Anonymous
03/16/2024 16:43
Subject: Re:DD wants to transfer out of top university but DH won't allow it
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:dcmom12345 wrote:Update:
Socially everything has gotten better and I fee DD is enjoying the city but academics have even gotten a little worse which is adding more stress(multiple phone calls home crying over exams and homework). Thinking about switching major(wants to ensure ad least a 3.0 gpa) but she has never enjoyed the humanities before and is a little sad about "losing math".
My impression from this thread is that your daughter is starting to like Columbia, has an IQ of 150 or the equivalent, was never challenged at all in grade school or high school, and now is in classes designed to challenge kids with IQs of about 165 or the equivalent, is passing everything, is getting some C’s and is getting a lot of B minuses.
If that’s correct, I think she should just stay at Columbia, get tutoring, take a lot of economics electives and learn to swim with the sharks.
Reasoning:
- The people here who expect all kids in T30 STEM majors to get GPAs over 3.5 every year are ignorant idiots who should be trampled to death by elephants. Or drowned in ponds. They have no idea what it’s like to have an IQ of 150 and suddenly be in a room where a third of the students have IQs of 165. It takes some time for a normal, very bright kid to get used to studying with a bunch of baby Stephen Hawkings.
- Learning how to deal with academic challenges is incredibly important for people with IQs of 150. People with IQs of 150 can do anything if they learn how to learn, but they’re pretty much as unemployable as semiliterate high school dropouts if they don’t learn how to apply themselves and cope with the boredom involved with studying difficult things. Your daughter is now experiencing what most other kids have experienced since third grade. The whole point of paying Columbia so much money is to put your daughter in the first place she’s ever been where learning is as hard for her as sixth grade was for most of her classmates.
- Chances are the professors are hazing the students to some extent and trying to weed out a lot of premeds and pre-engineers. Getting higher grades will probably get a lot easier for your daughter once the weeding out is over and your daughter understands how college works.
- STEM professors tend to be much harsher about grading than humanities majors are. If your daughter has a 2.5 GPA now, that’s probably the equivalent of a 3.5 GPA for a humanities major. Any sensible grad school admissions people who see many applications from Columbia grads will know that your daughter is a victim of grade deflation.
- Hanging out in classrooms full of baby Hawkings may be terrifying, but it’s also amazing. If your daughter can pass classes, why give that up?
- She can probably double major in economics, or take a lot of economics electives if Columbia doesn’t have formal double majors. Then, after she gets her bachelor’s, she can go to grad school for economics, data science, finance or actuarial science and change from being an ugly math-physics duckling into being a beautiful quantitative finance swan. She won’t get the privilege of slaving away as an academic for decades, but she will go be a quant for ungodly amounts of money at Goldman Sachs or the like. She’ll have a terrific quality of life, and no one will care what grades she got freshman year at Columbia.
Has the IQ scale changed? I thought 140 was genius level back in the day.
So what is someone now classified with a 165?
My thoughts too, exactly. 165 is nuts. But I do appreciate the points made in the post overall. Maybe compare 125 to 140 or 145.
On the scale I remember it doesn’t go to 165…I think it ends at maybe 145.
And the notion that Ivy's are teaching to genius level is hilarious. As if they don't have a ton of average kids as well as a few geniuses; ask anyone who goes there.
Agreed. And … I think it’s quite likely the MATH department at an Ivy or other top 10 school includes more of the “extraordinarily smart” kids than some other majors at the same school. Put another way, I’d guess few of the “average smart” Ivy kids are chasing dreams of higher, more abstract math.
But again, I don’t know this for sure. I do agree, though, that Ivy League schools are not genius-only in their class composition or teaching only to the tippy-top. That’s silly. Of course the school as a whole includes a wide range. But math … it’s a self-selected group, and may well be on a different level, on average.
Anonymous
03/16/2024 16:34
Subject: Re:DD wants to transfer out of top university but DH won't allow it
Anonymous wrote:dcmom12345 wrote:To be clear she currently has a 2.4 gpa and I think she wants to stay. Although one thing that might surprise people is that she did find high school challenging and never felt math came easy to her and had to put in a lot of work. I deifntiley believe she can improve but her performance isn't a result of never being challenged or finding something hard for the first time. My only concern is that if her grades don't improve next year(they haven't improved this semester) and she graduates with sub 3.0 gpa.
