It was a call a mother wasn’t expecting to get from her son who was living two hours away. A son she assumed was enjoying university life. It was a conversation which left Heather Reid in a panic and jumping in her car, racing to get from Bunbury to Perth.

“When he rang me, and he was really upset and just said Mum, come and get me … I could just hear in his voice something was wrong,” she says.

Arriving at her son’s house nearly two hours later, Reid says she was left feeling scared. Later she also felt ridden with guilt. Belongings jammed into a wardrobe. A bedroom barely furnished, and a house empty of existence. What was supposed to be a home she says simply felt sad.

“It didn’t look like he was living in the house, it looked to me like he was existing,” Reid says.

With no option to study close to his home in Bunbury, Hayden Reid moved out of home at 17 as it was the only way for him to pursue his dreams of becoming a physiotherapist. The relocation for study would end up significantly impacting his mental health and leave him battling anxiety and depression. It’s a story all too familiar for many young people from rural and regional WA, who move out of home at a young age to pursue further education.

Some students from regional, remote and rural areas encounter difficulties in accessing their desired courses, including having to relocate, travel long distances, or pursue alternative career options. Hundreds of students from these areas relocate for university each year and have done so for many decades.

It’s a move largely influenced by the few options available in these areas. For example there is only one university campus in Western Australia’s South West, Edith Cowan University, however it is limited to only 13 options of undergraduate degrees to choose from.

While it’s often perceived as a fun and positive experience, students having to relocate for further education can face a range of obstacles, such as mental health issues and financial pressures – which have been a topic of discussion in the past.

Regional and rural university students, along with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and international students, are suggested to be at higher risk of experiencing poor mental health at university.

The university experience turned sour

From the minute he completed work experience during high school in his hometown in Bunbury, Hayden Reid had his heart set on becoming a physiotherapist. A university course not offered at the local ECU campus, it was a dream he would only be able to achieve by moving to Perth. Leaving his friends, family, and everything familiar behind, the move to the ‘big city’ initially filled him with mixed feelings of excitement and nerves. It wasn’t long before things began to change. With his family more than 150km away, and his friends back at home on a gap year, university quickly became isolating.

“(I) felt very uneasy, and there was a bit of anxiety,” he says.

“I didn’t really know anyone up there,” he says.

Having a close bond with his parents, Hayden Reid says being away from him mum and dad and the distance from this support network contributed to the struggles he encountered at university. Sometimes he wouldn’t see them for more than a month.

“I’m able to talk to my parents quite easily if I’m struggling but I just didn’t have that close connection with my parents living far away from home,” he says.

“I was still able to call them, but they probably weren’t able to see me physically, and notice how much I was struggling.”

“Being on my own there’s no-one there checking on me regularly, and no-one to sort of see how bad I was doing at the time.”

A struggle felt by the whole family

“You don’t pick up on those little changes. You don’t notice their changes of facial expression, or flatness, or that spending a lot of time by themselves,” she says.

“It’s not visible when you’re not physically in contact with your child.”

Even though her son was only a phone call away, she says these forms of communication didn’t compensate for the physical distance put between them.

Seeing him reach such a low point in his life, Heather Reid says was left feeling guilty because she had not noticed the signs Hayden wasn’t coping.

She believes things wouldn’t have escalated as they did if her son had been able to study closer to home.

As Hayden Reid struggled adjusting to life away from home, buried under the depression and anxiety, his grades began to slip, digging him into a deeper hole.

Mid-degree, and struggling to keep his head above the water, he failed four crucial units. Thoughts of ‘ am I going to get through it’ and ‘should I drop out’ entered his mind during a time he says left him feeling miserable.

“It’s just impossible to be able to focus on doing well with assignments, and with exams, and also already under a lot of mental strain,” Reid says.

“Trying to do well academically at the same time is very difficult.”

Individuals from regional and remote areas are considered one of six equity groups as part of the Australian Government policy framework which aims to improve equity.

A 2018 analysis for the then Department of Education and Training stated the emotional and social challenges associated with study relocation were one factor which contributed to lower education attainment in regional areas.

According to the Department of Education, 79,396 students commenced university from regional and remote areas across Australia in 2023, one per cent lower than the 80,285 from the previous year.

