My kid wants a low stress, low competition college experience. Which of these schools really have that kind of vibe?
All great schools. As far as I know, all of them are collaborative and none of them has a cut-throat competitive atmosphere. My D is at Amherst and found friendly study groups for every class. The professors and other students are all very supportive. It’s still very difficult, because the expectation for what constitutes Amherst level quality of work is high, the other students are motivated and well prepared, and the professors know who you are. So in that sense it’s not “low stress” because you can’t just slide through without putting in the effort.
I suspect it is much the same at all of these schools, but I can only speak to Amherst.
My D is at Pomona and I would say “ditto” to the comments of @ThankYouforHelp about Amherst. The atmosphere is collaborative, not cutthroat competitive. Talking about grades is definitely frowned upon (actually moaning about low grades is ok but bragging about high grades is a big no-no). My D just finished several midterms and was definitely studying with other students, especially for her linear algebra class. All the schools you mentioned are highly selective with high expectations of the quality of work. Some students are also just more susceptible to stress. Stress can come from a lot of other factors besides the academic demands or the campus vibe, like financial stress, family or relationship problems, trouble adjusting to college life, etc. But academically there are a lot of resources on campus at Pomona, like the writing center and the quantitative skills center, where you can go for help when you need it. And the professors are very available and helpful. My D and a classmate just had lunch with their foreign policy professor.
I’m gonna say, Brown and Wesleyan, for sure.
As per my knowledge Amherst is little competitive so try to avoid tat