and find new ways to sell products or services while being sensitive to the current global environment. A challenge in and of itself.

As an agency with 15+ years of engaging with college students and helping brands do the same, we were curious to hear how students are doing and what their lives are like during shelter-in-place and COVID-19, so we conducted a survey at the end of March in order to gather data and help our brand partners make better marketing decisions.

2,892 students from all 50 states told us about their lives since social distancing began in the United States. These students shared opinions and thoughts about their day-to-day lives at home, news consumption habits, mental health, and much more.

See below for some of our key takeaways and observations from the survey, and contact us if you want to chat with us more about our findings and see the rest of the data.