We should probably have seen this coming, with the rash of shootings on College and University campuses, but still, it worries me. I just read an article in U.S. News & World Report titled "Should I Mention Depression on My College Application?" and if you have a college bound child, you might want to read it too.
In a nutshell, with worries of liability and safety, more and more colleges are not only looking at grades and extra-curricular activities, but they are starting to deny admission to students that have had mental or behavioral issues as well.
In the big picture, this looks like a sound idea, but how do they determine which students or behaviors are something to worry about or just a phase or youthful indiscretion? What about those that really fell of the track, but have made steps to get back into control of their lives and their future? For example, will they look at a student's record and see that in 10th grade, their grades fell, there were some disciplinary problems, etc. and just summarily decline their application. Or will they take the time to dig deeper and realize that the student's father had died that year and they got back on track after grieving for a time.?
Another issue is reporting issues or problems. If the student doesn't disclose the problem, the school might not either. Whether to save face, keep that private school's tuition check coming, or to cover their own liability issues, many high schools do not keep records, minimize the event, or do not disclose them at all to colleges. This could lead to hiding a lot of bad apples and branding many that aren't likely to have or cause problems in the future. Also, if the student is open and honest, they could be penalized for it. There is one student mentioned in the article that was open about their story and was denied admission. The student wrote an essay about how they had battled their addiction, went into rehab, and had been clean and sober for over a year.
Then there is yet another issue that worries me…..Who is it that is making these assessments? Chances are, it is not a person that is really qualified to be making mental assessments at all. The same people that are trained to look for that great SAT score or the coach, looking for the next NCAA wonder are not the same people that should be making decisions about a person's mental health.
I am all for the safety of our college students, heck I am one, even if I am a bit older than the norm, but this is making me cringe. There has to be a better, less sweeping and vilifying way to not only protect our students, but also assure that those students that need help, get it.
In case you were wondering, this one hit home for me. In my high school record, 9th grade was a horrible year. Looking back now, you can see that was the time that I started to suffer from depression, but if you just look at the record…..it wasn't good. I was bored as heck and isolating and just didn't want to be anywhere but home. My attendance and grades suffered. Luckily, my parents switched me to a school that was a lot more challenging and eventually I was diagnosed with depression. I wasn't doing drugs or anything really bad, but just looking at the numbers, you might assume that I was. I wonder, if I were to be applying all over again with that sort of record, would I not get the acceptance letters that I received almost 20 years ago? I turned it around, but would they have seen that or accepted that?
Where do we draw the line? Is this going to set back the little bit of ground that we have gained on society's acceptance of Mental Illness as a disease and not as something to be ashamed of?
recommend this
email
print
link to this page
Comments: 28
I prefer to be an unmedicated bipolar, and suffer with the strange problems within the illness. Medication leaves me feeling slightly detached, and I can't be creative. There are a lot like me.
Would we want to short-circuit the creative genius that some bipolars have displayed by totally eradicating it?
Should there be a right to never educate it?
That's just how it worries me personally, of course.
I hate that the media is always ready to jump on the sensation of mental illness in violent crimes. The assumption that any and every mental illness carries with it an almost certain potential for violence has been proven wrong in many studies.
I can't wait for someone to start challenging this.
Gee, haven't they heard? No one is normal! Some of us just manage life's challenges more quietly than others but I've known few people who haven't needed help or had life rock them to the core - sometimes. Making mental health issues a stigma is really a disservice. Some famous and noteworthy people have had to battle depression. Mike Wallace. Rod Steiger. Neil Armstrong. J.K. Rowling. Brooke Shields. The list could go on and on...
Like you said, what about the ones that have no signs of problems until later. For example, Schizophrenia doesn't usually surface until the late teens or even later.
I wish that there was a magic test that could help us all, not just for the safety of the other students, but so that those of us with a mental disorder could get the help that they need faster.
Dave
You brought up generation, I wonder if this behavior is more of this generation or just a growing problem in general? Something to ponder....
I do really feel that this will make people clam up and the then we could possibly see a lot more problems. (they might not be violence toward others, but a higher rate of suicides and self injury)
It sounds like they will be shutting out certain people from obtaining a degree, and IF a depressed person was unstable (like they are claiming prety much) wouldn't a denial be asking for said person to "freak out"? Some things make ZERO sense.
Most of the shooters that I have read about had fallen through the cracks of the court system. Now if an applicant had had multiple run ins with the law, that is one thing they should question. But if someone just had a bad year, had a addiction problem that they addressed, etc. that is a whole 'nother kettle of fish in my mind. They should be applauded for their efforts to get their life back, not penalized for it!
I am all for any kind of testing that helps a person with self identification and determinism, but to deny someone access without giving them direction for help is cruel. Although the school doesn't have to help a possible student, it should give some professional direction so that the individual can receive help; if they wish it. Mental health is the last of the medical branches to get attention, even though it really should be the first.
Sounds like an "over-correction" reaction to me.