Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of young adults are really struggling with mental health. I think more than we were that age. Maybe partly due COVID, probably more due to social media. It's really so sad.

+100

I had a niece and nephew (no mental health history), 3 work colleagues’ kids, neighbor’s kid, mom at my gym: all have mental health issues that required a break from school in the past 3 years.

It’s approaching epidemic levels. There is missing VT kid right now who sounds like a mental break. Very sad.

35% increase in mental issues. This age group has more than ever.

Anonymous wrote:This article talks about how WPI took a real hard look at itself, and made changes after a number of suicides.
Other schools could learn from them.




https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/22/magazine/worcester-polytechnic-institute-suicides.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Pk0.CYuQ.AAthuL6vq29U

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In my opinion, it seems some students are just not ready for college and especially not ready for a competitive pressure cooker college for whatever reasons. Perhaps they push through high school to get the top grades, EC’s etc and then are just burnt out. Perhaps they think an elite college is the ultimate prize at the end of high school and once they are in they feel their work is done only to find out that they have to continue to grind and the pressure is even more intense. I don’t know. Just wondering. It’s really sad.

I think it’s more that it is very difficult to live in a highly pressured situation surrounded by so many type A students — there are very few counterbalancing influences telling you to chill or that it doesn’t matter, and the living environment is chaotic and unhealthy too. It doesn’t matter how “ready” a student is, it’s just a very stressful situation for a kid who is probably already the amped-up, conscientious type.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In my opinion, it seems some students are just not ready for college and especially not ready for a competitive pressure cooker college for whatever reasons. Perhaps they push through high school to get the top grades, EC’s etc and then are just burnt out. Perhaps they think an elite college is the ultimate prize at the end of high school and once they are in they feel their work is done only to find out that they have to continue to grind and the pressure is even more intense. I don’t know. Just wondering. It’s really sad.

I think it’s more that it is very difficult to live in a highly pressured situation surrounded by so many type A students — there are very few counterbalancing influences telling you to chill or that it doesn’t matter, and the living environment is chaotic and unhealthy too. It doesn’t matter how “ready” a student is, it’s just a very stressful situation for a kid who is probably already the amped-up, conscientious type.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yet every time someone posts in DCUM about how grim and awful the environment is on these elite campuses these days, all their rabid fans scream about how wrong that assessment is and that everything is perfect.

Suicides happen on most college campuses, but yes, IMO, they happen more at the pressure cooker schools, and in reality most T25 schools are exactly that. Those kids have often grown up thru HS expecting to be the best at everything and eventually the pressure to do that can be too much unfortunately

I do appreciate you qualifying your comment as “in your opinion”. Because until you can site sources that say suicides happen more at the top 25 schools, then this statement is insensitive to the mental health challenges of affected students.

Anonymous wrote:In my opinion, it seems some students are just not ready for college and especially not ready for a competitive pressure cooker college for whatever reasons. Perhaps they push through high school to get the top grades, EC’s etc and then are just burnt out. Perhaps they think an elite college is the ultimate prize at the end of high school and once they are in they feel their work is done only to find out that they have to continue to grind and the pressure is even more intense. I don’t know. Just wondering. It’s really sad.

Anonymous wrote:A lot of young adults are really struggling with mental health. I think more than we were that age. Maybe partly due COVID, probably more due to social media. It's really so sad.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yet every time someone posts in DCUM about how grim and awful the environment is on these elite campuses these days, all their rabid fans scream about how wrong that assessment is and that everything is perfect.

Suicides happen on most college campuses, but yes, IMO, they happen more at the pressure cooker schools, and in reality most T25 schools are exactly that. Those kids have often grown up thru HS expecting to be the best at everything and eventually the pressure to do that can be too much unfortunately

I do appreciate you qualifying your comment as “in your opinion”. Because until you can site sources that say suicides happen more at the top 25 schools, then this statement is insensitive to the mental health challenges of affected students.

NP: you have to search the academic literature for studies. Example:

