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’

#541

Post by matthewdgreen » Thu, Aug 13, 2026, 1:57 PM UTC

locknitpicker wrote: post #498

matthewdgreen wrote: post #463

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Ivy League (and top-tier) situation is out of control, and genuinely raises questions about whether institutions like this should exist.

> The Ivy League (and top-tier) situation is out of control, and genuinely raises questions about whether institutions like this should exist. You're posting in a discussion where a hefty share of all posters are openly stating these schools being by far their top choice. Don't you think this correlates with demand for one of the limited spots they open each year? What do you think would happen if Ivy League schools…

What I think should happen is that these schools should increase their class sizes to match demand, rather than keeping them artificially low in order to game acceptance criteria. I think it’s a systematic societal failure that we’ve created the incentives for educational institutions to optimize for these metrics and exclusivity, rather than to educate people.

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

#542

Post by ndriscoll » Thu, Aug 13, 2026, 2:10 PM UTC

fn-mote wrote: post #537

ndriscoll wrote: post #478

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean I've done very well in my life; my wife and I both moved up several classes, but I take ownership of educating my kids. My oldest started kindergarten today, but she's already a couple years ahead, and she's only really in school for social reasons. I don't think school is going to help you to avoid being duped. In fact, if these "elite" educations cost as much as a house, that is the first scam to avoid. Poor…

> one with strong social pressures against […] casual relationships . !! Not at all how I expected this to end. Calling it out so skimmers can see something interesting.

Right, if you're at the level where you could afford the fanciest credentials, you don't actually need them. Then if you're upper middle class (so you don't have unlimited money, but they don't need the credentials), you need to ask why you'd send your kids to college at all. If you've raised an Ivy-calibre kid, presumably they can self-teach with the infinite resources available, so it's not about education.

So the obvious reason for a decently well off family to send their kids to university is because it is far and away the best way to find the person they will marry. Casual dating squanders that opportunity (and promiscuity is linked to higher divorce rates if they do eventually find someone), and they'll never have that chance again. No different from giving your kid a trust to live on and watching them spend it on drugs and partying.

If you're economically secure, immersion in a culture that normalizes positive values is the most important thing you can buy. In fact from that perspective, the hyper-competitive and ambitious culture (to the detriment of e.g. a fulfilling family life) of the Ivys is likely undesirable.

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

#543

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Aug 13, 2026, 2:21 PM UTC

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…

[deleted]

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

#544

Post by Fire-Dragon-DoL » Thu, Aug 13, 2026, 2:48 PM UTC

bko wrote: post #521

Fire-Dragon-DoL wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Children are part of hobbies. Very challenging at times, but for example I sleep with my kid hugging me, or I chat with them while in the car, or we do chores while watching tv or something like that. And not every day is packed like that, you can tell your kids "no more than 3 times per week of activties, the other 2 days are for playdates", and that should be acceptable. There are horrible days of the week, but it'…

> Homework for break and homework for weekend should be STRONGLY ILLEGAL. Get a grip dude. The standards for school have never been lower. In the US there's a graduation rate of 87% while a math/English proficiency rate of 22/35% respectively. Something doesn't add up, and it's not too much homework https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/reports/mathematics/2024/g...

And my experience is based on Italy, where the children are loaded with homeworks since grade 2. Clear memories of spending half the weekend doing homeworks instead of playing outside

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

#545

Post by igorkraw » Thu, Aug 13, 2026, 2:54 PM UTC

cj wrote: post #154

igorkraw wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Genuine take: maybe it would be more efficient for the economy and society, as well as better for everyone involved individuall, to make room for the ease in period as well, with a clearly communicated end towards the same, so people can acclimatize? Speaking as someone who grew up in a slightly more cruel world, but still received way more kindness than previous generations (did not die of previously deadly respirat…

The majority of US jobs are offered by small businesses. The idea of “ease in” periods is nice, but it’s incredibly challenging when the business is understaffed (and hence hiring) for a specific role. You don’t have a lot of extra bandwidth on the existing team to cover for the new guy while he settles in.

Sure , it's difficult, and not always possible,but maybe we should treat it as what it is (an unfortunate reality) rather than creating false valor.

I don't think people are unaware of the reality of real life, and the ones that are won't wake up if you terminate them in college. If we want to make sure, make them do mandatory work Placements instead of the grades, to experience the pressure of real world without risk of career failure

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

#546

Post by geodel » Thu, Aug 13, 2026, 3:07 PM UTC

locknitpicker wrote: post #499

phil21 wrote: post #489

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I don’t even know of a high school around me that starts at 7:30AM. Within 30 minutes in each direction this was the normal start time for practically all high schools in my area growing up. Where I live now my niece who I occasionally drive to school when weather is bad starts at 7:30. We need to leave her house by 6:45 to make it on time with traffic. The reason for the absurd starting times was always explained…

> The reason for the absurd starting times was always explained that bussing schedules forced it. This sounds yet another problem created by urban planning, or lack thereof. Being forced to do a 2 hour commute each day is not normal, regardless whether you are a kid going to school or a grownup going to work. It's not school that has a demanding schedule. It's requiring a 60 minute drive to attent said school that cr…

Thats the amenity trap. People want all sort of amenities that smaller neighborhood schools can't provide. Therefore bigger schools are built which had large centralized facilities for sports, recreation and all. So naturally now it need more commute times.

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

#547

Post by geodel » Thu, Aug 13, 2026, 3:11 PM UTC

coldtea wrote: post #453

mitkebes wrote: post #323

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I don’t even know of a high school around me that starts at 7:30AM. Local high school runs 7:30 to 2:30. It's one of the better scoring high schools in the state, so we have some students who commute 45min-1hour to attend here (at least I had friends who did that when I went there). When I was younger I lived in Albuquerque, and I believe that high school started at 7am, they had staggered start times of 9am for el…

Sounds like US high school is even worse than its healthcare system!

It has to be. And I think it is same everywhere we want everyone to attend high school. Nowadays we want college and universities degree for everyone too.