I’m the PP who finished freshman year at my T-10 with a 2.7 My GPA went up every year after that as I adjusted to my college, and I graduated with a 3.4. From there, I went on to grad school (where I excelled, due to my college experience) and an excellent career that I can tie back to my college years, as well.
I encourage you and your DD to take the long view. Her first semester’s GPA is just that. First semester. It’s in no way the rest of her life.
Just make sure she keeps looking until she finds people she connects with socially. Those experiences and the mutual support that comes with friendship are priceless, both during college and beyond.
Anonymous
03/16/2024 16:04
Subject: Re:DD wants to transfer out of top university but DH won't allow it
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:dcmom12345 wrote:Update:
Socially everything has gotten better and I fee DD is enjoying the city but academics have even gotten a little worse which is adding more stress(multiple phone calls home crying over exams and homework). Thinking about switching major(wants to ensure ad least a 3.0 gpa) but she has never enjoyed the humanities before and is a little sad about "losing math".
My impression from this thread is that your daughter is starting to like Columbia, has an IQ of 150 or the equivalent, was never challenged at all in grade school or high school, and now is in classes designed to challenge kids with IQs of about 165 or the equivalent, is passing everything, is getting some C’s and is getting a lot of B minuses.
If that’s correct, I think she should just stay at Columbia, get tutoring, take a lot of economics electives and learn to swim with the sharks.
Reasoning:
- The people here who expect all kids in T30 STEM majors to get GPAs over 3.5 every year are ignorant idiots who should be trampled to death by elephants. Or drowned in ponds. They have no idea what it’s like to have an IQ of 150 and suddenly be in a room where a third of the students have IQs of 165. It takes some time for a normal, very bright kid to get used to studying with a bunch of baby Stephen Hawkings.
- Learning how to deal with academic challenges is incredibly important for people with IQs of 150. People with IQs of 150 can do anything if they learn how to learn, but they’re pretty much as unemployable as semiliterate high school dropouts if they don’t learn how to apply themselves and cope with the boredom involved with studying difficult things. Your daughter is now experiencing what most other kids have experienced since third grade. The whole point of paying Columbia so much money is to put your daughter in the first place she’s ever been where learning is as hard for her as sixth grade was for most of her classmates.
- Chances are the professors are hazing the students to some extent and trying to weed out a lot of premeds and pre-engineers. Getting higher grades will probably get a lot easier for your daughter once the weeding out is over and your daughter understands how college works.
- STEM professors tend to be much harsher about grading than humanities majors are. If your daughter has a 2.5 GPA now, that’s probably the equivalent of a 3.5 GPA for a humanities major. Any sensible grad school admissions people who see many applications from Columbia grads will know that your daughter is a victim of grade deflation.
- Hanging out in classrooms full of baby Hawkings may be terrifying, but it’s also amazing. If your daughter can pass classes, why give that up?
- She can probably double major in economics, or take a lot of economics electives if Columbia doesn’t have formal double majors. Then, after she gets her bachelor’s, she can go to grad school for economics, data science, finance or actuarial science and change from being an ugly math-physics duckling into being a beautiful quantitative finance swan. She won’t get the privilege of slaving away as an academic for decades, but she will go be a quant for ungodly amounts of money at Goldman Sachs or the like. She’ll have a terrific quality of life, and no one will care what grades she got freshman year at Columbia.
Has the IQ scale changed? I thought 140 was genius level back in the day.
So what is someone now classified with a 165?
First: I’m talking for what the real numbers are, once you adjust for racism, classism, test phobia, etc.
Second, IQ has nothing to do with being a real genius. A genius is a creative person who may or may not be book smart and who does amazing things.
Someone with a high IQ is someone who can spot patterns quickly and learn academic information quickly.
A kid with an IQ of 140 is a normal bright kid who might be the smartest kid in an average elementary school graduating class in a regular community but might only be in the top 10 percent in Washington. Those are the regular kids at Thomas Jefferson. DC-area schools know what to do with them.
The kids who excel in math and physics at Columbia are the kids who were bored at Thomas Jefferson. Those kids were intellectually ready for AP classes when they were 12. A normal bright kid at a normal high school never even meets kids like that.
Sure, the normal bright kid can work hard and muddle through in a Columbia math class for math majors. No, the normal bright kid will not have an easy time maintaining a 3.0 GPA in math at Columbia, or at any other T30 school.
