The survey used in this study was administered via Qualtrics. It was advertised and distributed to U-M students through the monthly Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) email newsletter and several group chats, such as a 30-member U-M Housing GroupMe and an over 5000-member U-M Discord community server. All messages had a brief description of the study, its purpose, and an anonymous link to the survey. The survey was open from November 2020 to January 2021. The participants were able to take it at any time within that time frame. There were 66 responses from U-M students. Of the respondents, 44 were female (66.7%) and 22 were male (33.3%). Twenty identified as Asian (30.3%), 4 identified as black and African American (6.1%), 37 identified as Caucasian (56%), 4 identified as other (6.1%), and 1 preferred not to say (1.5%). The average household income of participants was varied: 8 reported under $25,000 (12.1%), 12 reported between $25,000 and $50,000 (18.2%), 14 reported between $50,000 and $100,000 (21.2%), 18 reported between $100,000 and $200,000 (27.3%), 8 reported over $200,000 (12.1%), and 6 preferred not to say (9.1%). The living situation of participants was almost evenly split during the 2020–2021 academic year, as 35 lived on-campus (53%) and 31 lived off-campus (47%). Within the on-campus group, 24 participants were female (68.6%) and 11 were male (31.4%). A majority of participants identified as either Asian (31.4%) or Caucasian (57.1%). Within the off-campus group, 20 participants were female (64.5%) and 11 were male (35.5%). Like the on-campus group, a majority of participants identified as either Asian (29%) or Caucasian (54.8%).

The Qualtrics survey had a total of twelve questions. Participants were asked for general demographic information (e.g., age, household income, and race and ethnicity), as well as COVID-19- and health-related questions (e.g., “How would you describe your physical health? How would you describe your mental health? Are you worried about contracting COVID-19?”). For the health-related questions, participants were given the options of poor, fair, good, very good, or excellent. Question 11 specifically asked participants to assess the effect of COVID-19 on the following five factors using a Likert-type scale: diet, education, exercise, sleep, and social activity. The Likert-type scale ranged from 0 to 10, with 0 being low and 10 being high. Lastly, question 12, which was an optional open response, asked participants if they had anything else to add.

After the closure of the survey, independent t-tests were performed with JASP to determine if there were any significant differences between the responses of off-campus and on-campus participants for each of the five factors (i.e., diet, education, exercise, sleep, and social activity). A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered significant. Box and whisker plots were generated to visualize the results (Figure 1). The responses to the mental and physical health questions were also compiled and examined for general differences and trends (Figure 2).

As shown in Figure 1 and Table 1, there was not a significant difference between the responses of on-campus and off-campus participants in terms of education, exercise, sleep, and social activity. There was, however, a significant difference in their dietary habits. This finding adds to past studies that have reported increased snacking, inconsistent eating patterns, and reduction in nutritious food consumption due to the pandemic (Son et al., 2020). There are a few reasons for why off-campus college students might not be able to maintain healthy diets, such as financial insecurity and little or no access to food pantries and grocery stores (Balch, 2020). It is also likely that the diet of U-M students living in the residential halls is influenced by the requirement of having an unlimited meal plan (Michigan Dining, 2022). Notably, the averages of participants’ responses to all five factors tend towards the mid- to high-end of the scale regardless of living situation. Education (M = 8.62, SD = 2.34) and social activity (M = 9.57, SD = .90) were the most affected, whereas sleep (M = 4.52, SD = 2.57) was the least affected. With classes being online, there are fewer opportunities to socially interact in both a classroom setting and social context, but there is also less travel time and fewer in-person commitments, which could lead to more sleep.

Participants were asked the following questions: “How would you describe your physical health?” and “How would you describe your mental health?” Figure 2 depicts the distribution of responses to these questions. Interestingly, 53 out of 66 (80.3%) participants described their physical health as good, very good, or excellent, whereas only 24 out of 66 (36.4%) participants described their mental health as good, very good, or excellent. Most participants (39.4%) described their mental health only as fair. These results suggest that participants were able to find ways to maintain their physical health despite the pandemic. Mental health, however, was hit harder by remote classes and quarantine. The lack of social activity could be linked to participants’ mental health only being fair. In fact, surveys within the first month of the pandemic revealed that feelings of loneliness increased by twenty to thirty percent, and emotional distress tripled (Holt-Lunstad, 2020). The results presented here in the study support the recent and urgent need to address the consequences that the pandemic has on mental health (Holmes et al., 2020).

The last question of the survey gave participants the chance to provide their own comments regarding COVID-19 and the 2020–2021 academic year (Table 2). There were 6 participants who responded, approximately half female and half male. Their ages ranged from 18 to 21, and all but two participants identified themselves as Caucasian. Several of the comments indicated frustration with their education (e.g., “professors need to make their classes easier […] we can’t be on the screen for hours and hours on end” and “the University is doing a terrible job helping students during this time…”). Other comments, such as those from participants “C” and “D,” further highlight the effect that COVID-19 has on mental health. Overall, these comments from participants bring up interesting avenues for future study (e.g., financial and pre-existing challenges), and lend a more personal perspective on issues associated with COVID-19. There is nevertheless a collective sentiment that the pandemic has been a negative and stressful experience.