Billionaire Palantir cofounder calls elite college undergrads a 'loser generation' as data reveals rise in students seeking support for disabilities | Fortune

"That reality is showing up on a campus. A growing share of college students are seeking medical evaluations for ADHD, anxiety, and depression-and requesting academic accommodations such as extended time on exams and papers. At some of the country's selective universities, the numbers are striking: more than 20% of undergraduates at Brown and Harvard are registered as disabled. At UMass Amherst, it's 34%; Stanford, 38%, according to data analyzed by The Atlantic."

"While it's clear that many students requesting accommodations do so for legitimate medical reasons and that increased diagnoses may reflect greater mental-health awareness, some experts have raised concerns about overdiagnosis and whether universities are making it too easy for students to qualify. And the debate has set off a wildfire on social media this week, catching the attention of high-profile business leaders, including Joe Lonsdale, the billionaire venture capitalist and Palantir cofounder."

"Lonsdale's response offered no sympathy. "Loser generation," he wrote in reaction to a graph showing the rising number of undergraduate students reporting disabilities. "At Stanford it's a hack for housing though and at some point I get it, even if it's not my personal ethics. Terrible leadership from the university." He argued that families have been slowly using disability accommodations to give their children an academic advantage-when they might not actually need it."

More students are seeking medical evaluations for ADHD, anxiety, and depression and requesting academic accommodations such as extended time on exams and papers. At selective universities more than 20% of undergraduates at Brown and Harvard are registered as disabled; UMass Amherst reports 34% and Stanford 38%. Many students seeking accommodations have legitimate medical reasons and increased diagnoses may reflect greater mental-health awareness. Some experts raise concerns about overdiagnosis and whether universities make qualifying too easy. The debate escalated on social media and drew criticism from figures like Joe Lonsdale, who accused families of gaming accommodations for advantage.

Read at Fortune