Data in previous years has also suggested students from rural and regional areas were more likely to drop out of university due to health and stress, compared to metropolitan students whose main reasons for course drop outs were boredom, change of directions and pursuing alternative career opportunities.

The stress begins in year 12

While some regional, remote and rural students face poor mental health while away at university, extra pressure and stress for some of them begins long before life in the big city. Instead of focusing on graduating and enjoying the final year of high school, students who need to move away from home to complete their dream university course are left spending their senior year looking for house rentals, finalising their finances, and ensuring they are prepared for their opportunity to chase their careers.

With an early offer for a Juris Doctor program, and no option to complete it locally, Manea Senior College school captain Eva Henderson says the idea of having to move to Perth is quite daunting.

“I’ll be over three hours away from any of my family, which is quite scary given I’ve been at home for ages and I’m pretty close to the rest of my family,” she says.

Henderson says with lots of factors to consider, regional students are faced with extra pressures compared to metropolitan students during their final year of schooling. She says regional students face more challenges in getting to university than simply obtaining an ATAR score.

With limited options in the South West to study, it’s a move Henderson says she would rather not have to make.

“I would have definitely considered doing my under grad down in the South West if I had the opportunity,” she says.

“It would have been nice, even when I’m younger, to stay at home.”

A toll on mental health

Director and clinical lead of WA Mental Health Carrina Hampton says the mental health implications caused by students relocating isn’t uncommon.

“While many students adapt well, the transition can be a vulnerable period,” she says.

With more than 20 years’ experience working in the industry, she says she has observed a range of ways students have been impacted as a result of moving out of home including homesickness, loneliness, social isolation, stress from financial pressures, and anxiety.

Hampton says the extent of the mental health difficulties a student may face is largely influenced by their backgrounds and personal circumstances.

“Those who come from stable, supportive families may still feel homesick and isolated, but typically draw on their resilience and support systems,” she says.

 “For others who have faced adversity or unstable home environments, the removal of familiar anchors can intensify existing vulnerabilities, increasing the likelihood of depression, anxiety or maladaptive coping strategies.”

Preparation for the transition can make a significant difference in helping students during this transitional period, according to Hampton.

“Strategies include building support networks early, staying connected with home, establishing routines, developing coping strategies, and utilising regional hubs,” she says.

Hampton says research has highlighted the importance of creating social connections and a sense of belonging in influencing mental health, suggesting joining peer groups and accessing wellbeing services early on could help maintain mental wellbeing.

She says universities offer a range of wellbeing and counselling services, with national support systems such as headspace and ReachOut also available. She says it is important for students to speak up and ask for help from the beginning, rather than wait for things to feel overwhelming, to help establish a more positive readjustment.

Mental health services at WA universities

Hayden Reid says having access to free counselling services on campus was a helpful tool in helping him navigate his mental health difficulties.

“I feel like once I reached out, I was able to get support,” he says.

Each university across the state provides a range of services to provide assistance to students who are struggling with their mental health.

More support for country students

Loving being a physiotherapist, Reid says getting through the difficult times was worth it but he believes more can be done to make achieving a university degree easier for those outside metropolitan areas.

With students from regional, rural and remote areas less likely to obtain a degree compared to those from a metropolitan area, Heather Reid agrees with her son and said she wants to see more options for students to complete their tertiary education in regional areas and closer to home.

“I think it’s really important that students go to a learning campus, mix with a whole range of people and have access to the same resources that you would have at a university in Perth,” she says.

“It’s a combination of policies across a whole range of sectors that really need to be trained towards looking at the regional experience.”

Earlier this year, the ABC reported on the impact regional hubs across regional towns in WA have had in helping to ensure students in these areas have access to resources to assist them in tertiary education. In WA, there are more than 10 regional hubs operating and supporting students in these areas including towns such as Geraldton, Northam, Port Hedland and Albany.

For students like herself who will have to relocate, Eva Henderson says she would like to see more financial support provided to those moving away to attend university as well as ensuring more student housing options.

“Especially with how full the colleges can get, and how expensive colleges are, particularly when there’s students who are living in the metro areas but are still going to college because they want the experience, that definitely plays a part into not giving regional students who may need more access,” she says.