What I learned from the returning freshman this week

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bleak city?? I guess I’m biased and envious of Case students because I’m from Cleveland. Have him check out the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame or the Cleveland Museum of Art. There’s also the Little Italy area by Case, West Side Market, and the Tremont neighborhood. Cleveland Orchestra. If he likes sports, he can catch a Cavs game.

He's from two major cities, so Cleveland doesn't feel like a real city, plus it's a depressed industrial city. I don't think he cares about sports much, and the Little Italy isn't ... "real" to him compared to the one in NYC or actual Italy. He's been going to the orchestra because it's free for Case students. I think he said a bunch of museums are on campus and he's been to them, but how much can you expect an 18 yr old to go to museums, you know?

My parents live in Cleveland. University Circle is cool but of course it's not the be-all, end-all.

Sometimes to cheer up, you have to just do more amusing things. Does he have a t.v. lounge? Can he start a comedy special watching weekly event?

Did you say the ladies there are on the prowl for long term relationships? Maybe then he can invite 2 girls at a time for coffee to eliminate the 1:1 pressure.

Lead a pack to the museum to make kiddie crafts just because.

https://www.universitycircle.org/events/2024/12/08/play-day-glow

Anything in Roadside America look amusing?

https://www.roadsideamerica.com/location/oh/cleveland

My thing was "mending parties" within the dorm. I was the only person with mending supplies among my friends. I'd buy some wine coolers and we'd sit around putting buttons back on and sewing up rips and passing the time.

I can totally picture this! You are really dating yourself with the wine coolers detail! You must have been very comforting to your dorm mates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I learned my very top of the class at a top private was a little too confident going into their supposed easy A inflation school. Took on a rigorous load and will earn first B, double whammy was it wasn’t required for pre-med and could have just used their 5 from BC to satisfy the requirement. They are really wishing they could go back in time and choose differently.

Why? They should grow a spine and realize that college is hard- and their 5 in BC clearly meant they did not understand the material at the level they need to. Premed is about to get much harder for them, and they can’t whence at the presence of a B.

I hate the game of it all, but it is what it is. Need the SGPA to be very high so it was a waste of a B on a class when it wasn’t needed. They are top of curve in science exams, just less math inclined. Wish they were on a different path and college could be purely about joy of learning, it’s annoying to have to over analyze it all even from day 1.

NP here -- why do they "need" GPA to be "very high"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I learned my very top of the class at a top private was a little too confident going into their supposed easy A inflation school. Took on a rigorous load and will earn first B, double whammy was it wasn’t required for pre-med and could have just used their 5 from BC to satisfy the requirement. They are really wishing they could go back in time and choose differently.

Why? They should grow a spine and realize that college is hard- and their 5 in BC clearly meant they did not understand the material at the level they need to. Premed is about to get much harder for them, and they can’t whence at the presence of a B.

I hate the game of it all, but it is what it is. Need the SGPA to be very high so it was a waste of a B on a class when it wasn’t needed. They are top of curve in science exams, just less math inclined. Wish they were on a different path and college could be purely about joy of learning, it’s annoying to have to over analyze it all even from day 1.

NP here -- why do they "need" GPA to be "very high"?

Most med schools need a 3.8 in pre-med requirements to be competitive plus the high MCAT and all the rest of the application requirements. It’s not easy getting in these days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I learned my very top of the class at a top private was a little too confident going into their supposed easy A inflation school. Took on a rigorous load and will earn first B, double whammy was it wasn’t required for pre-med and could have just used their 5 from BC to satisfy the requirement. They are really wishing they could go back in time and choose differently.

Why? They should grow a spine and realize that college is hard- and their 5 in BC clearly meant they did not understand the material at the level they need to. Premed is about to get much harder for them, and they can’t whence at the presence of a B.

I hate the game of it all, but it is what it is. Need the SGPA to be very high so it was a waste of a B on a class when it wasn’t needed. They are top of curve in science exams, just less math inclined. Wish they were on a different path and college could be purely about joy of learning, it’s annoying to have to over analyze it all even from day 1.

They should meet more pre-meds. These overly-obsessive GPA types are the ones who get rejected very early on. It is not much different to college apps, in that, they want extraordinary, talented people with unique stories.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I learned my very top of the class at a top private was a little too confident going into their supposed easy A inflation school. Took on a rigorous load and will earn first B, double whammy was it wasn’t required for pre-med and could have just used their 5 from BC to satisfy the requirement. They are really wishing they could go back in time and choose differently.

Why? They should grow a spine and realize that college is hard- and their 5 in BC clearly meant they did not understand the material at the level they need to. Premed is about to get much harder for them, and they can’t whence at the presence of a B.

