Depression in college freshmen: Severity of symptoms and willingness to seek help from a campus counseling center

College freshmen encounter many new challenges while adjusting to university life which can result in mental health problems such as depressive symptoms. This study was conducted in order to examine the relationship between depressive symptoms among college freshmen and their attitude towards visiting a college counseling center. Depressive symptoms were examined by using the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II). Participants were also given a demographic questionnaire including two questions pertaining to their attitude towards a college counseling center and off-campus counseling. Results indicated that students who displayed severe-moderate symptoms of depression significantly prefer off-campus counseling over a college counseling center. Students who displayed minimal-mild symptoms of depression did not indicate a significant preference in counseling services. The implications for this study are for college counseling centers as well as to provide information about depression and the use of counseling centers among freshmen.