Anonymous
03/16/2024 15:34
Subject: Re:DD wants to transfer out of top university but DH won't allow it
dcmom12345 wrote:To be clear she currently has a 2.4 gpa and I think she wants to stay. Although one thing that might surprise people is that she did find high school challenging and never felt math came easy to her and had to put in a lot of work. I deifntiley believe she can improve but her performance isn't a result of never being challenged or finding something hard for the first time. My only concern is that if her grades don't improve next year(they haven't improved this semester) and she graduates with sub 3.0 gpa.
Her grades will probably improve a lot as she moves into higher grades.
As long as she’s going to class, understanding most of the material and passing most classes, she’s fine. And there’s no guarantee whatsoever that math classes at other schools would be easier.
Anonymous
03/16/2024 14:32
Subject: Re:DD wants to transfer out of top university but DH won't allow it
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:dcmom12345 wrote:Update:
Socially everything has gotten better and I fee DD is enjoying the city but academics have even gotten a little worse which is adding more stress(multiple phone calls home crying over exams and homework). Thinking about switching major(wants to ensure ad least a 3.0 gpa) but she has never enjoyed the humanities before and is a little sad about "losing math".
My impression from this thread is that your daughter is starting to like Columbia, has an IQ of 150 or the equivalent, was never challenged at all in grade school or high school, and now is in classes designed to challenge kids with IQs of about 165 or the equivalent, is passing everything, is getting some C’s and is getting a lot of B minuses.
If that’s correct, I think she should just stay at Columbia, get tutoring, take a lot of economics electives and learn to swim with the sharks.
Reasoning:
- The people here who expect all kids in T30 STEM majors to get GPAs over 3.5 every year are ignorant idiots who should be trampled to death by elephants. Or drowned in ponds. They have no idea what it’s like to have an IQ of 150 and suddenly be in a room where a third of the students have IQs of 165. It takes some time for a normal, very bright kid to get used to studying with a bunch of baby Stephen Hawkings.
- Learning how to deal with academic challenges is incredibly important for people with IQs of 150. People with IQs of 150 can do anything if they learn how to learn, but they’re pretty much as unemployable as semiliterate high school dropouts if they don’t learn how to apply themselves and cope with the boredom involved with studying difficult things. Your daughter is now experiencing what most other kids have experienced since third grade. The whole point of paying Columbia so much money is to put your daughter in the first place she’s ever been where learning is as hard for her as sixth grade was for most of her classmates.
- Chances are the professors are hazing the students to some extent and trying to weed out a lot of premeds and pre-engineers. Getting higher grades will probably get a lot easier for your daughter once the weeding out is over and your daughter understands how college works.
- STEM professors tend to be much harsher about grading than humanities majors are. If your daughter has a 2.5 GPA now, that’s probably the equivalent of a 3.5 GPA for a humanities major. Any sensible grad school admissions people who see many applications from Columbia grads will know that your daughter is a victim of grade deflation.
- Hanging out in classrooms full of baby Hawkings may be terrifying, but it’s also amazing. If your daughter can pass classes, why give that up?
- She can probably double major in economics, or take a lot of economics electives if Columbia doesn’t have formal double majors. Then, after she gets her bachelor’s, she can go to grad school for economics, data science, finance or actuarial science and change from being an ugly math-physics duckling into being a beautiful quantitative finance swan. She won’t get the privilege of slaving away as an academic for decades, but she will go be a quant for ungodly amounts of money at Goldman Sachs or the like. She’ll have a terrific quality of life, and no one will care what grades she got freshman year at Columbia.
Has the IQ scale changed? I thought 140 was genius level back in the day.
So what is someone now classified with a 165?
My thoughts too, exactly. 165 is nuts. But I do appreciate the points made in the post overall. Maybe compare 125 to 140 or 145.
On the scale I remember it doesn’t go to 165…I think it ends at maybe 145.
And the notion that Ivy's are teaching to genius level is hilarious. As if they don't have a ton of average kids as well as a few geniuses; ask anyone who goes there.
Anonymous
03/16/2024 14:24
Subject: DD wants to transfer out of top university but DH won't allow it
Your DH should not control the purse strings solo.
Quick question. Do you have a 529? If so which parent is named? If you, you control it, and DD can go wherever she pleases.
Quick question. Do you have a 529? If so which parent is named? If you, you control it, and DD can go wherever she pleases.
