The purpose of the study is to investigate how the Turkish and Ukrainian university students cognitively and emotionally processed the COVID-19 pandemic by examining their verbal associations through a psycholinguistic perspective. Research methods and techniques. Grounded in schema theory and a socio-psycholinguistic approach, research employs the Free Association Test (FAT) to capture spontaneous lexical responses to four key stimuli in this area (quarantine, lockdown, social distance, and self-isolation) from 1,130 participants. Associative responses are analyzed thematically to explore semantic fields reflecting emotional, cultural, and social dimensions of pandemic experience. Results. Findings indicate that both Turkish and Ukrainian students primarily associated these terms with negative emotions, including depression, anxiety, and loneliness, highlighting the pandemic’s disruptive psychological impact. However, cross-cultural differences emerged: Turkish participants emphasized obligation, prohibition, and state-enforced restrictions, reflecting centralized governance and norm-enforcement narratives. Ukrainian students demonstrate wider semantic spectrum, combining expressions of emotional strain with pragmatic strategies such as self-development, defense, and references to digital learning tools, reflecting institutional fragmentation and adaptation under crisis. High rates of non-responses suggest emotional avoidance and trauma-related withdrawal. Conclusions. Results reinforce schema theory by showing how extreme situations disrupt and reshape cognitive-emotional frameworks, while underscoring the role of sociopolitical context in shaping linguistic consciousness. The study has implications for post-pandemic policymaking, particularly in designing culturally responsive strategies for student mental health and educational resilience.