Best questions for college undergraduate student survey about mental health and well-being

Here are some of the best questions for a college undergraduate student survey about mental health and well-being, and practical tips on how to create them. If you need to build a survey quickly, you can generate your own with Specific in seconds using this tool.

Best open-ended questions for college undergraduate student surveys

Open-ended questions are great for uncovering what students really think and feel. They let students share stories, context, and insights you can’t capture with a checklist. Use them when you want to understand lived experiences, barriers, and needs—especially for sensitive topics like mental health and well-being. Here are our top 10 open-ended questions for college undergraduates:

1. How would you describe your overall mental health since starting college?

2. What are the biggest challenges you face when balancing academic work and your personal well-being?

3. Can you share any recent experiences where you felt overwhelmed or stressed?

4. What helps you the most when you’re feeling anxious or under pressure?

5. How comfortable do you feel reaching out for mental health support at your college?

6. Are there particular moments during the academic year when you notice changes in your mental health? Please describe.

7. What resources (if any) have you found most helpful for your well-being on campus?

8. In your opinion, what could the college do to better support student mental health?

9. Have you ever felt isolated or disconnected from others at college? How did you handle it?

10. What advice would you give to other students struggling with mental health issues?

Open-ended questions consistently bring out layered, actionable insights. In fact, according to a 2023 study, 76% of college students experienced moderate to serious psychological distress this year—to address such depth, we should go beyond just checkboxes and invite stories. [1]

Best single-select multiple-choice questions for student surveys

Single-select multiple-choice questions are useful when you need to quantify answers or want to kick off a conversation. They're less intimidating and help respondents quickly pick what resonates with them. Afterwards, you can dig deeper with a follow-up.

Question: How would you rate your current level of stress related to academic responsibilities?

• Very low

• Low

• Moderate

• High

• Very high

Question: How often do you feel isolated from others during the academic year?

• Never

• Rarely

• Sometimes

• Often

• Always

Question: Which campus mental health resources have you used in the past 12 months?

• On-campus counseling center

• Peer support groups

• Online resources or apps

• None

• Other

When to follow up with "why?" Whenever a student selects an option, asking "Why did you choose this?" or "Can you tell me more?" uncovers their reasoning and uncovers unexpected insights—for example, if someone selects "Often" for feeling isolated, a follow-up can reveal whether it's due to remote learning, social anxiety, or something else.

When and why to add the "Other" choice? Including "Other" in your options gives space for answers you didn’t anticipate. The follow-up is key here: asking students to describe "Other" choices helps identify new issues or solutions you hadn’t considered.

For example, in 2023, 27% of students said they often feel isolated from others—but the reason behind this number can only be uncovered through additional probing. [1]

NPS-type question for student mental health surveys

Net Promoter Score (NPS) is typically used for customer loyalty, but it’s also powerful in understanding overall satisfaction with mental health support. This single question—“How likely are you to recommend campus mental health resources to a friend?”—gives a quick read of overall sentiment and, with follow-ups, reveals why students feel that way. For college undergraduate students, an NPS question can surface whether the culture around mental health feels supportive or just performative.

If you want to try this, generate an NPS survey tailored for college students here.

The value of NPS isn’t just in the score—it’s in understanding the “why” behind it, especially when 35% of students are diagnosed with anxiety and 25% with depression in 2024. [1]

The power of follow-up questions

Follow-up questions turn surveys from static forms into living conversations. With Specific's automated AI follow-up feature, the survey adapts in real time to what each student says, just like a skilled interviewer.

• This means no more chasing down clarification with endless emails—AI captures the full story as soon as the student responds.

• It feels more natural and less like a test, which encourages honesty and depth in answers.

Here’s what happens if you skip follow-ups:

• Student: “I feel stressed a lot.”

• AI follow-up: “Can you tell me what usually triggers your stress? Is it mostly academic or personal?”

Without that follow-up, you’re left guessing what’s really going on.

How many followups to ask? We’ve found that 2–3 targeted follow-ups usually deliver rich insights without survey fatigue. The survey creator can also set a rule to skip to the next question once they get the details needed—Specific lets you customize this easily.

This makes it a conversational survey: The magic is in the back-and-forth. Students actually feel heard, not just measured—they’re much more likely to open up in a chat than a bland form.

AI survey response analysis, unstructured data, summarization, theme extraction: Even with lots of long-form answers, it's easy to analyze all responses using AI—a detailed guide on this is available in this article.

These dynamic follow-ups are a new way to gather feedback—try generating a survey with conversational follow-ups and see the difference yourself.

Prompting ChatGPT (or other GPTs) to generate great survey questions

Getting AI to help create an effective Mental Health And Well-Being survey is easier if you give it good prompts. Here’s how to get started:

Begin with a basic prompt that tells the AI what you want:

Suggest 10 open-ended questions for college undergraduate student survey about mental health and well-being.

But if you want better results, add more context—describe who you are, your goal, and the specific situation:

I’m creating a survey for college undergraduate students to understand their mental health and well-being challenges. Our goal is to identify resource gaps and support programs that need improvement. Suggest 10 thoughtful, open-ended questions that will uncover both emotional and practical challenges students face.

Once you have a set of questions, you might want to organize them for clarity:

Look at the questions and categorize them. Output categories with the questions under them.

Then, dive deeper into areas that matter most:

Generate 10 questions for categories like “academic stress,” “access to support,” and “sense of belonging.”

You’ll quickly end up with a tailored, rich question set specific to college undergraduate students and their realities.

What is a conversational survey?

A conversational survey is an interactive, chat-like feedback process—students feel like they’re talking to a person, not filling out a form. You get richer responses, more engagement, and deeper insights. The difference is huge when it comes to capturing sensitive topics like mental health and well-being, where empathy and tone matter.

Why use AI for college undergraduate student surveys? With topics as sensitive as mental health and well-being, conversation builds trust—and students open up more. The AI survey example makes it fast and simple: you can edit surveys in seconds (see the AI survey editor), get in-depth answers, and analyze the feedback right away.

Specific is a proven authority in conversational surveys. We make sure students feel safe, your questions sound human, and the feedback process is smooth for everyone involved. If you’re new to this format or want step-by-step guidance, check out our how-to article on building surveys for this audience and see real examples in action.

See this mental health and well-being survey example now

Create your own conversational survey for undergraduates—capture details traditional forms miss, dig deeper with automated follow-ups, and analyze results instantly. Start collecting authentic insights that actually improve student well-being today.