The Daily Princetonian: Survey finds almost half of students report feeling depressed

Colleges and Universities A-Z Princeton University
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<p>The</a> COMBO Series: Survey finds almost half of students report feeling depressed - The Daily Princetonian</p>

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The COMBO Series: Survey finds almost half of students report feeling depressed</p>

<p>The first in a three-part series on the findings of the most recent COMBO survey
By ANGELA WANG AND ANNA MAZARAKIS
STAFF WRITERS</p>

<p>Published: Tuesday, April 23rd, 2013</p>

<p>“Does Princeton exacerbate problems? Absolutely, this place is a freaking pressure cooker,” Kanwal Matharu ’13 said. “We’re all the time go, go, go. People never have time to sleep; people never have time for their friends; people never have time to take care of themselves.” </p>

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<p>Relevant news article.</p>

<p>A truer and more accurate look at the collective mental health of students at Princeton than the poorly carried out Business Insider article that used faulty retention rate percentages to determine "happiness." Straight from The Daily Princetonian.</p>

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<p>The difficulty with this article is that it offers no comparative to other universities. It also does not define “depression” or “mental health issues” from a medical perspective. I would take it with a serious grain of salt. </p>

<p>When I was in university (not at an Ivy League school) I would say the level of stress and difficulty coping with the workload was also significant for many students that I knew. </p>

<p>Yes the academic demands are high at Princeton, but consideration needs to be given to the fact that Princeton likely admits a high percentage of “type A” students who place exceptionally high demands on themselves. </p>

<p>My son who is a BSE student and also a varsity athlete has gone through some growing pains in his first year as well. He went through a period of feeling extremely stressed and worried that he would “fail out”. At the end of his first semester he had a very good GPA and began to accept that he would no longer be a 4.0 student while at Princeton. His schedule and academic demands are much higher than many students at the university and he has learned to accept that he simply needs to do his best and take time for friends and social events - yes, even when the work is not finished. The reality is that it never is. </p>

<p>People who cannot accept being less than perfect will find Princeton extremely stressful because the curriculum is designed to push the very top students. But the myriad opportunities and excellent academic teaching and support are worth a great deal.</p>

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<p>Well, here are some comparisons for you: :)</p>

<p>No doubt any educational experience that stretches you and encourages you to grow is going to be stressful. Any university that doesn’t do that is wasting your tuition money. This is also nothing unique to Princeton. The vast majority of college students feel stress and are sometimes depressed. Here are just a few stories about this same subject at Princeton’s closest peer schools:</p>

<p>Harvard: </p>

<p>“We face a relentless grind of midterms and papers. We intentionally place ourselves in a position of sleep deprivation. And we even compete with others about who has the worst workload at any given time.</p>

<p>Our culture has received a lot of needed attention recently, from inadequate mental health services to the inherent competition created by over 6,000 of the most ambitious and gifted students in the country. But the academic environment has failed to enter these discussions.”</p>

<p>[Sections</a> and Stress | Opinion | The Harvard Crimson](<a href=“Sections and Stress | Opinion | The Harvard Crimson”>Sections and Stress | Opinion | The Harvard Crimson)</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/45892-poll-harvard-students-mostly-unhappy.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/45892-poll-harvard-students-mostly-unhappy.html&lt;/a&gt; </p>

<p>[Student</a> life at Harvard lags peer schools, poll finds - The Boston Globe](<a href=“http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2005/03/29/student_life_at_harvard_lags_peer_schools_poll_finds/]Student”>http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2005/03/29/student_life_at_harvard_lags_peer_schools_poll_finds/)</p>

<p>[Mental-Health</a> Breakdown: When Harvard Fails Its Students - The Daily Beast](<a href=“Mental-Health Breakdown: When Harvard Fails Its Students”>Mental-Health Breakdown: When Harvard Fails Its Students)</p>

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<p>Stanford: </p>

<p>“38.2% of Stanford students experienced distress.” In response to a survey question about how often they feel “anxious” or “tense” an average of only 9% of Stanford undergraduates responded “never”. The remaining 91% responded that they were “sometimes”, “often” or “always” stressed.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.stanford.edu/~davies/Stanford%20Student%20Health%20Profile%20April%202011.PPT.pdf[/url]”>http://www.stanford.edu/~davies/Stanford%20Student%20Health%20Profile%20April%202011.PPT.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Yale:</p>

<p>“Stress is ubiquitous on college campuses. In a 40-university study conducted by the Associated Press, 85 percent of college students reported feeling stressed on a daily basis. And we, as frenetic Yale students, are probably even more at risk.”</p>

<p>[Stern:</a> Too stressed for success | Yale Daily News](<a href=“http://yaledailynews.com/blog/2010/02/23/stern-too-stressed-for-success/]Stern:”>Stern: Too stressed for success - Yale Daily News)</p>

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<p>In fact, ask any group of young people (whether or not they are in college) whether they are “sometimes” depressed and you’re going to get at least half of them responding with a “yes”.</p>

<p>Nevertheless, students at all of the above universities will also say that they are having a great deal of fun!</p>

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<p>Potential applicants shouldn’t underestimate the academic rigor of selective colleges. I’m afraid many of the kids who want to be “chanced for Ivies and other top schools” on this site don’t fully understand what they’re wishing for.</p>

<p>DS is at Princeton and DD is at another T10 school. Both were well prepared for a rigorous college experience; both were recognized as National and State AP Scholars. Still, they were both surprised by the demands of college. This isn’t anything like HS AP classes.</p>

<p>I’ve never seen any signs of depression, or any signs of slacking. Like Cantiger’s S, a STEM major and varsity athletics have kept DS very busy.</p>