Social scientist Arthur Brooks reflects on his own experience sending his child to college and notes that while many people have positive memories of this time, data suggests a different reality for some students. A recent study by the Healthy Minds Network found that over one-third of U.S. college students screen positive for moderate or severe depressive symptoms. The rates of anxiety are also high, with 32-37% of Canadian and U.S. first-year students experiencing moderate to severe symptoms. Meanwhile, nearly a quarter (23%) of U.S. freshmen drop out in their first year.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-08,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
2.7 million adolescents are enrolling in college across America, with parents often viewing this as a happy and exciting moment for their children. However, social scientist Arthur Brooks, who has only taught graduate students in the past 30 years, notes that his own experience and research suggest that many students may not have positive experiences. A survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers found that 91% of college graduates would go to college again, but this statistic does not necessarily reflect the experiences of all students. Brooks suggests that the "rite of passage" of going off to college can be a challenging time for many students, particularly those from troubled backgrounds or without supportive family networks.
Written for “College Happiness Advice” on 2026-09-08,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted
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Right now, all across America, 2.7 million adolescents are abandoning their families to be raised instead by other adolescents.
right framing the decision to attend college as an abandonment of family
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despite being an academic of long standing, I don’t have much firsthand knowledge of the freshman experience, having only ever taught graduate students over the past 30 years.
left acknowledging a lack of personal experience to inform opinion
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Testimonials aside, some data bear out these positive memories.
right presenting positive testimonials as evidence
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A Healthy Minds Network study recently revealed that more than one-third of U.S. college students (37 percent) currently screen positive for moderate or severe depressive symptoms.
left presenting negative data about student mental health
Leaning score -0.35 for article 7136 (medium confidence, 4 verified quotes) · logged 2026-09-08
Right now, all across America, 2.7 million adolescents are abandoning their families to be raised instead by other adolescents.
asserted
adolescents → abandon → adolescents
We call this Lord of the Flies–like rite of passage “going off to college,” and parents believe it is one of the most exciting and happiest moments of their children’s lives.
asserted
it → call → lives
My wife and I certainly hoped so when, some years ago, we delivered our eldest child to a leafy quad in central New Jersey.
asserted
we → hop → Jersey
“You’ll have the time of your life,” I assured him.
asserted
I → have → him
Despite being an academic of long standing, I don’t have much firsthand knowledge of the freshman experience, having only ever taught graduate students over the past 30 years.
asserted
I → have → years
And neither my wife nor I had anything like a traditional college experience.
asserted
wife → have → experience
(I did my bachelor’s by distance learning in my late 20s, after taking a “gap decade”; my wife dropped out of high school at 16 to sing with a rock band.
asserted
wife → do → band
Still, all of our friends had regaled us with glowing accounts of their freshman experiences: the newfound freedom, the friendships that had lasted for decades, and the new adult identity they gained.
asserted
they → regale → decades
Testimonials aside, some data bear out these positive memories.
asserted
data → bear → memories
According to a survey of college grads by the National Association of Colleges and Employers in 2023, when asked if they would go to college again, 91 percent say they would.
uncertain
they → accord → college
And the older they get, the more graduates feel warm and fuzzy nostalgia for their college experience.
asserted
graduates → get → experience
At my own university, alumni weekends are joyful affairs at which people remember going off to school with unalloyed fondness.
asserted
people → remember → fondness
And yet, as a social scientist, I was—and am—confronted by other data showing that the actual experience for many, perhaps most, of today’s college enrollees is not consistent with those happy memories.
asserted
experience → confront → memories
A Healthy Minds Network study recently revealed that more than one-third of U.S. college students (37 percent) currently screen positive for moderate or severe depressive symptoms.
asserted
third → reveal → symptoms
Among Canadian first-year students, 27 percent have moderate to severe depressive symptoms when they enter university, rising to 33 percent by the following March.
asserted
they → have → March
Not surprisingly, many freshmen in the U.S. end up dropping out almost immediately: About 23 percent now do so in their first year.
asserted
percent → end → year
