{"id":94319,"date":"2026-09-21T00:15:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-21T06:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.opinionpublica.tv\/portada\/?p=94319"},"modified":"2026-09-21T00:15:01","modified_gmt":"2026-09-21T06:15:01","slug":"home-from-college-3-weeks-later","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.opinionpublica.tv\/portada\/home-from-college-3-weeks-later\/","title":{"rendered":"Home from college, 3 weeks later"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Home<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Last month, Daii\u2019yaHnna Fleming posted a video of her move-in day at Southern University in Louisiana. As a bleary-eyed rising freshman, she lugged a half-dozen candy-hued suitcases on her trip from Las Vegas to Baton Rouge. After arriving, she began to settle into her new life on campus, stocking up on school supplies and setting up a side business doing makeup from her dorm room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then the trouble began. The ample walking across campus aggravated her health issues, and Fleming didn\u2019t feel safe commuting to her job near campus. One night, she decided to join friends for an off-campus party. \u201cI had never really been to a party, and I really just did not like it at all,\u201d Fleming, 17, said. \u201cI got really fed up with everything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the way back to her dorm, Fleming texted her mother and told her she was coming home for good. She had been in college for two weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a TikTok video about her decision to switch to her university\u2019s online program, Fleming panned over her dorm room. \u201cI\u2019m not gonna force myself to be uncomfortable and unsafe, \u2019cause randos think I should be,\u201d she wrote in the caption, adding, \u201cI don\u2019t care about the college experience. I just want my degree.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the thousands of comments underneath her post, as well as under similar viral videos of other students moving out or dropping out and sharing it online, a firestorm of debate has been playing out: Are Gen Z students too unwilling to face discomfort, to the point of missing out on a formative experience? Or are older generations valorizing struggle?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though leaving campus early is nothing new \u2014 and the rate of college dropouts has declined slightly in recent years \u2014 social media has put a magnifying glass on students\u2019 struggles and prompted a wider discussion about generational differences. As they face shrinking federal financial aid and a tough job market with no guarantees, some say they are reconsidering whether college is worth the staggering tuition fees. Others say they are switching to online school or becoming commuter students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many of the videos, like Fleming\u2019s, focus on the mental health impacts, saying they feel anxious and overwhelmed. One student mentioned a towed car and more homework than they expected. Another expressed concern about wasting tuition money on an experience they disliked that affected their mental health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The debate touched a nerve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In response videos, millennials and Gen X-ers have been pleading with students to hold on and tough it out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEverything worth having is not easy,\u201d said Ebony Simpson, a mother of a college sophomore who posted one of those videos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said that students needed to put themselves out there. \u201cIt\u2019s for you to sit up and say, \u2018Oh, they\u2019re having a cookout, let me go,\u2019\u201d Simpson said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her daughter, Adrianna Bankston, said she struggled as a freshman last year at a Georgia university. The idea of leaving \u201cwas a thought that we all had when we first got here,\u201d Bankston, 19, said. She didn\u2019t leave her room much during that first week, she said. But she had a realization: \u201cI need a friend group. I need to go out and do stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She pushed herself to meet people at parties and campus events, and she\u2019s learned a lot. \u201cI did have fun,\u201d she said. \u201cI found out not everybody is your cup of tea.\u201d She said she now had a busy social life and great people around her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rates of college dropouts have declined: According to a report from the Education Data Initiative, 22.9 percent of all students who entered college as freshmen in fall 2024 did not return in fall 2025, down from a prepandemic average of around 24 percent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet the videos highlight real issues for those working to fight college attrition. \u201cKids are not weak,\u201d said Sarah Manville, an assistant dean and adviser at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. \u201cThey\u2019re extremely resilient \u2014 but there\u2019s something about this phenomenon that they cannot persist through.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Feeling homesick in the first few weeks is normal, but Manville said she noticed some younger students were reluctant to seek help. \u201cMy concern is students are not giving themselves enough of a chance to be successful,\u201d she said, \u201cand that\u2019s where I think that fear-based decision making comes in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michael Williams, a New York City-based college access and success professional, said, \u201cI\u2019ve noticed a definite dip this year and last year, compared to prior years, in how socially adjusted and how much, like, social emotional competency this set has compared to the prior classes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students also face grim job prospects, amid worries of A.I. encroaching on entry-level jobs, and steep tuition. \u201cThe barriers to entry just keep compounding in this particular moment,\u201d Williams said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The costs of dropping out or moving home will vary from school to school, but student loans are generally easier to cancel in the first two weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fleming said she had not yet paid the fee for room and board for this year. Another student who posted a video on TikTok said in a comment that she had received a refund from her university after leaving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back home in Las Vegas, Fleming said she felt good about her decision: \u201cIf I would have stayed longer, it would have made everything harder.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She\u2019s doing well in online business management classes and has dreams of law school. But she hasn\u2019t discounted the idea of returning to Southern: She\u2019d like to spend more time with her suite mate, who\u2019s now a close friend, and other classmates she met from her stint in Baton Rouge. But if she returns, perhaps next year, she plans to live off campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n