Didn't UCSC try something like this? And didn't it not have net positive results?
U of Michigan drops first-semester grades to ‘curb mental health crisis’
491–497 of 497 posts
Re: U of Michigan drops first-semester grades to ‘curb mental health crisis’
#492Earlier quoted context omitted.
> My neighborhood and social circle have a number of high school age children, some aiming for high ranking universities. > None of them have these grueling 15 hour day schedules you’re describing. Hate to break it to you mate but none of them are getting in. Anyone who lives in a neighborhood with a high proportion of kids making it to the Ivy league and other top schools knows exactly what this guy is talking about…
> Anyone who lives in a neighborhood with a high proportion of kids making it to the Ivy league and other top schools knows exactly what this guy is talking about. The person whose view you endorse supports what many parents believe. I’ve seen how the sausage is made, and he has it (mostly) wrong. Many people seem to think that being more above average is the key to elite school admissions. It helps, and it’s directi…
The catch is that it is harder to brute force being truly exceptional in one thing. That often requires talent and predisposition.
Grinding 15 hours a day is a more realistic option for most children and parents.
Re: U of Michigan drops first-semester grades to ‘curb mental health crisis’
#493When you force high school kids to work days that are significantly longer than a normal adult to achieve a good GPA and get into a good college, you can expect that they are going to throttle back once they're away from home with way more free time than is normal. From my kid's experience: she was up at 6:30am, in AP classes by 7:30am (three more to go during the day). Classes were done by 3:00, then sports practice…
> When you force high school kids to work days that are significantly longer than a normal adult to achieve a good GPA and get into a good college, My neighborhood and social circle have a number of high school age children, some aiming for high ranking universities. None of them have these grueling 15 hour day schedules you’re describing. I don’t even know of a high school around me that starts at 7:30AM. What unive…
My middle school circa 2004 in CT started at 7:30am. Similarly I was on swim team and we started practice around 5:30am in a Seattle suburb.
Re: U of Michigan drops first-semester grades to ‘curb mental health crisis’
#494Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Anyone who lives in a neighborhood with a high proportion of kids making it to the Ivy league and other top schools knows exactly what this guy is talking about. The person whose view you endorse supports what many parents believe. I’ve seen how the sausage is made, and he has it (mostly) wrong. Many people seem to think that being more above average is the key to elite school admissions. It helps, and it’s directi…
The catch is that it is harder to brute force being truly exceptional in one thing. That often requires talent and predisposition. Grinding 15 hours a day is a more realistic option for most children and parents.
> The catch is that it is harder to brute force being truly exceptional in one thing. That often requires talent and predisposition.
That’s true for sports, music, and academics, but I think “grinding” exceptional leadership can be a thing. It’s very learnable, and effort often times makes the difference.
Some simple examples I’ve seen in various forms:
- starting a meaningful business or non-profit
- starting a meaningful arts or sports experience (literary magazine, regional film festival, regional sports event/tournament, etc.)
- many/most substantial Eagle Scout projects (not all are substantial enough)
The heuristic I tell people to use is this — the reader of the application will go “no kidding… I’d really like to talk to this person and learn more about this” (aka “have a beer with them” type of sentiment)
> Grinding 15 hours a day is a more realistic option for most children and parents.
See above… grind at the right thing. Full-time grinding academics is a fools errand unless the applicant can demonstrate their competence at a regional level, if not national or international level.
Re: U of Michigan drops first-semester grades to ‘curb mental health crisis’
#495Earlier quoted context omitted.
> sports practice until 5:00. Gotta have that activity on your college application, not counting other volunteering and clubs in the open spaces. Still baffles me why is that even a thing that's considered at the colleges. I thought it was just a relic of Soviet past but no, apparently it exists in the US and other first world countries as well for some strange reason.
It really isn't. I've never played formalized sports in my life and had no problem getting into multiple universities (yes, a few decades ago but I doubt if society has become more sports driven; on the contrary people often say that due to the tech boom we now live in an era where if anything, unsporty nerds have too much power)
A few decades ago is a millennium in college admissions for top schools. I went to a top 20 university. My kid, who was a way better hs student than I was and state ranked in music with a ISEF engineering award couldn’t get into any of his top 10 schools. Got waitlisted as a dual legacy from my university and ultimately settled for a top 35 school.
It was during COVID, when testing didn’t happen and schools had to rely on gut feel and high school reputation, so that may have played a role too.
He’s started his career now and wondering what to do with all his free time after eight years of living on six hours of sleep or less.
Re: U of Michigan drops first-semester grades to ‘curb mental health crisis’
#496When you force high school kids to work days that are significantly longer than a normal adult to achieve a good GPA and get into a good college, you can expect that they are going to throttle back once they're away from home with way more free time than is normal. From my kid's experience: she was up at 6:30am, in AP classes by 7:30am (three more to go during the day). Classes were done by 3:00, then sports practice…
> When you force high school kids to work days that are significantly longer than a normal adult to achieve a good GPA and get into a good college, My neighborhood and social circle have a number of high school age children, some aiming for high ranking universities. None of them have these grueling 15 hour day schedules you’re describing. I don’t even know of a high school around me that starts at 7:30AM. What unive…
A previous grade school my kids attended (a public school in Calgary) started at 8. They left the house at 7:40ish to go, which was pretty awful.
Eventually we wound up home schooling / remote schooling during Covid and moved to a spot where the school started much later.
Frankly though, not late enough. I let them sleep until 10 during COVID and I feel it was positive for everyone involved.
Re: U of Michigan drops first-semester grades to ‘curb mental health crisis’
#497Earlier quoted context omitted.
The catch is that it is harder to brute force being truly exceptional in one thing. That often requires talent and predisposition. Grinding 15 hours a day is a more realistic option for most children and parents.
> The catch is that it is harder to brute force being truly exceptional in one thing. That often requires talent and predisposition. That’s true for sports, music, and academics, but I think “grinding” exceptional leadership can be a thing. It’s very learnable, and effort often times makes the difference. Some simple examples I’ve seen in various forms: - starting a meaningful business or non-profit - starting a mean…
Still seems like a much more risky and challenging strategy with low chance of success.
What is the chance that a mediocre or talentless student can grind Regional success? What is the chance that mediocre and talentless parents can support that?
Grinding grades and academics is absolutely a path the top tier universities like Berkeley or UCLA, even if you won't get in the S tier private schools.
I've seen several ESL immigrant parents simply lock their kids up and make them study their way to Berkeley, despite having never graduated high school themselves.