College students say pandemic has brought stressors, a greater focus on mental health among classmates and professors Posted at 2:00 PM, Jan 20, 2021 and last updated 2021-01-20 17:58:48-05 College is a big adjustment, even more so this year as freshmen and seniors alike navigate a pandemic that has changed nearly everything about the college experience. Campuses around the country are quieter as many students learn from home, tuning into lectures through video conferences. Social gatherings are limited and parties are nearly non-existent. âItâs been difficult,â said Apshara Siwakoti, a freshman at the University of Denver. Siwakoti is a refugee from Nepal and a biomedical engineering student. Like millions of college students across the country, this year is not what she had in mind. The first in her family to graduate high school, Siwakoti received her diploma through a car window this past spring and celebrated by calling her family over Zoom.