I am trying to decide to which schools to apply. I realize I will be stressed before exams, but I do not wish to be stressed everyday. I would like to be happy and have fun in college. I am looking at highly selective schools. I was wondering if students who go to these schools could tell me about their stress/happiness levels. Thanks.
It depends on the school, and also maybe your major. What schools and major are you looking at?
Any selective school will have its share of neurotic, “overachieving” students who thrive on stress, maybe even need it to function. But by the same token, you’ll find at those schools students who have a more balanced view of life. And depending on which group you choose to spend time with, your own experience of the school will vary.
Schools that are known for collaboration and community are more likely to have a balanced feel, such as Haverford and Grinnell.
I think your stress level will be more dependent on the pressure you put on yourself and the people you choose to hang around with than the school you attend.
This site lists schools regarded as the happiest by the Princeton Review:
http://poetsandquantsforundergrads.com/2014/08/12/universities-with-the-happiest-students/
You might also want to consider first-year retention rate, which can be easily looked-up and may indicate student satisfaction.
@merc81 Here is a more recent link:
http://www.collegechoice.net/colleges-with-happiest-freshman/
It depends on your major. Engineering will be stressful at any school. It also depends on your personality. Highly selective schools will have more high-achievers then less selective schools.
This depends on SO many factors, but largely the individual. Some programs are known as grinds, but there are LOTS of selective schools that aren’t. Be well organized and efficient in your study time and all will go well.
If. You are very worried about this don’t enroll in a school you are below the median ACT/SAT and GPA.
You want to easily “fit in” and be prepared to work at your studies.
@moscott 's link only based happiness on freshmen retention rate and graduation rate. UVA is ranked high up on the list, but everyone from my area didn’t like their experience there. Of course they aren’t representative of the whole student body, but I’m just trying to demonstrate how these lists can be faulty. There are better ways to get a feel for the college and student life: go visit, look up each website individually, discover if they have clubs/opportunities that interest you, and contact alumni or look at current student opinions…
I have a kid at Northwestern…I hear plenty of anecdotes about people leaving football and basketball games at halftime or skipping social events in order to study. While there are exceptions, I think that colleges roughly in the US News “National Universities” rankings 25-50 would tend to offer both excellent academics and ample leisure time.
There are also plenty of schools roughly in the 50-100 range that offer a good education & a really robust social life.
@agentaquastar “everyone from my area didn’t like their experience there.”. Aren’t you still in high school? It is hard to believe that " everyone" from your area in Virginia did not like UVa. It is not for everyone and of course some will not have a good experience, but one of my sons loved his time there, as did many of his friends and alumni we know.
@sevmom yes I am in high school, so I agree that I have a skewed perception of the school. The siblings of alumni, currents students that I work with during the summer, and even my teacher who went to UVA have all had pretty negative reviews of the school. It could be bc we all come from a non competitive, “lower” average income area, so the culture shift and class difficulty is just a little shocking. I admittedly still haven’t made a visit yet myself, so anything I say about the school is faulty. I just wanted op to know that happiness at a college is all dependent on what the student wants and pursues.
Yes, fit is very important. And definitely, UVa is not for everyone. Virginia Tech seems to have a more laid back “culture” It was a better fit for my other son. With UVa, Virginia Tech, and William & Mary as options, we re lucky in Virginia. And of course you can also look at privates . Good luck!
Honestly, i feel it is really dependent on yourself. There are stressed out and unhappy kids at every school. Of course, highly selective schools will have more students who are used to the competitive academic nature and thus there is a bigger pressure of “feeling like the inadequate kid among the rest”, or not doing well in notoriously tough classes + curves. But it’s really all about MINDSET.
While there might be more “work” at a highly selective school, if you desire to be happy, I am certain you CAN depending on how you act/what you do. The happiest kids are those who have surrounded themselves with many friends and classmates to have a good time with, and who can support them if they ever feel stressed. There are so many ways to utilize school resources, activities, and events. If you realize college is one of the greatest times of your life I’m sure you will find yourself focusing and seeing that aside from the schoolwork and studying, you will be having a blast from the other aspects if you do it correctly.
Unless you must get a 4.0 GPA and into Harvard Med, you shouldn’t have to feel a super immense pressure to perform that well academically. Even so, there are Pre-Med kids I know who are still having a blast and feeling HAPPY despite their academic pressures, and why?: because of the above paragraph and Mindset.
other remarks:
(The kids who I’ve noticed fall apart the most academically are the ones that are NOT happy aka miserable all the time or the ones that have made careless decisions. Also, not feeling happy vs Depression is a huge difference. Obviously, depression would be an actual mental health disorder out of your control and you would need to see a doctor)
Some schools have a consistently good reputation for creating a social and academic environment that encourages student happiness. You might want to review the Princeton Review’s annual ratings for “Happiest Students” and “Overall Quality of Life.”
I’d certainly suggest that you give strong consideration to applying to Rice. During the past four years (2014-2017), Rice has been ranked #2, #6, #9, and #1 in PR’s “Happiest Students” category.
My daughter (a rising junior) has been very happy there, and Rice’s reputation for combining elite academics with a collaborative atmosphere was one of the factors they swayed her decision to enroll there.
Thanks everyone. This has been very helpful.