Dropping out at CMU.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Updated: DS is finally home. He is taking off this semester and looking to apply to either UVA or VATech for Computer Engineering for Fall '23. He was accepted by both UVA and VATech but turned them down to attend CMU. Unfortunately, it didn't work out. Will see what happens. He will take a two weeks break. After that, he is going back to his previous summer job as a software developer for $43/hour. Since the job is 100% virtual, he is looking at living in South America for the next six months. He seems to be very happy now that he is no longer at CMU. He loved his time there but it just didn't work out.

Bravo!! He will find the right path for him. He's already doing the work and getting paid well. He will find the right place to get that degree to continue advancing. Living abroad sounds like a great plan---let him explore life a bit before returning to "school"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Updated: DS is finally home. He is taking off this semester and looking to apply to either UVA or VATech for Computer Engineering for Fall '23. He was accepted by both UVA and VATech but turned them down to attend CMU. Unfortunately, it didn't work out. Will see what happens. He will take a two weeks break. After that, he is going back to his previous summer job as a software developer for $43/hour. Since the job is 100% virtual, he is looking at living in South America for the next six months. He seems to be very happy now that he is no longer at CMU. He loved his time there but it just didn't work out.

Your DS made a best decision! I am happy for him.

However, if your DS want to transfer to UVA or Vtech.. It will really depend on his freshmen year GPA at CMU. My DS had the similar situation years ago. Because his GPA is so bad from the school he was a freshman (NOT CMU), the state university could not accept him as an transfer student, even though the state university accept him with scholarship one years ago. So DS has to go to community college to brig up his bad GPA before he can transfer to state university.

My DS is now a top software programmer at Silicon Valley. Just a tory to encourage your DS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Updated: DS is finally home. He is taking off this semester and looking to apply to either UVA or VATech for Computer Engineering for Fall '23. He was accepted by both UVA and VATech but turned them down to attend CMU. Unfortunately, it didn't work out. Will see what happens. He will take a two weeks break. After that, he is going back to his previous summer job as a software developer for $43/hour. Since the job is 100% virtual, he is looking at living in South America for the next six months. He seems to be very happy now that he is no longer at CMU. He loved his time there but it just didn't work out.

This is awesome news! Nothing is more important than mental health. I am so glad he has a supportive parent. Good luck to your son!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Updated: DS is finally home. He is taking off this semester and looking to apply to either UVA or VATech for Computer Engineering for Fall '23. He was accepted by both UVA and VATech but turned them down to attend CMU. Unfortunately, it didn't work out. Will see what happens. He will take a two weeks break. After that, he is going back to his previous summer job as a software developer for $43/hour. Since the job is 100% virtual, he is looking at living in South America for the next six months. He seems to be very happy now that he is no longer at CMU. He loved his time there but it just didn't work out.

Wonderful update! I would suggest he try to transfer for spring personally and apply widely. Obviously they will want his grades from CMU so it may not be a done deal that he can get into those schools.

[Anonymous]

Good luck to him!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DS had a very hard time academically at CMU last year; however, he decided to give it a try by coming back this year. Based on the past two weeks, he feels like it is going to get much harder and he will not make it. Today is the last day to drop classes for a full refund. He wants to take off at least this semester to decide what he will do next, possibly transfer to a state school in Virginia. He admitted that CMU is a difficult place to succeed even when he spends at least 70 hours a week to study and it is effecting his mental health.

Anyone with kids dropping out of CMU recently?

Totally let him do whatever works for him. His mental health is more important. He is a smart kud, who'll find something where his hard work makes him happy and successful.

OP here. DS just confirmed that he cancelled all of his classes for this semester and going home once he can find someone to take over his lease. He will take off this semester and is looking into transfer. He still wants to major in Computer Engineering at another university.

Good for him. I am certain he can transfer to another program with an environment that is more healthy for him. He will do well in the end!!

OP here.  Thank you for your kind words.

DS has two cousins, same age, who were not accepted by CMU and are currently attending UVA Computer Engineering major.  They are very happy at UVA, and have plenty of time for socializing there.  That's one of the destinations that DS is looking into.  The other is VT. 

I told him his well being is the most important thing and that I support him wherever he decides to end up.

OP, just want to throw in another word of encouragement! It's great your son is making the right choices for his own mental health and looking for a school that will suit his needs. He can get an excellent education in CS at a less stressful school for sure.

I'm an alum from a school similar to CMU and while I have no regrets about my time there I do think the intensity can constrain what non-genius students achieve. For example, a friend and I both opted out of theoretical classes (math for me, physics for her) because our school was SO intense, especially for the "non-marketable" classes that we felt too stupid to participate. If we'd been at different schools we might have gotten a better grounding in those fields, even if we had stuck with our respective engineering majors. Hope he's able to transfer and enjoy the rest of his college experience!

I did this at Stanford a few decades ago. The Multivar. textbook was by Apostol and literally all proofs without a single number in it. I didn't understand any of it. Still majored in engineering but the theoretical stuff was off limits. I might have majored in physics or math at another school.

Fast forward 30 years and DC got into the combined CS/Arts major at CMU and I talked them out of going. DC is now thriving and happy at W&M, although one of their CS classes looked like it used a CMU curriculum (there was a logo on the lecture slides) and it was hard...

[Anonymous]

I can't wait for your next update OP. He is going to do so well.

[Anonymous]

Dropped out of CMU as well. Initially thought being somewhere in computer science or ECE would be would be my career path but ended up transferring out and changing to completely different and things ended up working out great.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like he should transfer and has a pretty good plan (transferring to a VA public school).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:what major

Computer Engineering

that's one of the hardest major
it can happen.

maybe change major after a semester break?

No, don't change majors if you enjoy it. Go somewhere where you can have success with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:what major

Computer Engineering

that's one of the hardest major
it can happen.

maybe change major after a semester break?

No, don't change majors if you enjoy it. Go somewhere where you can have success with it.

Right?!?!? He doesn't want to change majors (according to OP). He likes it, is working in the area already making good pay, he just needs a place that's a bit less intense/stressful. That kid will do just fine from anywhere---he just needs to complete the "degree"