Anonymous
04/02/2014 20:28
Subject: Re:academic stress in college?
OP -- I've seen lots of this among DCs and their friends. I agree with recommendations like Rice, excellent schools that don't have the East Coast edge. Also, consider some top state schools, or bigger private schools like Northwestern, where there's more variety in the student body and lots of fun collegiate distractions like football games. College is when smart kids need to become interesting, and one way to do that is to get out of your comfort zone -- which for a lot of high achievers means studying and succeeding in school.
Anonymous
04/02/2014 20:24
Subject: academic stress in college?
A weirdly high number of kids have committed suicide at William & Mary, supposedly because of the stress.
http://www.wydailyarchives.com/local-news/5232-surge-in-deaths-leaves-william-and-mary-battling-suicide-school-reputation.html
http://www.wydailyarchives.com/local-news/5232-surge-in-deaths-leaves-william-and-mary-battling-suicide-school-reputation.html
Anonymous
04/02/2014 19:03
Subject: academic stress in college?
Anonymous wrote: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.
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.
Anonymous
04/02/2014 18:30
Subject: academic stress in college?
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.
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.
Anonymous
04/02/2014 18:26
Subject: academic stress in college?
Hopefully she'll learn to smoke weed each Friday to chill out once she hits college.
Anonymous
04/02/2014 18:23
Subject: academic stress in college?
Anonymous wrote:She's going to be stressed and high achieving no matter where she goes. She should just aim for the top. Don't encourage her to go to a less prestigious school under the misguided notion it will make her less stressed. At this point, her drive is internalized. Might as well get the ivy on her resume.
I went to one of the "more friendly/non-competitive" colleges listed above (Carleton, Kenyon, Macalester, Rice) while a close high school friend went ivy league. Socially, I think I had the better deal. Just one example--senior year, tons of people applied (and got into) competitive graduate programs, just like at her school. But it just wasn't the focus of all interactions in the same way that my friend described for her school.
I don't regret not having an ivy on my resume. I loved my college years--found my tribe, and, in many ways, found myself.
Anonymous
04/02/2014 17:55
Subject: academic stress in college?
According to the Daily Beast, the most stressful colleges are: http://www.thedailybeast.com/galleries/2010/03/29/2011-s-most-stressful-colleges.html
Newsweek has a ranking of stressful colleges, too: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/27/most-stressful-colleges-college-rankings_n_1832866.html
Newsweek has a ranking of stressful colleges, too: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/27/most-stressful-colleges-college-rankings_n_1832866.html
Anonymous
04/02/2014 17:54
Subject: academic stress in college?
She's going to be stressed and high achieving no matter where she goes. She should just aim for the top. Don't encourage her to go to a less prestigious school under the misguided notion it will make her less stressed. At this point, her drive is internalized. Might as well get the ivy on her resume.
Anonymous
04/02/2014 17:52
Subject: Re:academic stress in college?
Anonymous wrote:Is it still true that the hardest part of an Ivy education is getting in?
Is it true that you post something like this on every.single.thread about Ivy League schools?
Oh no, wait. I said these very words to you just a few days ago. In response to some comment you made about Harvard, where I pointed out that this is a pat meme that's patently untrue. (For the record, this might have been true in the 1950s but, in the 2010s, all the Ivy-bound "strivers" you guys love to deride are going to stay just as driven and competitive in college as they were in high school.)
What a thrill, to see some lazy pot-stirrer use my words in a different context in a sad and lame effort to stir up more trouble. So much for your sincerity as a poster!
Anonymous
04/02/2014 08:36
Subject: Re:academic stress in college?
Reed gives out grades and actually grades rather harshly...you just aren't shown them unless you request a transcript or talk to a faculty member to "de-emphasize grades and emphasize true learning." There are a lot of misconceptions about what Reed is about...but it's a pretty high stress, pre-Phd academic environment with a very traditional, conservative curriculum. The social environment is extremely liberal, but it is not exactly a school I would recommend to perfectionists due to its peculiar grading policy and high stress culture. It is really more like a SLAC version of Chicago than similar to Sarah Lawrence academically.
Honestly perfectionism is often internally driven. I imagine she would be like this wherever she attends. I do have one friend who sounds a lot like your daughter and went to Yale and was able to find more balance in college, but it had to do with her gaining some maturity and perspective more than anything in her external environment.
Honestly perfectionism is often internally driven. I imagine she would be like this wherever she attends. I do have one friend who sounds a lot like your daughter and went to Yale and was able to find more balance in college, but it had to do with her gaining some maturity and perspective more than anything in her external environment.
Anonymous
04/02/2014 08:20
Subject: Re:academic stress in college?
Is it still true that the hardest part of an Ivy education is getting in?
Anonymous
04/01/2014 17:55
Subject: academic stress in college?
pomona
Anonymous
04/01/2014 12:23
Subject: academic stress in college?
There are schools that make an effort to dampen down competitiveness. At Reed and Sarah Lawrence, for example, professors do not give out grades but instead make extensive comments on student work. There are grades and students can request to see their transcript but most don't because its de-emphasized enough that they don't care.
You may want to address the stress level before senior year when it ramps up even more. A therapist to talk to about stress reduction is a good idea. the issue may not be the workload, it may be what she brings to the workload, in which case it won;t matter where she goes to school.
You may want to address the stress level before senior year when it ramps up even more. A therapist to talk to about stress reduction is a good idea. the issue may not be the workload, it may be what she brings to the workload, in which case it won;t matter where she goes to school.
Anonymous
04/01/2014 10:44
Subject: academic stress in college?
I think the Fiske Guide to Colleges give a good sense of the competitive atmosphere at different colleges, so I would recommend giving that a close read.
This is a gross generalization, but kids at east coast schools tend to be more overtly competitive than those at schools in the south and midwest. For example, some rigorous schools that are considered more friendly/non-competitive are Carleton, Kenyon, Macalester, Rice. Also, women's colleges (Wellesley, Bryn Mawr) are often much more cooperative than cutthroat.
This is a gross generalization, but kids at east coast schools tend to be more overtly competitive than those at schools in the south and midwest. For example, some rigorous schools that are considered more friendly/non-competitive are Carleton, Kenyon, Macalester, Rice. Also, women's colleges (Wellesley, Bryn Mawr) are often much more cooperative than cutthroat.
Anonymous
04/01/2014 10:29
Subject: academic stress in college?
Looking for some advice here . . . DD is a junior at a local magnet high school and has done very well academically (A's and A minus's, 2300+ SAT, etc). However, she has not been able to enjoy high school because she is a perfectionist and gets very stressed by the workload and the fact that she is around many kids who are willing to work, work, work to the exclusion of all else (since she feels compelled to keep up with them). I am hoping that she will have a more balanced life when she gets to college, but it is very hard to tell from the outside which of the top-tier colleges have a lot of stressed kids/unreasonable workloads and which might allow for more balance. (I'm not saying she has to go to an Ivy-level college, but she would want it to be somewhat academically rigorous.) Does anyone have any personal experience to share in terms of which schools are known to be full of stressed kids, or which are known to promote balance? Thanks.