U of Michigan drops first-semester grades to ‘curb mental health crisis’ • Hacker News Board

Re: U of Michigan drops first-semester grades to ‘curb mental health crisis’

#551

Post by s1artibartfast » Thu, Aug 13, 2026, 4:29 PM UTC

csa wrote: post #516

s1artibartfast wrote: post #497

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 ES…

> 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. Yeah. We are talking about different types of schools. For one, Cal and UCLA both admit a lot of students. It’s just not as competitive. Additionally, it’s fairly easy for a decent grinder student to go to a feeder JuCo and transfer to either of these schools (whic…

I understand the distinction, and agree the students are different.

I just don't think every student has what it takes to be a good fit at Stanford.

For this reason and the low admission, I don't think betting the farm on an academic strategy tailored for Stanford is a good idea for most students or parents.

Re: U of Michigan drops first-semester grades to ‘curb mental health crisis’

#552

Post by halls-940 » Thu, Aug 13, 2026, 6:29 PM UTC

dghlsakjg wrote: post #473

halls-940 wrote: post #249

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When you look at real wages vs cost of living and the trend line is down and showing no signs of ever going back up, the question will I be able to afford the resources to survive and have a family, will my kids be able to afford a home, that's the growing uncertainty.

Here's the actual data broken out for a variety of locations (I see someone else found the whole country): https://fred.stlouisfed.org/release?rid=439 The data don't support the story you are telling, at least not on a 17 year time scale. Most places including LA and New York actually show the opposite. Real wages are rising faster than cost of living in the long term just about everywhere in the US. I understand the…

You're conflating income and wages. People are working more hours so income increases while wages are flat. And people who aren't full-time aren't counted in that income figure.

Re: U of Michigan drops first-semester grades to ‘curb mental health crisis’

#553

Post by recursivecaveat » Thu, Aug 13, 2026, 7:20 PM UTC

InitialLastName wrote: post #336

tdeck wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have heard that it began to try to keep certain ethnic groups out of university and continued because sports bring in scholarship and (for D1 schools) sponsor money.

Not just ethnic groups. Schools mostly can't say "we only want rich people" but they definitely want to prefer students who will contribute to the donation revenue stream either themselves or through their parents. Signals like "doesn't have a job to take up their time in high school" and "parents can afford (and have the free time to enable) expensive, time-consuming activities" are really good proxies for that.

Yes, absolutely. The kids who can assemble a resume of primo extra-ciriculars and volunteer experience are the ones from wealthy and well-connected families. Even the kids who can write the best essays about their troubled upbringings are the ones with access to lots of coaching lol. If they just have to be smart and show up for their government mandated 7 hours of classes, the poor kids can keep up. They can't keep up with another 5 hours of homework and resume-sweeteners every day.

Re: U of Michigan drops first-semester grades to ‘curb mental health crisis’

#554

Post by Synthetic7346 » Thu, Aug 13, 2026, 7:35 PM UTC

smcg wrote: post #383

KPGv2 wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the sports and clubs are stressful, your kid should find other activities. I did everything you mentioned in the nineties and aughts (my sport was year round and coach expected us to travel on our own dime to tournaments that lasted the entire weekend at least four times in the summer, and during the school year I was out of town most Sat-Sun at tournaments, which take way more time than the couple hours a volleyb…

I'm not sure that you understand how competitive, say, youth sports are. It's not seen as purely recreation, it is seen as a necessary pillar of advancement. Parents don't spend all this time and money sending their kids on travel teams for no reason.

I did not grow up in the US. I assume it was different in the 90s?

Re: U of Michigan drops first-semester grades to ‘curb mental health crisis’

#555

Post by pickleRick243 » Thu, Aug 13, 2026, 7:38 PM UTC

hirvi74 wrote: post #307

iamnothere wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We need to normalize a gap year, or at least a gap semester. Young adults need a break after the pressure of graduation and college admissions, and whether it’s work or travel, some perspective helps ground the college experience and make it a choice instead of an obligation. In my experience, many freshmen treated their first year as a gap year anyways, especially if they took difficult senior classes. First year cl…

I wish the US had mandatory conscription. Not necessarily military conscription, but kind of like the German model where you either do military service or public service (if I remember correctly). I sure could have used the maturity, the money, and the time when I was younger. I learned the hard way that attending college when you have no idea what you want to do only delays your graduation date (major change absolut…

So because you personally needed extra time to mature, you want to force a nationwide measure to force everyone to do the same? No one is stopping anyone from taking a year off before applying to college.