Anonymous wrote:Of the three "sister" schools mentioned above, I DO think MHC is the most supportive (i.e., students are less competitive, amongst themselves). They are still intense though.

thanks

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:CTCL schools

+1

+1

I wouldn't expect high status, women-only colleges to be better for a young woman with anxiety. They are supportive places, but groups of smart women working really hard sounds to me like a recipe for collective anxiety growth! (This is TOTALLY gender-stereotyped--so take it with a grain of salt--but as a woman with anxiety issues, I saw how my all-female grad study group could ramp each other's anxiety levels up convincing each other that impossible perfection was required--when I worked with more mixed gender groups, there was something about the men's combination of obliviousness and confidence that was reassuring--"if that unprepared guy isn't worried,maybe I shouldn't be either...").

I do think that SLACs are likely more supportive than bigger universities. Yes students can be more invisible, but you can also really get lost. I would just choose a non-pressure cooker SLAC.

One of my girls has a fairly severe anxiety disorder with panic attacks. She did really well at a large school. She liked being able to blend in. She went to University of Florida and had such a great experience.

Of the three "sister" schools mentioned above, I DO think MHC is the most supportive (i.e., students are less competitive, amongst themselves). They are still intense though.

I knew an alum who said her daughter had hoped to have less stress in college than she did in a DMV high school. She did not find that at MHC.

My child is at a CTCL--which is admittedly less prestigious (and networked) that MHC.
She seems very happy that it is IS less stressful than high school was.
Yet, the other kids all take their academic preparation very seriously. And the school has a good reputation for getting graduates into graduate school.
So, for our family, it seems like we have found the sweet spot.
Others have different values, and make different choices.

Anonymous wrote:We considered Mount Holyoke, which is an excellent school on many levels. But we kept hearing about their "stress culture" and how kids spend "24/7 in the library. We heard they don't compete for grades but do compete for who has the most work/stress.

I know MHC grads are very loyal, so they may hate me. But this is what we read on line and heard from current students. The school is trying to address it.

Thank you for posting this. My kid is interested in Bryn Mawr, Mt. Holyoke and Welleseley and I think I assumed they had a supportive culture.

Google mount holyoke & stress culture.

Read online reviews. On NICHE, only 39% of survey respondents there say the workload is easy to manage.

Again, I am not an MHC basher. The school is amazing, and has many great qualities. It depends how much weight you put on this one.

Anonymous wrote:We considered Mount Holyoke, which is an excellent school on many levels. But we kept hearing about their "stress culture" and how kids spend "24/7 in the library. We heard they don't compete for grades but do compete for who has the most work/stress.

I know MHC grads are very loyal, so they may hate me. But this is what we read on line and heard from current students. The school is trying to address it.

Can anyone verify this? MHC is my DD’s first choice, so this concerns me. This was not at all the impression we got on the tour.

My kid with social anxiety wanted the opposite--a big urban university with lots of diversity where she wouldn't feel as "exposed" as she did in a small suburban high school. She also wanted a place where she would feel like "one of the smart kids" instead of stressed out trying to keep up with the overachievers.

We considered Mount Holyoke, which is an excellent school on many levels. But we kept hearing about their "stress culture" and how kids spend "24/7 in the library. We heard they don't compete for grades but do compete for who has the most work/stress.

I know MHC grads are very loyal, so they may hate me. But this is what we read on line and heard from current students. The school is trying to address it.

Anonymous wrote:CTCL schools

+1

Bump.

Well, I was anxious and also sheltered. Going to a large university would have been an overwhelming experience; my sister did and she never finished. I went to a smaller school with more personal help and successfully graduated and gained a lot of confidence.

It really depends on what type of anxiety and how much help the child needs.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:An extremely large university may be more challenging than a smaller university or college.

Disagree

Please elaborate
I think this issue is especially challenging if you have a kid who would normally thrive in an academically challenging environment. Are any of the top universities or slacs known for also providing a nurturing academic environment and a healthy social life?