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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I teach in a college. Basically the high achievers tell me high school stress was nothing compared to college stress. Half of them take Adderall to stay awake, Xanax to keep form panicking and drink alcohol to 'relax'.

They are just as perfectionistic in high school but with even higher stakes - the job market looming. they are trying to do as much service and extra curriculars as they can while also working and playing a sport.

As often the high achievers are in programs where you basically had to be a high achiever to even get accepted to the program, the competitiveness is fierce.

It is also the age when mental illness and mental health problems explode and depression is rampant in this age group - partly due to poor self care that wears them down (no sleep, poor nutrition, too much drinking). Then they start to feel suicidal or like quitting but they can't because there is too much internal pressure and sense of external reputation to hold up. Anxiety is rampant especially around exams and project times. [/quote]

Agree with the above.  I've been surprised at the number of students I have each year who are very smart, very well-prepared, and have serious stress related issues that really impede academic success.  Since you know that your daughter is predisposed to stress, I would really encourage you to find her some formal stress management program/therapy before she goes to school.  [/quote]

Eh. I went to a top fifteen SLAC and my boyfriend went to an Ivy and we worked way harder and more intensely at my SLAC than he and his friends did at his Ivy. And I didn't feel they were any smarter than the kids at my school.

Go to the top school and then you don't have to stress as much because a) most of the ivies still have grade inflation up the wazoo and b) it's easier to get into grad school with a 3.5 from Yale than a 3.5 from a lower ranked school.[/quote]

I don't think either of us were saying that OP's daughter should go to a top school, but rather that she should have a plan in place to manage her stress (and a better plan than: "I'm going to read this buzzfeed about the top 5 ways not to stress in college."  Some college counseling centers have stress support groups-which might be an option.[/quote]

And the OP and her daughter should consider colleges where DD can not only get a good education but also BE HAPPY, which this focus on "THE top school" and "Ivy" and "grades" and "getting into grad school" completely ignores.[/quote]

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