Anonymous
03/16/2024 13:44
Subject: Re:DD wants to transfer out of top university but DH won't allow it
Anonymous wrote:dcmom12345 wrote:Update:
Socially everything has gotten better and I fee DD is enjoying the city but academics have even gotten a little worse which is adding more stress(multiple phone calls home crying over exams and homework). Thinking about switching major(wants to ensure ad least a 3.0 gpa) but she has never enjoyed the humanities before and is a little sad about "losing math".
My impression from this thread is that your daughter is starting to like Columbia, has an IQ of 150 or the equivalent, was never challenged at all in grade school or high school, and now is in classes designed to challenge kids with IQs of about 165 or the equivalent, is passing everything, is getting some C’s and is getting a lot of B minuses.
If that’s correct, I think she should just stay at Columbia, get tutoring, take a lot of economics electives and learn to swim with the sharks.
Reasoning:
- The people here who expect all kids in T30 STEM majors to get GPAs over 3.5 every year are ignorant idiots who should be trampled to death by elephants. Or drowned in ponds. They have no idea what it’s like to have an IQ of 150 and suddenly be in a room where a third of the students have IQs of 165. It takes some time for a normal, very bright kid to get used to studying with a bunch of baby Stephen Hawkings.
- Learning how to deal with academic challenges is incredibly important for people with IQs of 150. People with IQs of 150 can do anything if they learn how to learn, but they’re pretty much as unemployable as semiliterate high school dropouts if they don’t learn how to apply themselves and cope with the boredom involved with studying difficult things. Your daughter is now experiencing what most other kids have experienced since third grade. The whole point of paying Columbia so much money is to put your daughter in the first place she’s ever been where learning is as hard for her as sixth grade was for most of her classmates.
- Chances are the professors are hazing the students to some extent and trying to weed out a lot of premeds and pre-engineers. Getting higher grades will probably get a lot easier for your daughter once the weeding out is over and your daughter understands how college works.
- STEM professors tend to be much harsher about grading than humanities majors are. If your daughter has a 2.5 GPA now, that’s probably the equivalent of a 3.5 GPA for a humanities major. Any sensible grad school admissions people who see many applications from Columbia grads will know that your daughter is a victim of grade deflation.
- Hanging out in classrooms full of baby Hawkings may be terrifying, but it’s also amazing. If your daughter can pass classes, why give that up?
- She can probably double major in economics, or take a lot of economics electives if Columbia doesn’t have formal double majors. Then, after she gets her bachelor’s, she can go to grad school for economics, data science, finance or actuarial science and change from being an ugly math-physics duckling into being a beautiful quantitative finance swan. She won’t get the privilege of slaving away as an academic for decades, but she will go be a quant for ungodly amounts of money at Goldman Sachs or the like. She’ll have a terrific quality of life, and no one will care what grades she got freshman year at Columbia.
I agree with this 100%. It surfaces the two ideas that I was about to share. First, that there’s a tremendous value to be at a school with a lot of people who are more talented than you are in various ways. I can speak from personal experience - my freshman year at my T-10 school was extremely stressful and humbling academically (2.7 first year!) but in retrospect, perhaps the most important experience of my life. Lots of fears and tears, but I also discovered how strong and resilient I am underneath. AND I truly learned from and enjoyed my peers/classmates, who were all brilliant in their own ways (as I am, too, it turned out … but that took time to fully discover.)
The one caveat to this is the role that social support played in my experience. I didn’t ever feel isolated or like a fish out of water. My peers were not all “grinds,” and our connections even first year were less about academics/grades and more about the rest of our identities. Had everyone else been grinds who obsessed about their GPAs 24/7, I might have sunk from the pressure. Hard to say.
Second, I was going to recommend your DD try economics. It’s not math, but it’s not “humanities” either. If she likes it, it can be as quantitatively rigorous as she wants to make it. And her math background will be a huge plus! Again, if she likes it, so can take it in many different directions. Finance, of course. Or law (international trade and antitrust specialities, for example, can be very quantitative if you choose - lots of opportunities to work with hard-core economists!)
Again, if theoretical, abstract, academic math is her thing, maybe economics would feel wrong to her. But there are SO many ways to go with it, including theoretical and abstract.
Good luck! This really is a great opportunity for your DD to think outside the box a bit. Not every idea we have about ourselves at age 18 turns out to be correct. It’s ok to pivot!!!
