As midterms pile up and deadlines blur together, many students experience academic burnout due to the fast pace of the quarter system.
According to the American Psychological Association, 59% of all college students report experiencing some level of academic burnout. This trend occurs at Northwestern too, where 51% of undergraduates reported feeling “more than average” stress levels and 14% reported feeling a “tremendous” amount of stress, according to Wellness at NU.
“During one of my first rounds of midterms as a Northwestern student, I was also facing personal and emotional stress. This combination of factors made it very difficult to be motivated to study for my classes or deal with my problems. I turned to (Counseling and Psychological Services) and it was a nice space where I could organize my thoughts,” Weinberg sophomore Aneesh Gogineni said.
As students balance coursework, extracurricular commitments and personal responsibilities, many, like Gogineni, fall victim to prolonged stress that can develop into burnout.
Burnout is a state of emotional and mental exhaustion that leads to difficulty in performing academically and increased fatigue, according to the American Psychological Association.
“(Burnout) feels like moving through every class and assignment not only with exhaustion, but also a sense of guilt because I care about my academic performance but I just don’t have the energy to show it,” Weinberg sophomore Jovana Luna said.
The University provides a variety of resources to help address academic burnout among students. The most prominent programs are the Center for Student Advocacy and Wellness and TimelyCare, which provides free virtual mental health support.
CAPS provides a variety of different support services, such as individual therapy, group therapy and psychiatric services as well as workshop and gathering spaces.
Similarly, CSAW helps students navigate well-being, safety and support through advocacy, education and wellness-focused programs.
In addition to larger programs, NU hosts events, particularly during finals week, that help students take their minds off the pressure of exams. These include therapy dogs on campus, late-night breakfast in Norris and a mobile snack cart.
While these resources can treat symptoms of burnout, some students argue they don’t fully address its causes.
Weinberg sophomore Savannah Martinez said that while programs like CAPS are helpful in addressing and figuring out personal problems, students would benefit from resources that focus on burnout in academic settings.
NU’s environment, class structure, course rigor, extracurricular involvement and campus culture are the major factors contributing to burnout, according to Gogineni.
Weinberg sophomore Julien Maki said the quarter system is responsible for his academic burnout.
Other schools have whole semesters to cover subjects while NU students only have a few months, Maki said. He added that the constant flow of midterms contributes a lot to feeling like students don’t have enough time to rest and recharge.
According to philosophy Prof. Baron Reed, it is important for professors to help students see them as both an instructor and a support system. Office hours are not only a space to discuss coursework, he said, but also to take advantage of mentorship and seek personal guidance.
“I try to prevent (burnout) in class by doing things like learning all of the students’ names, so you can’t be anonymous in my class,” Reed said. “I know who you are, I know what you’re doing and it matters to me.”
Ultimately, addressing burnout may require not only institutional change, but personal change as well, chemistry Prof. Stephanie Knezz said.
Knezz believes morale and motivation can be amplified by shifting mental expectations towards more sustainable habits to fight burnout.
“If you’re only focusing on grinding as hard as you can, you’re never going to feel like you’re satisfied with what you’re doing,” Knezz said. “It’s that mentality that needs to break.”
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