Hi! I’m applying to Yale, Brown, Columbia, Amherst, Pomona, Swarthmore, Wesleyan, Vassar, Reed, USC, Occidental, and UIUC. I only know about Brown’s mental health support system (CAPS) and I know it’s really understaffed. I struggle with OCD, anxiety, and stress. Does anyone know about the mental health support system at any of these colleges? Could you elaborate? Also, if anyone knows of schools with a good mental health support system that would be great. I’m a future Comparative Literature major. *Please don’t recommend public schools outside of Illinois bc I won’t be able to afford them). Thank you!
With regard to mental health and general health services at colleges, a key consideration of the quality is how long it takes to get an appointment which is related to how it is staffed. You may want to dig deep into the college web sites and see if you can find a staff listing for the department. I’m going to guess that the ratio of staff to students is going to be much better at a smaller LAC.
If you have serious pre-existing conditions you may find it better to engage a private therapist in the surrounding community through your current health insurance.
I don’t know if my insurance will cover therapy and medication outside my state. Vassar’s insurance covers treatment and copays for medication for off campus treatment which is a really good system but I don’t think most colleges do that. I’m a low-income student so unfortunately, any treatment too expensive or not covered by insurance is just unaffordable.
You really need to investigate and pin down what your insurance covers out of state. Even schools with better mental health systems are not going to give you free medication and there will probably be a limit on the number of “free” visits with an on staff therapist per semester, plus you have to compete with other students for those free slots. The cost of medication will need to be covered by you so you need to make sure your existing insurance covers it, or that the college offers an insurance plan that covers it. The on campus mental health systems tend to be created to address a crisis rather than to provide long term intensive therapy.
I can give you info on Pomona because one of my D’s is there, and this will also show you that if you poke around on the school websites you can find info on each college’s student health insurance. At Pomona you are required to buy their student health insurance or be approved to waive it if you have other adequate coverage. https://www.pomona.edu/ship. For students who are on financial aid, Pomona covers half the cost of their student health insurance plan. https://www.pomona.edu/ship/financial-assistance-ship. This is the link for the Pomona plan: http://4studenthealth.ascensionins.com/plan/student-health-insurance-plan-ship-2017-2018-521/, Here’s an FAQ link: http://4studenthealth.ascensionins.com/wp-content/uploads/How-SHIP-Works-Claremont.pdf.
Students at Pomona can go to Monsour Counseling for mental health help, https://www.cuc.claremont.edu/mcaps/. Monsour provides services such as “brief individual counseling” “psychiatric medication management” and groups and workshops: http://www.cuc.claremont.edu/mcaps/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2017/03/Groups-and-Workshops.pdf. But “medication management” means prescription writing, not free medication.
As Corinthian stated, you need to spend a lot of time on the phone with each college and your insurance company to have a better understanding of what will and won’t be covered. Vassar’s website states its counseling is short-term only, and suggests students investigate their own insurance for coverage first. I don’t think you will get unlimited visits at any college or through any college insurance, though your own insurance may provide that. Medication can be quite expensive so I would investigate that. If you believe extensive/expensive care is required, you may wish to re-assess your college list to in-state or those places where your insurance is applicable.
If your folks are based in Illinois, why not stay close to home? Northwestern perhaps? If you prefer a LAC, why not Grinnell, or Kenyon, or Oberlin?
Student services are neither staffed nor funded for provision of ongoing service for students requiring ongoing mental health services. The wait time for appointments can be long and prescription renewal is unusual.
However, schools with training for doctoral-level clinical psychologists or with medical schools training psychiatrists may have clinics you could use.
I strongly suggest that you sign permission for special services such health and counseling allowing these offices to contact each other in emergencies. I would also specify and sign when your parents could be contacted. Of courses, I would restrict consent or denyr these offices to take calls from your parents. There is a clear difference between providing emergency services without involving police and checkups from parents about their adult child.
By the way, we are adult children for many year and eventually find we are official next of kin by love and necessity.