Anonymous
03/16/2024 12:55
Subject: Re:DD wants to transfer out of top university but DH won't allow it
Support your kid in transferring and try to keep DH away from them while decisions are being made and actions taken. When I was young it was very important to my father that I attend a particular school and when I was leaning towards another school he got physically violent and verbally abusive. I went to the school he insisted on and got destroyed academically. I was terrified of trying to transfer because of the risk of setting him off again. It really took a toll on my confidence and left some long term psychological scars. Be very careful to protect DD from DH during this delicate time. My mom didn’t expect my father to act the way he did and it caught her off guard. She wasn’t well positioned to protect me. Try to shield DD as much as you can. Don’t underestimate the damage DH can do.
Anonymous
03/16/2024 10:34
Subject: DD wants to transfer out of top university but DH won't allow it
I would be divorcing my husband if he was that big of a controlling AH to my kid. Nope.
Anonymous
03/16/2024 10:22
Subject: DD wants to transfer out of top university but DH won't allow it
As for how to make this work for DD, again tell her to apply where she wants, and include UMD (sounds like you’re in-state there.) CC or anything that would require her to live at home is NOT an option. (There’s a good chance that living with her father would be harmful/destructive until he gets himself together.)
Again, let her apply everywhere she wants. There are some real upsides to being at a bigger state school with a more diverse student body. As a math major, she’ll find plenty of rigorous people. She’ll find them other places, too. Ivy League and similar schools are not the only ones with smart kids, of course! But her idea of being a complete person - not just a walking brain - is mature as can be. Encourage it (and remember that grad school is always a second chance at adding on to that experience.)
Finally, as she gets her transfer applications in, you need to get to work on your options for financing three years of college without your DH’s money. This might mean your DD has to take out loans. Or work (for as much money as possible) during the summer and the school year, too. It’s not crazy - this is how tons of kids/families get their students through school. Obeying your DH in order to “have him oay” for her college is not her only option. But help her figure that out (maybe create another post asking about financial aid/loan options when a spouse refuses to pay …)
On that note, between us right now, your in-state school (UMD) may well be the most affordable option, so be sure she applies there, too. But do NOT tell her that’s where she’s “going to have to go.” Because it’s not. For now, it’s just one option of many.
Tell your DD that it’s her life and her mental health comes first. She should keep her options open, and “we’ll figure it out” for next year. This alone might help her relax enough to finish her first year in a better place (and possibly choose to stay, if that ends up being what she wants.)
FINALLY, encourage your DD to set up time with a counselor at student health to talk about how she’s feeling about her current school. Especially the social isolation and feeling that everyone around her are too stressed out/obsessed with academics to connect socially. Without a doubt, she’s not the only one who feels that way at her school. This is exactly what mental health counselors on campus are there for. Teach her to use the resources at her disposal - not so she can get “happy enough to stay,” but because she deserves all the support she needs! ❤️
Again, let her apply everywhere she wants. There are some real upsides to being at a bigger state school with a more diverse student body. As a math major, she’ll find plenty of rigorous people. She’ll find them other places, too. Ivy League and similar schools are not the only ones with smart kids, of course! But her idea of being a complete person - not just a walking brain - is mature as can be. Encourage it (and remember that grad school is always a second chance at adding on to that experience.)
Finally, as she gets her transfer applications in, you need to get to work on your options for financing three years of college without your DH’s money. This might mean your DD has to take out loans. Or work (for as much money as possible) during the summer and the school year, too. It’s not crazy - this is how tons of kids/families get their students through school. Obeying your DH in order to “have him oay” for her college is not her only option. But help her figure that out (maybe create another post asking about financial aid/loan options when a spouse refuses to pay …)
On that note, between us right now, your in-state school (UMD) may well be the most affordable option, so be sure she applies there, too. But do NOT tell her that’s where she’s “going to have to go.” Because it’s not. For now, it’s just one option of many.
Tell your DD that it’s her life and her mental health comes first. She should keep her options open, and “we’ll figure it out” for next year. This alone might help her relax enough to finish her first year in a better place (and possibly choose to stay, if that ends up being what she wants.)
FINALLY, encourage your DD to set up time with a counselor at student health to talk about how she’s feeling about her current school. Especially the social isolation and feeling that everyone around her are too stressed out/obsessed with academics to connect socially. Without a doubt, she’s not the only one who feels that way at her school. This is exactly what mental health counselors on campus are there for. Teach her to use the resources at her disposal - not so she can get “happy enough to stay,” but because she deserves all the support she needs! ❤️
Anonymous
03/16/2024 10:03
Subject: Re:DD wants to transfer out of top university but DH won't allow it
dcmom12345 wrote:To add- we live in Maryland so I brought up in UMD as an option with DD seemed okay with but DH put on list of "will not pay for". He gave a list of universities he would consider acceptable which was limited to Chicago, Duke, MIT, Stanford, Caltech, AWS, JHU, Northwestern, RICE, Vandy, Michigan, and Berkeley.