I hate the game of it all, but it is what it is. Need the SGPA to be very high so it was a waste of a B on a class when it wasn’t needed. They are top of curve in science exams, just less math inclined. Wish they were on a different path and college could be purely about joy of learning, it’s annoying to have to over analyze it all even from day 1.

NP here -- why do they "need" GPA to be "very high"?

Most med schools need a 3.8 in pre-med requirements to be competitive plus the high MCAT and all the rest of the application requirements. It’s not easy getting in these days.

Ah, but as I tell my kids who tend to freak out over one test, there will be lots more grades to balance this one out. If they do great at science, they should be fine!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I learned my very top of the class at a top private was a little too confident going into their supposed easy A inflation school. Took on a rigorous load and will earn first B, double whammy was it wasn’t required for pre-med and could have just used their 5 from BC to satisfy the requirement. They are really wishing they could go back in time and choose differently.

Why? They should grow a spine and realize that college is hard- and their 5 in BC clearly meant they did not understand the material at the level they need to. Premed is about to get much harder for them, and they can’t whence at the presence of a B.

I hate the game of it all, but it is what it is. Need the SGPA to be very high so it was a waste of a B on a class when it wasn’t needed. They are top of curve in science exams, just less math inclined. Wish they were on a different path and college could be purely about joy of learning, it’s annoying to have to over analyze it all even from day 1.

They should meet more pre-meds. These overly-obsessive GPA types are the ones who get rejected very early on. It is not much different to college apps, in that, they want extraordinary, talented people with unique stories.

100% agree, feels like college admissions all over, the narrative and package, all of it. He’s in good company with that B with other pre-med classmates.

I really posted more from the standpoint of take everything you read on here with a grain of salt. I really think the easy A reputation made them question load less and be overconfident. Maybe it’ll help someone, maybe not, intentions were good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I learned my very top of the class at a top private was a little too confident going into their supposed easy A inflation school. Took on a rigorous load and will earn first B, double whammy was it wasn’t required for pre-med and could have just used their 5 from BC to satisfy the requirement. They are really wishing they could go back in time and choose differently.

Why? They should grow a spine and realize that college is hard- and their 5 in BC clearly meant they did not understand the material at the level they need to. Premed is about to get much harder for them, and they can’t whence at the presence of a B.

I hate the game of it all, but it is what it is. Need the SGPA to be very high so it was a waste of a B on a class when it wasn’t needed. They are top of curve in science exams, just less math inclined. Wish they were on a different path and college could be purely about joy of learning, it’s annoying to have to over analyze it all even from day 1.

They should meet more pre-meds. These overly-obsessive GPA types are the ones who get rejected very early on. It is not much different to college apps, in that, they want extraordinary, talented people with unique stories.

100% agree, feels like college admissions all over, the narrative and package, all of it. He’s in good company with that B with other pre-med classmates.

I really posted more from the standpoint of take everything you read on here with a grain of salt. I really think the easy A reputation made them question load less and be overconfident. Maybe it’ll help someone, maybe not, intentions were good.

I'm one of the PPs--Sorry if it felt like piling on!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Setting aside the creepiness of OP inserting herself into the conversations of 19 year olds, I think the comments mostly say more about the students than their respective universities.

Agreed. They smack of private school entitlement. Crowd sourcing info is fine, but think about the context.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP: As an adult poster with almost 40 years of experience, I am surprised at the spot-on accuracy of your first post in this thread. Thank you for sharing.

u

+1 this was a very helpful post and I wish the immature sounding haters would just move along.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP - I don't get all the hate. I appreciate the anecdata and am always curious to hear about students' experiences.

This! F the miserable judgy haters on this forum.

I think it's just one miserable (older) woman angrily tapping away at her keyboard.

There's been weird energy on this subforum recently. I'm not new to DCUM and know that it's regularly contentious, but it's been especially aggro in the past couple weeks. People here have crazy strong opinions on things, whether it's public schools, LACs, this or that college, certain majors, or a particular geographic area. Can we turn the volume of our opinions down from 11/10 to something like 6/10? No one will think worse of you for expressing a nuanced point of view.

don't you think its 1 or 2 posters though?
I recognize the tone, and truthfully, haven't been responding to much of anything on this subforum because it's so jarring and abrasive.

Also, do report the posters. It does seem to work, and Jeff does seem to delete or freeze their access if they are bots or just lonely weirdos who post the majority of the responses in a thread.

