You are smart to consider her health issues while searching for colleges. The transition to college and adjustment to living away from home often increases mental health problems.
I agree that you should keep her close to home. Some students end up needing to live at home and commute for the first year or two, so a college within an hour of home would be ideal. At the very least, you want her to be close enough to come home for weekends and for you to visit if she needs support.
You might want to look at Goucher. It is smaller than your target size, but has a supportive environment. Although it doesn’t have highly selective admission statistics, academics are excellent. Another option in your area is UMBC, which is very strong in science. She would probably qualify for one of their honors programs. In the DC area, American University might be a good middle-sized option.
I hate to say it, but in many instances, the school is not your friend. It’s akin to Human Resources. Employees make the mistake of thinking that HR is there to help them. Actually, HR is there to help and protect the employer.
The two most helpful pieces of advice I got on CC after our son was diagnosed:
Life is not a race.
You want to keep the ball in play (meaning, keep the child alive long enough that his/her brain can fully develop and hopefully stabilize). This sounds harsh, but it's important to remember. This was particularly important for my husband to process, because he kept thinking our son could do more than he was capable of.
I wouldn’t recommend Cook at IUP or NCF for someone with mental health issues (not the same drugs but issues nevertheless) and certainly not Washington&Lee (socially constraining, not “low key”). I second Muhlenberg, Dickinson, Eckerd, COA, St Mary’s MD…
Some Honors colleges will be more nurturing yet challenging than others, depending on the percentage of engineering and premeds.
For a LAC, you want to match her personality with the LAC’s. Midwestern and Southern LACs may be a bit more laid back and down to earth than coastal LACs - but the distance starts to play into it so easy access to an airport may become a criterion. Beloit, St Olaf, Lawrence, Earlham, Grinnell would all be down to earth but distance to airport would be 45mn-over one hour.
I’d avoid colleges like JHU, WashU, Amherst, Barnard, Wellesley.
I agree with those who suggest that your D should stay close to home. Even if she doesn’t end up coming home frequently during the semester, just knowing that you are a drivable distance away can be a comfort for both of you.
I will also add a vote for St. Mary’s College of Maryland. It may be a little smaller than your D wants but it definitely has access to nature and is relatively low-key while still having excellent academics. My D is there now and loves being so close to the beautiful river. I can also vouch for their mental health outreach. (I can’t message you because we are both new members but I’d be happy to answer any questions you may have).
UMBC may also be a good option. I like the size of the school and all the services there feel very accessible for students.
Lawrence is 6 miles from ATW. I wouldn’t recommend it for OP’s kid because it’s not within her desired driving window, and wouldn’t have direct flights. But you can’t get easier access to an airport.
Having worked in student services, I echo the sentiments of others that you don’t want to rely on campus mental health services. Not that the people there can’t be great - they very often are. It’s just that they’re not really set up to provide long-term mental health care. They’re available to help students get through more acute mental health crises and to connect them to more robust systems if they need long-term care. You still want them to be good and able to respond in an acute crisis in which your daughter may need assistance, but also good in the sense that they are connected/tapped into local resources and can help her find a good provider covered by your insurance.
But it’s totally possible to be in a low-stress, supportive environment that’s still academically challenging and helps her learn and grow. I went to a small LAC (and a women’s college) that had an environment like this - although the students were generally high-achieving young women, we weren’t very competitive, so the college culture was more like one big collaborative sisterhood. It was a safety for me, but I consistently found myself challenged by my classmates in a variety of different ways. The low-stress environment also freed me up to pursue a lot of extracurricular interests and participate in research, which led me to my PhD and my current career. Students definitely don’t need to be in a high-stress or elite environment in order to thrive and grow.
Goucher or Towson would be a little too close to home, I think. They are not close enough to be workable for a daily commute, but still very close to lots of relatives who (I fear) may feel entitled to drop in whenever they want (not in a good way…)
I’ve been thinking a bit further (but still close) like Hood or St Mary’s of MD, although they are both on the small side.
As safety-range admissions a bit farther from meddling family members, could Salisbury work? I have heard good things about Salisbury’s response for one student’s medical situation, and terrific big-fish-in-small-pond academic mentoring for another student in the sciences. Happykid also had HS classmates who were very happy at Frostburg.
