<p>I recently read a list of colleges that have been ranked as the top 50 most stressful Schools.</p>
<p>As a parent (who is stressed) of a D (who is stressed), do I want her to attend one of those schools that are already identified as being one of the 50 most stressful schools.</p>
<p>In particular, U of Rochester and Brandeis and am curious to any parent, student or Alum
if they can address their experiences in terms of what they perceive as stress at either of those schools.</p>
<p>I usually avoid rankings discussions, but this one is so goofy I felt compelled… </p>
<p>
Apparently, “by definition”, the top 50 USNWR universities are the most stressful. So going to one of the top 50 schools automatically makes you at one of the most stressful schools?</p>
<p>
So if the family has money or sufficient aid, the 35% for cost is meaningless. The 35% for rigor is the reason you’d want to attend these schools in the first place. The 10% for acceptance rate is gone by now, since your daughter, if a senior, has already applied! The 10% for the rigor of the graduate engineering program is for grad students, with possible overflow to the small percentage of students who actually are engineering students.</p>
<p>That only leaves the crime on campus for 10%. None of this is measuring graduation rate, amount of academic overloads, suicides, transfers out or dropouts for any reason, alcoholism, late-breaking class drops, roommate problems, professor availability, availability of housing, quality of food, availability of summer jobs, quality of internet, quality of student center…</p>
<p>U. Rochester and Brandeis (and any other college of that quality/selectivity level) are only stressful if you don’t want to work hard to get good grades. If you are looking for a place to skip classes, do no work, party all the time and just skate by - then yes, you would find these places “stressful”.
This is one of the most ludicrous rating systems I’ve ever seen!</p>
<p>If you are a stressed parent it means you may need to help your D do meaningful research on colleges of interest. Read a few good college guidebooks to help you get started.</p>
<p>simple solution…muhlenberg college, you will work hard but i would say it is a better all around experience with less stress. (not stress free of course) some schools are pressure cookers for no reason, and the end result of a stressful atmosphere is not any better then a really good school, with hard work but a more supportive happier classroom experience.</p>
<p>I saw that Columbia was recently ranked as #1 on that list; I’m not sure if it’s the same one, but I think that Columbia deserves that spot or at least a spot in the top 5. This is a very stressful place, which the undergrads I have worked with have shared. It has little to do with cost, but a lot to do with the rigor and the acceptance rate.</p>
<p>Acceptance rate is a proxy for the students; Columbia attracts some very accomplished and competitive students who are used to being at the top of their classes. I am consistently amazed with the quality and skills of the students here. They are the top of their class from some of the best schools in the country. Many of them are pre-med or pre-law, and they’re just used to getting As without even thinking about it, so some of that contributes to the stress.</p>
<p>The academic rigor is another part. Of course, you want that in a university, and that’s what students came to Columbia for. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t contribute to the stress. The professors, too, are stressed out - trying to get tenure and/or balance their teaching responsibilities with research. The classes are difficult; professors assign a lot of reading and a lot of work. The competitiveness comes into play here, too, as students expect to be the best. A lot of professors grade on a curve, too, which IMO decreases collaboration and increases competition. Why would you help your struggling classmates if that’s going to pull down your grade on the exam?</p>
<p>I’m using Columbia as an example as to how at least two of those factors can contribute to stress.</p>
<p>Simply put, college is stressful. I think it matters how the colleges work towards helping students handle stress and anxiety…this was interesting to read.</p>
<p>Agree with GeekMom. Just another useless ranking. Stress is purely the result of personal circumstances and it can arise from a lot of different situations. Who’s to say the engineering student at Columbia is going to be more stressed about grades than, for example, a varsity football player at a Big 10 school is about winning games? Or a student at West Point who’s stressed about staying in shape and following the rules? Or a student at GW who’s stressed about getting a big internship? Or a sorority girl who’s stressed about her looks?</p>
<p>Personally I think the most stressed school would be Juilliard. There’s probably so much competition, and performers always seem really high-strung to me.</p>
<p>Working in a high school, I see many students return to tell their stories. Those who get stressed tend to be those who are:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Overmatched academically - they weren’t prepared from high school for the schools they chose to attend</p></li>
<li><p>Those getting themselves into a bit of debt</p></li>
<li><p>Those who are uncomfortable living away from home</p></li>
<li><p>Those who partied too much and didn’t study enough, then saw their grades (These sometimes fix it second semester.)</p></li>
</ul>
<p>The actual school they chose was not a significant factor at all. Students have left and gone to selective schools and felt right at home returning with stories of how they love being with similar stat schools and students have left and gone to directional state U but returned home talking about how stressful college is. </p>
<p>My advice is to work hard at finding the best fit for your student and be sure they are accustomed to being away from home. Those tend to produce the success stories.</p>