Social Peers

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Check sunbelt suicide rates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Check sunbelt suicide rates.

My kids won’t look at anything south of DC. Too hot. They want snow. To each, their own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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".

Fair enough. But there are some schools - like Yale, Rice, and Notre Dame - that have pretty unique residential housing that really encourages community. There are some schools that are really known for being very vibrant and outgoing - Vanderbilt, Brown. There are big public schools where you can find your people if you put yourself out there - Michigan, UCLA.

It's not all bleak out there. There's also McGill. And USC. And Texas-Austin. Not to mention Georgia and Florida.

But I hear this. When we were touring schools, so many seemed sad, especially the Ivy League schools besides Yale and Brown.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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".

Okay and the pointy grinders may not have a desire to attend college with your DD. There's a place for everyone so figure it out and go there.

I wouldn't want to socialize with someone so closed minded and just plain mean.

[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.

Why don't you think people are prioritizing this? Mine are definitely prioritizing social fit. It's one of their biggest criteria.

[Anonymous]

Just because a school has a bunch of smart, competitive, ambitious students doesn’t mean that those kids become your child’s network. Your child will gravitate to like-minded people, wherever they go.

So, consider: would your smart, kind, ambitious-but-not-cutthroat student find more friends/larger network at a Type-A grinder school or a more balanced one?

You don’t get the school that you attend; you get the school that you engage.

[Anonymous]

LinkedIn has played a role in giving the social atmosphere on campuses a professional networking vibe. Before, the networking happened organically.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Check sunbelt suicide rates.

My kids won’t look at anything south of DC. Too hot. They want snow. To each, their own.

Yuck.

[Anonymous]

People, highly achieved students are not necessarily (and typically not) grinders! You guys are just coping that you’re not gifted.

[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.

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.

I agree. The program DC is in is small with a focus on community. They live together, have planned social events, and have some classes together. There is a lot of hands on support from the program directors. They are strong students and academics are important, but the cohort structure around community really helps with balance . That was an important part of selecting the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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".

WTF are ”grinders in the spectrum?”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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".

Wow. Is she always so offensive?

Exactly! It’s offensive and completely untrue. It’s kind of like if someone were to say your 4.0 inflation HS kid that went text-optional and weak EC’s couldn’t hang. Of course they couldn’t! They wouldn’t get in, so wouldn’t the opportunity to know anyway.

I don’t know what you mean. Need translation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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".

WTF are ”grinders in the spectrum?”

DP. Half the Ivy kids. Tons in Silicon Valley.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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".

WTF are ”grinders in the spectrum?”

DP. Half the Ivy kids. Tons in Silicon Valley.

I wish I knew as much as people on here, to have such astute observations and firsthand knowledge of literal percentages of a student bodies at eight different schools.

Or, your kid is just average. It’s okay, mine is too.

[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.

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