Elite Academic Culture
Research suggests that the stigmatization of mental illness may be greater in elite academic settings. Although elite student bodies are overwhelmingly composed of students from higher socioeconomic positions, elite culture promotes the idea of individual agency and creates a cultural norm of perfection, which may fuel stigma. Mueller and Abrutyn (2016) found that adolescents in a highly connected community regulated by a local culture that emphasized academic achievement and perfectionism are at increased risk of suicide. They explain, “The pervasive emphasis on perfection has a cost; mental health problems are seen as contradictory to the cultural directive to be perfect and thus are highly stigmatized” (Mueller and Abrutyn 2016). Relatedly, Khan’s (2011) qualitative investigation of elite culture at a secondary school illustrates how elite students learn to believe that their elevated social status is solely the result of hard work and intelligence, without acknowledging social forces like social class. Their belief in individual agency leads students to accept full responsibility for both their successes and failures—consequently, mental illness may be framed as an individual failure. Additionally, elite culture is characterized by a norm of effortless perfection. Khan (2011) found that elite secondary school students who were perceived as “trying too hard,” defying the social norm of effortless perfection, were rejected by their peers. In sum, mental illness defies the social values and norms of elite academic culture.
Relatedly, numerous non-academic works document the relationship between the culture of perfection and mental illness stigma. Deresiewicz (2008) explains this elite norm of perfectionism as the “pressure to maintain the kind of appearance—and affect—that go with achievement” (p. 29). Although many students at elite schools suffer with mental illness, the social context requires individuals to hide symptoms to remain socially acceptable. At Stanford University, Khan’s effortless perfection norm is called the “Duck Syndrome” (Scelfo 2015). Ducks appear to glide effortlessly across the water, but beneath the surface, their feet paddle frantically. Scelfo suggests that the culture of effortless perfection at elite schools—especially those in the Ivy League—causes students to conceal mental illness, withdraw socially, and consequently increase their risk of suicide. source: https://doi.org/10.1177/0731121420921878

Anonymous wrote:I know a kid at Princeton who complained frequently about grade deflation to a friend (my kid). They survived TJ but Princeton broke them to tears! Parents should think twice before sending their kids there.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yet every time someone posts in DCUM about how grim and awful the environment is on these elite campuses these days, all their rabid fans scream about how wrong that assessment is and that everything is perfect.

Suicides happen on most college campuses, but yes, IMO, they happen more at the pressure cooker schools, and in reality most T25 schools are exactly that. Those kids have often grown up thru HS expecting to be the best at everything and eventually the pressure to do that can be too much unfortunately

I do appreciate you qualifying your comment as “in your opinion”. Because until you can site sources that say suicides happen more at the top 25 schools, then this statement is insensitive to the mental health challenges of affected students.

Elite Academic Culture
Research suggests that the stigmatization of mental illness may be greater in elite academic settings. Although elite student bodies are overwhelmingly composed of students from higher socioeconomic positions, elite culture promotes the idea of individual agency and creates a cultural norm of perfection, which may fuel stigma. Mueller and Abrutyn (2016) found that adolescents in a highly connected community regulated by a local culture that emphasized academic achievement and perfectionism are at increased risk of suicide. They explain, “The pervasive emphasis on perfection has a cost; mental health problems are seen as contradictory to the cultural directive to be perfect and thus are highly stigmatized” (Mueller and Abrutyn 2016). Relatedly, Khan’s (2011) qualitative investigation of elite culture at a secondary school illustrates how elite students learn to believe that their elevated social status is solely the result of hard work and intelligence, without acknowledging social forces like social class. Their belief in individual agency leads students to accept full responsibility for both their successes and failures—consequently, mental illness may be framed as an individual failure. Additionally, elite culture is characterized by a norm of effortless perfection. Khan (2011) found that elite secondary school students who were perceived as “trying too hard,” defying the social norm of effortless perfection, were rejected by their peers. In sum, mental illness defies the social values and norms of elite academic culture.
Relatedly, numerous non-academic works document the relationship between the culture of perfection and mental illness stigma. Deresiewicz (2008) explains this elite norm of perfectionism as the “pressure to maintain the kind of appearance—and affect—that go with achievement” (p. 29). Although many students at elite schools suffer with mental illness, the social context requires individuals to hide symptoms to remain socially acceptable. At Stanford University, Khan’s effortless perfection norm is called the “Duck Syndrome” (Scelfo 2015). Ducks appear to glide effortlessly across the water, but beneath the surface, their feet paddle frantically. Scelfo suggests that the culture of effortless perfection at elite schools—especially those in the Ivy League—causes students to conceal mental illness, withdraw socially, and consequently increase their risk of suicide. source: https://doi.org/10.1177/0731121420921878

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is sad, news of suicides mostly came from U of Penn and Cornell, Princeton was supposed to be a better place for mental health support.

"Mental health support" is a myth.

Anonymous wrote:In my opinion, it seems some students are just not ready for college and especially not ready for a competitive pressure cooker college for whatever reasons. Perhaps they push through high school to get the top grades, EC’s etc and then are just burnt out. Perhaps they think an elite college is the ultimate prize at the end of high school and once they are in they feel their work is done only to find out that they have to continue to grind and the pressure is even more intense. I don’t know. Just wondering. It’s really sad.