Warning for those with a history of depression/other related psychological disorders

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
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<p>This is by no means an attempt to slander Penn and convince parents to not send their students here - but I believe that this is important information to have, for students struggling with depression as well as their parents.</p>

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<p>No one comes to Penn expecting to struggle a lot, do poorly, be miserable, maybe even get kicked out. But inevitably, it does happen to some people - it's sort of the "dark side" of Penn that no one likes to talk about (this is probably true at other schools too, but I only know about Penn).</p>

<p>Unfortunately, Penn does an extremely poor job of helping students who are struggling because of underlying psychological problems. They just want to get rid of you, because they see you as a problem for the school and nothing else. I know extremely bright people who have been expelled from Penn because of a sheer lack of direction and support. I have plenty of first-hand experience with this as well, so feel free to PM me if you'd like to know where my concerns are coming from. I was very lucky and am now doing well - and my overall Penn experience has been positive. But I want to say this: </p>

<p>STUDENTS WITH DEPRESSION: please try to plan ahead. Find a good psychiatrist in Philadelphia - NOT at Penn - as soon as you can, because that will really help things, trust me. If stress triggers your depression, don't take too many classes, even if you THINK you can handle it right now. Parties are fun, but there will ALWAYS be more of them, so if you're a little bit tired - definitely get the sleep you need instead of going out with your friends.</p>

<p>PARENTS: stay alert and pay attention for any signs of things going south. Many students are too embarrassed to talk about problems with anyone until it's too late for anyone to help, and you probably know your kid better than anyone else. Remember that they don't have to show their grades to you if they don't want to, but it doesn't hurt to ask to see them to make sure things are okay. </p>

<p>I know this is a kind of negative thread, but I've been hearing a lot of terrible stories about expelled students lately (they're almost never the people you expect) and want to help prevent it from happening to more students, if possible. Everyone at Penn is intelligent, awesome, and absolutely deserves to be here!</p>

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<p>*Weingarten Learning Resources is great if you simply don't know how to study, but useless if you're too depressed to study. Counseling and Psychological Services is perfect for students who get really stressed during midterms and finals, but not very effective for anything more long-term than that.</p>

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<p>Your thread has even more relevance now with recent events at Penn. There has been a lot of talk about fixing the support system for students with depression and other psychological problems. Are you still at Penn and would you say there has been any real progress in changing the system or providing improved support since your initial experiences? Thanks for the feedback on this important issue.</p>

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<p>This is a great topic of concern and I agree with the aforementioned statement. Do try and be proactive about these before coming to Penn. It will make your life so much better. :slight_smile: </p>

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<p>I don’t think this is overly negative at all. This does happen at Penn, unfortunately more often than you would think. However, these issues are not unique to Penn and are things most top schools have to deal with. Because of the intensity of the students and academic/extracurricular environment, pretty much all Ivys and other top school have aspects of their environments which frankly can be quite toxic. Mental illness is also a very uncomfortable subject at Penn and many students are very embarrassed to disclose these issues with their professors, acquaintances, and even their closest friends. This can have a very negative impact on both one’s academics and well being.
Hopefully CAPS will improve within the next few years since it is currently very flawed and poorly run.</p>

<p>I totally agree that you should try not to overload yourself with too many classes, it seems like everyone is doing this but it is very unhealthy and negatively impacts your learning experience. When it comes to classes, quality is much better than quantity. When I started to take fewer classes at a time (although usually three out of four being very difficult) I learned much more easily and had a better overall experience. Taking fewer classes also helped me do outstanding research and with careful planning I still was able to submatriculate. I am currently choosing between two of the very top PhD programs in my field.</p>

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<p>I think your advice is valid for any student going to any school if they already know that they are having a problem. I know students going to community college who are having the same struggles with being overwhelmed, anxiety and depression and had to drop out and get treatment. I think it has a lot to do with the age of the students, and the types of changes they are dealing with regardless of the specific school they are attending. Kids can get in over their heads no matter where they attend school, since most attend schools at the top of their ability. That is not to say that schools, including Penn shouldn’t have better services available in a timely manner to struggling students who find themselves in that situation, but I know it is more than just Penn with these issues. </p>

<p>One reason people won’t always have a plan beforehand or even think to do that is because the problem had not come up prior the the students leaving for school. That, in part is because college 18-24 is a common age for these problems to first appear. </p>

<p>And just to add to the proof of need for more services this was in The DP today. </p>

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<p>Agreed. I think it is a little unfair to pin this on Penn. My husband was the first to find a student hanging from a tree in the courtyard of a campus church when we were at Illinois. My son was in a section of Calc III that had a Class average of C-. You can imagine what this does to engineering students that got 5’s in BC calculus and perfect math scores on their ACT’s. There was always a problem or two that required original thinking. That’s just life in colleges and majors without grade inflation. Best to explain this to kids before they go off to top schools.</p>

<p>One of my best friends from college is a doctor at a college health center. She says there is an unbelievable number of Chinese students who come in complaining of stomach pains and exhaustion from the amount of pressure they suffer from. She says that their are quite a few who come in more than once a semester.</p>