As a parent, I would a thousand times rather my child be a mentally stable barista than a questionably stable Stanford student. In fact, having recently intera

As a parent, I would a thousand times rather my child be a mentally stable barista than a questionably stable Stanford student. In fact, having recently interacted with the Standard undergraduate body, I feel quite sorry for most of them because it's such a terrible pressure cooker stress environment. My primary goal for my child is for her to be a whole person. If she can do that at Stanford, fine. If she can do that at Starbucks, fine. Instead of helicoptering her into an Ivy League depression, I'm focusing on making sure we're financially stable enough to be a cushion for the inevitable times when she fails while trying to find her own way in life. I say this from experience, coming from a family where ivy league tier educations are normal--and so is depression.