You have gotten lots of good feedback, OP. Mental health services at a college are no substitute for your family’s own therapist and psychiatrist. I cannot underscore this enough. If your daughter was hospitalized and if she is on meds she needs monitoring and access to professionals who can respond immediately and adequately. If there is a good community college near you I wonder if she wouldn’t be better off taking some transition time to test the waters.
Unfortunately as already noted schools have procedures which protect students’ privacy…but there are sooooo many cases of kids falling through the crack until a crisis becomes full-blown. It’s not that it’s not required for parents to be notified…it’s that legally, the requirement is for parents not to be notified. You will not see your kid’s report card, or know that they are in the school’s mental health treatment, or hear from the RA or his/her advisor that they have stopped showing up for class. No roommate will call you. This is not at one or two schools – this is everywhere.
I would caution that before you start settling on schools, consider whether attending a 4 year college is in her best interest at this time. If she/you/her health professionals discern that it is, be ready to change plans the second it is no longer safe for her.
iwantalltheinfo, I realize you said that your daughter may not be interested in Florida, but I would consider the New College of Florida. It is an excellent school, and their non-grading policy makes it a very collaborative, stress-free environment.
^I disagree: a kid with very high test scores and academic achievement may well hurt from the lack of intellectual stimulation in community college as well as the fact she’s forced to attend. One’s mental health also depends on being surrounded by intellectual peers.
The key issue is finding peers that are collaborative and down-to-earth, and a college that is overall supportive, close enough to a good hospital.
However parents should make it clear with their kids that they must waive their FERPA rights or they won’t allow the kid to attend “sleep away” college.
OP could email admissions from a throw-away account “My child is considering applying to your college. Due to serious health issues, there needs to be a good hospital nearby. Which hospital do your students use, how far is it, and does the college arrange transportation if need be?”
Right now I’m thinking of Case Western, which is right by a hospital, but would need to check my notes to see how collaborative it is. Rhodes College is right by St Jude’s.
You don’t have to ask the college which hospital to go to. It’s 2018. Google is your friend. No, the college does not provide transportation to the hospital. Ambulance, if necessary. Uber. Or a friend.
When we visited University of San Diego I was struck by how positive the atmosphere was–the sun, stunningly beautiful campus, fabulous temperature, proximity to ocean, small class size, medium size (less than 6000 undergrad), good academics without super pressure. Fifteen minutes from major airport. Just seemed like all stars aligned to maximize positive college experience. So beautiful, filled the soul just to be there. Maybe coming off a ridiculously long Chicago winter exaggerated the effect, but I thought USD was almost a gift to the psyche. Something to be said for the benefits of sun. My daughter is pretty grounded to begin with, but I think the school would be a balm to the stressed or depressed. Maybe worth considering a visit and app. Out of twelve for twelve acceptances to a wide variety of great schools, this was the one that won D’s heart.
I have a D who attended the University of Richmond, and she actually had a wonderful experience with its counseling center, when she needed help with anxiety and panic attacks. She started off doing ok as a freshman and developed issues during her sophomore year. She had a wonderful, suportive counselor whom she saw regularly until she graduated. She also was available to my D via video chat/email during a semester spent studying abroad. My D also took yoga and other exercise classes at the campus gym to help with anxiety/stress. Additionally, she had an academic advisor/mentor who was super supportive. UR has a large endowment for a school of its size, and I think healthy finances do help bolster resources available for students.
UR does also have a nice optional pre-orientation program for students, with several program/activity options, called Roadmaps, which allow students to move in several days before the rest of the students arrive for orientation. It was a nice way for my 2 Ds who attended UR to ease into college life with a little less pressure.
Being part of a Living and Learning Community can also be a good way to lessen the stress of adjusting to college and finding friends who have common interests.
@brantly: this depends on the university (my university provided an ambulance for instance - I’m guessing also the university doesn’t want the liability of leaving a student who looks like they have something urgent and dire, in the hands of a few undergrads. I’m not talking of a drunk kid).
Furthermore, their reponse may be informative as to the way they treat students who suffer from any sort of illness, if one reads between the lines.
I agree that being part of a LLC is a terrific way to make friends and get accustomed to college.
Health and Wellness communities are usually offered everywhere.
If the situation is foreseeable, and large numbers of students are at risk, as in the known frat tailgate parties on game days at Big 10 schools, for example, then yes, the university has ambulances waiting at the ready. I am not a lawyer, but I highly doubt universities have legal exposure if they don’t provide hospital transport to a student having a medical emergency at a random time. In days past, colleges acted in loco parentis. That’s not the case now.