I’m the OP. My kid is a sophomore. It’s not faux outrage. My kid just left home this afternoon to go back.

I’m Worried given my kid is stressed about a class.

Median grade in a stem bio prelim was a 69. Just fyi. The median for some of the stem classes is just crazy. Has As in 2 Econ classes so it’s not that.

PP. Yes, the engineering school grades harder/has tougher curves and that happens at lots of universities.

It's because it's easier to force curves onto quantitative material. And there are more higher-stats, never got bad grades kids in those majors.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m sorry for the losses. Many students from rural areas don’t have the academic foundation to compete or catch up with their peers from competitive high schools. Top colleges keep giving them advantages in college admissions for political reasons but the brutal truth is, they’re not ready for the rigor.

I’m sorry to hear that your child got rejected by top colleges in favor of students from rural areas who allegedly didn't have the academic foundation to compete with your child but took their spot anyway. The brutal truth is, your child isn't good enough despite coming from a competitive high school.

You can’t deal with truth. My kids are all in T10 which Cornell is not. But that’s irrelevant.

Last year one of the kids was a professor's kid who grew up in Ithaca.

It's the demographic, it's a mental health crisis that's not unique to this campus. All the selective schools have kids who are struggling. And staff as well.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/head-mental-health-services-university-pennsylvania-dies-suicide-n1052156

It's really tedious for people to always bring this up about Cornell. Seriously, just stop with the fake concern. Just take it off your list.

My friend's daughter is a senior at Cornell and has a 3.8 GPA. During her first two years they printed the median grade beside the student's grade for each class when grades were posted (they no longer do this). The median grade for most of her classes was an A-minus. Granted, she is in the Human Ecology school, but she's taken gen eds like stats and econ and has never seemed too stressed. Not trying to start shit or minimize the issue, just wondering why her experience seems so different from everything I've heard. FWIW she scored a 1420 on the SAT and was admitted early decision into a VERY niche major, so she's a smart girl but not some genius. Is it just that much worse in the engineering school?

Anonymous wrote:I’m sorry for the losses. Many students from rural areas don’t have the academic foundation to compete or catch up with their peers from competitive high schools. Top colleges keep giving them advantages in college admissions for political reasons but the brutal truth is, they’re not ready for the rigor.

I’m sorry to hear that your child got rejected by top colleges in favor of students from rural areas who allegedly didn't have the academic foundation to compete with your child but took their spot anyway. The brutal truth is, your child isn't good enough despite coming from a competitive high school.

Anonymous wrote:It's literally known for this. So sad.

This largely represents a form of misinformation, however.

Anonymous wrote:Maybe the overcast skies affect students' moods. Causes or increases depression.

This is one reason why I prefer attending school in the South. Depression is a non-issue & students are happy & active outdoors. Very social.

I have substantial experience in upstate New York. Depression, depression,depression.

Not this season (fall), especially this particular year. It’s been spectacular in Western NY since the end of August.

My daughter attends Cornell. The first death was alcohol related. Many freshmen struggle to handle alcohol. There’s no evidence that it was related to grades or pressure. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t. No one here is in a position to blame the weather or class rigor or anything.

The freshman who died this weekend died at home in Massachusetts over fall break.

Anonymous wrote:The death rate in the 15-24 age group is about 80 / 100,000 and with about 43 million in that age group, that means 35,000 deaths a year. While each individual death is sad for those who knew them, that is the reality of life.

Cornell as 20,000 students so you would expect 16 deaths a year (all causes) and suicide is the second leading cause of death in that age group. But also could be other causes.

I think your math is off.

It happens on every campus. Thoughts and prayers with the families and friends.

I have two nephews who struggled/struggle with serious treatment resistant depression and it is heartbreaking. Both were college age at onset.

The death rate in the 15-24 age group is about 80 / 100,000 and with about 43 million in that age group, that means 35,000 deaths a year. While each individual death is sad for those who knew them, that is the reality of life.

Cornell as 20,000 students so you would expect 16 deaths a year (all causes) and suicide is the second leading cause of death in that age group. But also could be other causes.

Maybe the overcast skies affect students' moods. Causes or increases depression.

This is one reason why I prefer attending school in the South. Depression is a non-issue & students are happy & active outdoors. Very social.

I have substantial experience in upstate New York. Depression, depression,depression.

It's literally known for this. So sad.

2nd arts & sciences student. Kids are speculating in their group chats.
It’s a week after pre-lims /midterms.

Why is the grading so harsh at Cornell? It makes no sense.