Sara Klein, vice president for student affairs at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J., shared insights recently about helping students find belonging and thrive. The responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
U.S. News: What does ‘mental health support’ look like on a campus that is doing it well?
Sara Klein: On the campuses doing this well, mental health support doesn’t start at the counseling center. It starts with belonging.
- Our job in student affairs – and really, everyone’s job at Stevens – is to help every student find their community. That’s the strongest predictor of wellness I know.
- When families are evaluating a campus, I’d look past the list of services offered by every institution and ask: How is this institution creating places where every student can see themselves? That means communities organized around what students actually care about – their hobbies, their identities, their academic and professional interests – so the people you interact with become your people at college and beyond.
- It means special offerings for students who need extra support, a first-year experience program built so no student spends the first six weeks eating alone and a network of faculty and staff who are paying attention before a student ever has to raise their hand and ask for help.
- At Stevens, Riyana Phadke helped organize New Jersey’s first student-led mental health summit. When students themselves are building the support systems, you know the culture is real.
U.S. News: Are there things families should ask during college tours to get a real sense of the campus culture and its support structure for students?
Klein: Yes – ask the questions tour guides aren’t expecting. A few I’d write down:
- “How does this campus help a student find their community in the first six weeks?” The answer should be specific, not generic.
- “What programs exist for students who might feel like outsiders here?” Strong campuses have specific answers – programs they can name and point to.
- “What do students do on a Tuesday night? On a Saturday?” Culture lives in the unstructured hours.
- “If you had the power to change one thing about this place, what would it be?” Students tend to be pretty outspoken and transparent on this topic.
- Talk to actual students who aren’t on the tour. Ask how they would describe the community on this campus, and if and how they feel welcomed. The answer to that question, more than any ranking, will tell you what you need to know.
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U.S. News: What ‘soft skills’ do you see most often lacking in incoming freshmen that could be practiced at home right now?
Klein: The ability to handle small problems without a parent. I say this as the parent of middle and high schoolers myself – I’m not pointing fingers. I know how hard it is to step back.
- The students who struggle most in the first year aren’t the ones who chose the wrong major. They’re the ones who’ve never had to email a professor, work through a roommate conflict or sit with a disappointing grade without someone fixing it for them.
- If I could give parents one piece of homework before drop-off: The next time your kid has a manageable problem, resist solving it. Let them figure it out.
- Knowing how to handle hard things, having the confidence to navigate obstacles and learning how to ask for help are the biggest predictors of success in the first year (and beyond).
U.S. News: During the college search, do you have suggestions for ways families can focus on ‘fit’ or ‘wellness’ versus ‘prestige’ or name recognition?
Klein: Prestige is real. But it’s a poor proxy for asking the one thing that actually matters: Is your student on the right campus for them?
- Every student wants and needs different things from a college experience, and every campus has a different vibe. The most selective school on your list isn’t necessarily the one where your student will find their people or thrive academically.
- So, flip the search. Instead of “How prestigious is this school?” ask “Does this feel like a place my student would actually want to spend four years?”
- And look at the recognitions that actually predict well-being. Stevens, for instance, was named one of the country’s healthiest college campuses by Active Minds.
