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

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

#241

Post by giantg2 »

alephnerd wrote: post #185
ungreased0675 wrote: post #175

The University of Michigan has around a 15% acceptance rate. How is it possible that they’re letting in kids who aren’t ready to do college level work? What are they selecting for?

Do you know what it takes to get admitted into Mich tier programs in 2026? Kids will take multiple APs (taking 10+ isn't unheard of, and in a lot of high schools is expected), do multiple extracurriculars (debate, MUN, DECA sports, academic olympiads, theatre), volunteering (NHS, CSF, etc), and even take college classes in high school. On top of that while tests are optional, most students still submit their SAT and…

"So many HNers complain about how the younger generation is hyper-competitive yet when universities start taking steps to help reduce that they start kvetching."

Dropping a semester of grades is a cover up for the symptoms, not a fix. A better fix would be stress management and realistic expectations. Building your identity or self-worth around going to a particular school is the insane part. It's great to have big goals, but you have to separate those goals from defining you. It seems many kids today don't make that distinction. Pick a cheap state school with a decent program, get a scholarship, and start living life. All this prestige and pedigree is the type of stuff we should be trying to destroy.

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

#242

Post by alephnerd »

kaladin-jasnah wrote: post #235
alephnerd wrote: post #226

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because in America, Ivy versus non-Ivy isn't the distinction. What matters is your major and whether it is a well respected program. A CS@Texas student will have the ability to open the exact same doors professionally and prestige wise as a CS@Brown student. You have Ivies, Ivy Tier Privates (Stanford, Chicago, Duke, USC, Caltech, MIT, NYU, Northwestern, Georgetown, CMU), and Public Ivies (Cal, UCLA, UCSD, Mich, UIUC…

My impression was NYU had a high(er?) acceptance rate. Not saying they are a bad school, since the people I know there are super sharp, but still.

7% acceptance rate. They're selective.

The "NYU/USC is a party school" trope is from back in the 1990s (aka 2 generations ago).

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

#243

Post by locallost »

AngryData wrote: post #4

It sounds okay at first glance, but how many people are going to get saddled with an extra semester of debt now because they didn't figure out they weren't suite/ready for college yet but were just passed along through the first semester anyways?

The same amount of people maybe that will not have quit and would go on to thrive. Two sides of the same coin. If you want to go to the bottom of it, it's wrong answers only.

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

#244

Post by jasonlotito »

naasking wrote: post #199
cogman10 wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a pretty different environment going from high school to college. There's a dynamic change that's pretty sudden where your parents are no long really in the picture for support. What they are trying to do is keep the kids that would otherwise do well but might freak out in the first semester. Seems pretty fine to me especially since those are grades that if we are being honest really don't matter anyways.

The coddling is a big problem these days, and this focus on mental health is itself unhealthy. The assessment that "they would otherwise do well" is speculative, at best.

> this focus on mental health is itself unhealthy.

Yes. We should ignore things like school shootings, which have long been described as the result of mental health issues. Ignore PTSD. Soldiers can just pull themselves up by their bootstraps. By all means, ignore the mental health of a rape victim or a child abuse victim. They can just tough it out. Clearly, that's the better strategy.

Oh, and you've been working in this field for how long?

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

#246

Post by red-iron-pine »

mrngld wrote: post #122
odyssey7 wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apart from the notion of a moral obligation that may now seem quaint and old-fashioned, you’re talking about their customers who are paying for an education. The responsibility rests partly on the school for solving these challenges. Declaring students “weeds” would tell you all you need to know about the place.

If it's simply pay to win then the value of a degree from an institution falls to absolutely zero. If the product a student is buying is a credential that's supposed to say "I know and can do things, pay me money please" then in order for that credential to fulfill its objective then low performing and mediocre students ("weeds") need to be filtered out. Otherwise, employers and the wider world will quickly realize t…

see also: the we-take-anyone online degree mill problem

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

#247

Post by cogman10 »

nobodyandproud wrote: post #237
cogman10 wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a pretty different environment going from high school to college. There's a dynamic change that's pretty sudden where your parents are no long really in the picture for support. What they are trying to do is keep the kids that would otherwise do well but might freak out in the first semester. Seems pretty fine to me especially since those are grades that if we are being honest really don't matter anyways.

U of M. is doing no favors to its students. While it's a different environment, that's part of growing up. Once you're on your own nobody coddles you and it can be brutal.

What harm exactly do you think giving a single semester reprieve is going to cause these students?

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

#248

Post by t-3 »

Uncle_Brumpus wrote: post #224
naasking wrote: post #202

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's less certain about modern environments compared to past ones?

I definitely didn't have to wonder if my career choice would be invalidated by AI by the time I graduate.

No, you would have to worry about your job being sent/lost to Mexico, Japan, China, etc. Now those jobs are already lost and we have a different vulnerability. Same story, different clothes.

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

#249

Post by halls-940 »

anself wrote: post #227
wolttam wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Live in an overall less uncertain environment?

It’s not actually less certain now than it was then. It’s just the media has gotten louder. Cuban missilie crisis, civil rights, world wars, nuclear weapons, it has all been happening for a while.

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.

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

#250

Post by giantg2 »

Uncle_Brumpus wrote: post #224
naasking wrote: post #202

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's less certain about modern environments compared to past ones?

I definitely didn't have to wonder if my career choice would be invalidated by AI by the time I graduate.

The possible end result isn't that much different than the threat of wars or the financial crises - no job, possible death, etc.
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