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Introduction. To reduce the important gap between mental health needs and low treatment utilization among college students, it is important to identify treatment barriers and preferences. Objective. To understand university students' perceptions of barriers and preferences for in-person and online mental health services on campus, in the community and through internet. Material and Methods. This is a qualitative, exploratory and descriptive study of 17 students from the PUERTAS project in two Mexican universities, one private, one public. Students were interviewed in depth and the narratives were analyzed by categorization of meanings. Results. In-person treatment was identified as a preference, in addition to highlighting the scarce promotion of mental health services in the university and community context, and little knowledge of online interventions. Conclusions. There is a need for greater dissemination of available in-person and online mental health treatment services in the university context as well as strategies to address barriers to care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]