The stress of school, finances, and relationships is enough to get most college student feeling down at some point in their college career.

More than 24,000 suicide attempts are made on U.S. campuses per year, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association. Suicide has become the second leading cause of death of college students, and their decisions don't just impact family and friends but the reputation of the schools they attend. At Cornell, six deaths since the fall has caused some in the media to refer to its as a "suicide school."

The suicide rate is about 7.5 per 100,000 college students. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention notes that anxiety, rage, hopelessness, substance abuse, desperation, and impulsivity increase the risk of suicide.

The group estimates that 75 to 80 percent of college students who commit suicide are boys although more girls attempt to take their own lives.

And when college students are on the verge of committing suicide, few are likely to make it part of their Facebook status updates. Schools are hoping that their efforts to update and make their suicide prevention programs relevant to today's college students will pay off.

Student counseling centers' perceptions that more highly troubled students are coming in are prompting the centers to introduce fresh suicide-prevention tactics, according to the American Psychological Association's Monitor on Psychology publication. It reports that those efforts include Web and social media efforts geared toward students and making it easier for students to be open to help by changing the term counseling services to consulting at some schools.

Here's how four schools around the country are trying to prevent suicide:

University of Michigan
Up to 15 percent of all college students have symptoms of depression, and about 10 percent of students start their college career with a history of mental illness, according to the University of Michigan Depression Center. More than 1,500 University of Michigan faculty, staff, and students have learned to recognize the signs of suicidal behavior through its suicide prevention training program, QPR, which stands for Question, Persuade, and Refer. It's part of the school's "Do Something" student mental health awareness campaign, which includes workshops, special events, and the MiTalk website, which offers free videos of relaxation and stress reduction exercises, online screenings for anxiety and depression, and other resources.

Syracuse University
Syracuse University, using a grant from the SAMSHA, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, created "gatekeeper training" for its residence life staff and health services staff on how to prevent suicide and perform successful crisis intervention. Its Campus Connect program has served as a model for other colleges and universities. In addition, the school's free Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction series has been hailed by medical journals for providing emotional coping skills to deal more effectively with stress, according to the school. A social marketing campaign has focused on changing the stigma of mental health issues and increasing the awareness of its counseling center.

Penn State University
The school gets the issue of suicide out in the open by participating in the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention's Out of the Darkness Community Walk. Its efforts to educate students and faculty to recognize worrisome student behaviors includes a video series that displays symptoms of student distress and tips for how to intervene.

Arizona State University
The school is using a grant from the SAMHSA for training that help campus recreation workers, resident advisers, and others to recognize mental health problems among students. Its counseling center staff offer "consultation" assistance to concerned parents, faculty, staff, and students who are concerned about friends or classmates. Students who address their feelings and seek professional help are 87 percent less likely to commit suicide, according to ASU. Its Living Well Network website directs individuals to resources for those needing help, and it also is connected with EMPACT Suicide Prevention Center, which provides 24-7 assistance.
 
The schools are realizing that they're not just educating students about a career path, but they have a role in teaching them to deal with stress and other overwhelming emotions, and those efforts could save lives.
 

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