I think teenagers have found this forum. The tone isn’t like that of adults

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bleak city?? I guess I’m biased and envious of Case students because I’m from Cleveland. Have him check out the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame or the Cleveland Museum of Art. There’s also the Little Italy area by Case, West Side Market, and the Tremont neighborhood. Cleveland Orchestra. If he likes sports, he can catch a Cavs game.

He's from two major cities, so Cleveland doesn't feel like a real city, plus it's a depressed industrial city. I don't think he cares about sports much, and the Little Italy isn't ... "real" to him compared to the one in NYC or actual Italy. He's been going to the orchestra because it's free for Case students. I think he said a bunch of museums are on campus and he's been to them, but how much can you expect an 18 yr old to go to museums, you know?

My parents live in Cleveland. University Circle is cool but of course it's not the be-all, end-all.

Sometimes to cheer up, you have to just do more amusing things. Does he have a t.v. lounge? Can he start a comedy special watching weekly event?

Did you say the ladies there are on the prowl for long term relationships? Maybe then he can invite 2 girls at a time for coffee to eliminate the 1:1 pressure.

Lead a pack to the museum to make kiddie crafts just because.

https://www.universitycircle.org/events/2024/12/08/play-day-glow

Anything in Roadside America look amusing?

https://www.roadsideamerica.com/location/oh/cleveland

My thing was "mending parties" within the dorm. I was the only person with mending supplies among my friends. I'd buy some wine coolers and we'd sit around putting buttons back on and sewing up rips and passing the time.

I can totally picture this! You are really dating yourself with the wine coolers detail! You must have been very comforting to your dorm mates.

PP. This is a Gen X site. We're in the college section. Who did you expect to be in here, lol?

[Anonymous]

OP please calendar this for an update in December 2025. Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Okay. Case Western: has made some really great friends, hates Cleveland, he found a spot behind the library to go to cry in private, has gone to the orchestra seven times, has only left campus three times, really gets along well with his roommate (he's jewish and liberal and was worried, but they sat watching the election results and cried together), is getting a C in chemistry and the professor screams at people if they go to office hours, the frats are either known for being losers or roofie-ing people so doesn't want to join, was waitlisted at NorthWestern senior year so thinking of trying to transfer there, the food in the dining halls is TERRIBLE, all the girls seem like they're at college to find a boyfriend to turn into a husband and move way too fast.

So sorry to hear this. I wish I could put him in touch with my son, who loves music and is enjoying Case. I hope things get better for your son.

I think people here seems to think he's miserable because he found a place to cry, but overall he seems happy. ONE class he's struggling with, and doesn't like the bleak city around him. He is figuring things out, and has good friends, enjoyed the snow, and will be okay, whether he stays or transfers.

Glad to hear this. Best of luck to him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bleak city?? I guess I’m biased and envious of Case students because I’m from Cleveland. Have him check out the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame or the Cleveland Museum of Art. There’s also the Little Italy area by Case, West Side Market, and the Tremont neighborhood. Cleveland Orchestra. If he likes sports, he can catch a Cavs game.

He's from two major cities, so Cleveland doesn't feel like a real city, plus it's a depressed industrial city. I don't think he cares about sports much, and the Little Italy isn't ... "real" to him compared to the one in NYC or actual Italy. He's been going to the orchestra because it's free for Case students. I think he said a bunch of museums are on campus and he's been to them, but how much can you expect an 18 yr old to go to museums, you know?

What? I'm sorry PP with the boy at Case. Your son sounds high maintenance. Or he is one of those people who are often looking at life negatively. He will have a hard life ahead of him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:While OP’s post wouldn’t influence me to mention the feedback to DC (as many have said, this is a cast study of one kid per the schools mentioned) nor would it change the trajectory of where DC is applying, I thought it was an interesting read (and yea, to the PP who mentioned their privilege is showing - sure - so many top schools, and a number of “meh’s” but maybe some of that is our collective faults for putting these T20 schools on a built up pedestal during application time so how could the experience live up to all the crazy hype… but I digress).

OP there’s nothing inherently wrong with your post and when kids are back from break I always ask them all how they’re doing, how it’s going etc. and it’s interesting to hear others experiences.

I also see the crabby “why do non DC people post here?” are out, as if our kids’ going through the college application experience is different outside of your bubble… I hate to tell you but you all complain about the same sh*t we do as parents in this process. I could be posting this from the moon right now and it would be the same. Get over yourselves.

People in the DMV are too smart and level headed to pay any attention to this weird garbage and can’t imagine (1) posting this ridiculousness or (2) taking any of this into account in navigating the college selection process.

It. Is. Just. Plain. Weird.

So maybe that’s why some of us are so touchy that non-DMV people who really do appear to be coming from another planet in terms of thinking are posting here

HAHAHAHAHAHA