Social Peers

[Anonymous]

So much has been made of wanting kids to be at a place where they are with a cohort of intellectual peers. With the poor mental health epidemic on college campuses, where’s the discussion on the kids’ mental health? My kid is surrounded by very driven peers at their T-25 but I constantly remind them they cannot function well without balance and perspective. I want my kid to be challenged but I also want them surrounded my classmates who are kind, thoughtful and well-adjusted. It’s sad how campus communities are now seen more as professional networks instead of a source of social/emotional support not just during college but beyond as well.

[Anonymous]

There’s been tons of discussion about kids’ mental health over the past few years. Were you not paying attention when you set your kid on the hamster wheel to a top school?

[Anonymous]

Access to clubs and activities were a top priority when my '25er picked her school.

[Anonymous]

Social was our #1 priority in choosing schools. This is what people mean by "fit."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There’s been tons of discussion about kids’ mental health over the past few years. Were you not paying attention when you set your kid on the hamster wheel to a top school?

Be kind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So much has been made of wanting kids to be at a place where they are with a cohort of intellectual peers. With the poor mental health epidemic on college campuses, where’s the discussion on the kids’ mental health? My kid is surrounded by very driven peers at their T-25 but I constantly remind them they cannot function well without balance and perspective. I want my kid to be challenged but I also want them surrounded my classmates who are kind, thoughtful and well-adjusted. It’s sad how campus communities are now seen more as professional networks instead of a source of social/emotional support not just during college but beyond as well.

Warm weather schools also help with mental health as opposed to cold, grey and long winter schools. A consideration for many considering colleges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So much has been made of wanting kids to be at a place where they are with a cohort of intellectual peers. With the poor mental health epidemic on college campuses, where’s the discussion on the kids’ mental health? My kid is surrounded by very driven peers at their T-25 but I constantly remind them they cannot function well without balance and perspective. I want my kid to be challenged but I also want them surrounded my classmates who are kind, thoughtful and well-adjusted. It’s sad how campus communities are now seen more as professional networks instead of a source of social/emotional support not just during college but beyond as well.

Great post.

My thought is that this is an area that is well addressed by public flagship honors colleges. A more scholarly community of students within a large university setting which serves students from a wide variety of socio-economic and intellectual backgrounds. Honors College students take courses both within the honors college and outside of the honors college but still within the large state flagship school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So much has been made of wanting kids to be at a place where they are with a cohort of intellectual peers. With the poor mental health epidemic on college campuses, where’s the discussion on the kids’ mental health? My kid is surrounded by very driven peers at their T-25 but I constantly remind them they cannot function well without balance and perspective. I want my kid to be challenged but I also want them surrounded my classmates who are kind, thoughtful and well-adjusted. It’s sad how campus communities are now seen more as professional networks instead of a source of social/emotional support not just during college but beyond as well.

Warm weather schools also help with mental health as opposed to cold, grey and long winter schools. A consideration for many considering colleges.

This often is a very important factor for some, but not all, students.

[Anonymous]

I wish I had thought about this more before college! I was really excited to find intellectual peers, but I hadn’t considered trying to understand if my future classmates would be my social peers. My experience was fine and I made lifelong friends, but it was hard to access clubs and activities and I didn’t quite have the money to keep up with everything else.

Of course, this was before easy access to social media and internet research so you really only got the vibe from a school from its general reputation and your visit for admitted students days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Social was our #1 priority in choosing schools. This is what people mean by "fit."

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So much has been made of wanting kids to be at a place where they are with a cohort of intellectual peers. With the poor mental health epidemic on college campuses, where’s the discussion on the kids’ mental health? My kid is surrounded by very driven peers at their T-25 but I constantly remind them they cannot function well without balance and perspective. I want my kid to be challenged but I also want them surrounded my classmates who are kind, thoughtful and well-adjusted. It’s sad how campus communities are now seen more as professional networks instead of a source of social/emotional support not just during college but beyond as well.

Warm weather schools also help with mental health as opposed to cold, grey and long winter schools. A consideration for many considering colleges.

Only some people have seasonal affective disorders. How can kids be so tough as to juggle all of these ECs and prepping and top grades and then fall apart because of Northeast weather? The mental health issues are said to be getting worse while global warming is making some of these areas warmer in the winter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So much has been made of wanting kids to be at a place where they are with a cohort of intellectual peers. With the poor mental health epidemic on college campuses, where’s the discussion on the kids’ mental health? My kid is surrounded by very driven peers at their T-25 but I constantly remind them they cannot function well without balance and perspective. I want my kid to be challenged but I also want them surrounded my classmates who are kind, thoughtful and well-adjusted. It’s sad how campus communities are now seen more as professional networks instead of a source of social/emotional support not just during college but beyond as well.

Warm weather schools also help with mental health as opposed to cold, grey and long winter schools. A consideration for many considering colleges.

My kid is the opposite -- melts (and hides in the AC) when it gets anything approaching hot, but is invigorated by cold weather. He's looking at northern schools with access to winter sports.

This is why fit is important -- there is no best.

[Anonymous]

+1 flagship universities.

[Anonymous]

Mental health and fit are absolutely critical. My oldest is at a T10 and they wouldn’t have been happy anywhere that wasn’t fast-paced with strong peers. They love the push that gives them, their friends all seem to eke out a ton in a day. Prioritize gym, social, excellent time management skills. It works for them.

[Anonymous]

DD is high stats and has zero desire to attend college with a bunch grinders on the spectrum. These are the kind of classes that the T20 have cultivated with their excessive EC requirements and focus on "pointy".