Encourage and support your DD with her plan. And tell DH to go F himself.
No joke. Your DD is self-aware and expressing her needs in a very clear and mature way. She deserves the full support of at least one parent.
Two very big things are at stake here - her sense of autonomy and her mental health. These two things are often related. If a teen or young adult does not feel that they have autonomy - control of the outcome of an important situation - they may spiral into feeling like they have no options or choice other than to continue suffering something that they think they can’t handle any longer. That’s true depression and despair, which can be truly worrisome at that age.
I’m no expert, but it sounds like your DD is far from that point right now. She’s doing great - thinking clearly about what she’s experiencing and what else she might need. Encourage that in every way possible. That’s her emerging sense of self speaking, and it’s way more important than anything else right now.
As for your DH, deal with him separately. Do not drag your DD into “problem solving” with him. She doesn’t deserve the burden of having to try to “thread the needle” between what she needs right now (autonomy/the feeling she has options and choices) and what he’s demanding. She’s a young adult in a vulnerable spot. Protect her from having to take on his problems as her own right now. (She can come back to dealing with him/his stuff later when she’s returned to a stronger emotional place.)
This isn’t small stuff. DD deserves a parent who unconditionally has her back right now. Please be that parent.
dcmom12345
03/16/2024 09:23
Subject: Re:DD wants to transfer out of top university but DH won't allow it
Not concerned about grades just gpa for screening
dcmom12345
03/16/2024 09:23
Subject: Re:DD wants to transfer out of top university but DH won't allow it
grades don't look that bad no ds or fs but a mix of bs and cs. Just makes a low gpa
Anonymous
03/16/2024 09:21
Subject: DD wants to transfer out of top university but DH won't allow it
Anonymous wrote:OP, how did she go from grades are fine in your original post at end of Dec to a 2.4?!
+1
Anonymous
03/16/2024 09:13
Subject: Re:DD wants to transfer out of top university but DH won't allow it
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:dcmom12345 wrote:Update:
Socially everything has gotten better and I fee DD is enjoying the city but academics have even gotten a little worse which is adding more stress(multiple phone calls home crying over exams and homework). Thinking about switching major(wants to ensure ad least a 3.0 gpa) but she has never enjoyed the humanities before and is a little sad about "losing math".
My impression from this thread is that your daughter is starting to like Columbia, has an IQ of 150 or the equivalent, was never challenged at all in grade school or high school, and now is in classes designed to challenge kids with IQs of about 165 or the equivalent, is passing everything, is getting some C’s and is getting a lot of B minuses.
If that’s correct, I think she should just stay at Columbia, get tutoring, take a lot of economics electives and learn to swim with the sharks.
Reasoning:
- The people here who expect all kids in T30 STEM majors to get GPAs over 3.5 every year are ignorant idiots who should be trampled to death by elephants. Or drowned in ponds. They have no idea what it’s like to have an IQ of 150 and suddenly be in a room where a third of the students have IQs of 165. It takes some time for a normal, very bright kid to get used to studying with a bunch of baby Stephen Hawkings.
- Learning how to deal with academic challenges is incredibly important for people with IQs of 150. People with IQs of 150 can do anything if they learn how to learn, but they’re pretty much as unemployable as semiliterate high school dropouts if they don’t learn how to apply themselves and cope with the boredom involved with studying difficult things. Your daughter is now experiencing what most other kids have experienced since third grade. The whole point of paying Columbia so much money is to put your daughter in the first place she’s ever been where learning is as hard for her as sixth grade was for most of her classmates.
- Chances are the professors are hazing the students to some extent and trying to weed out a lot of premeds and pre-engineers. Getting higher grades will probably get a lot easier for your daughter once the weeding out is over and your daughter understands how college works.
- STEM professors tend to be much harsher about grading than humanities majors are. If your daughter has a 2.5 GPA now, that’s probably the equivalent of a 3.5 GPA for a humanities major. Any sensible grad school admissions people who see many applications from Columbia grads will know that your daughter is a victim of grade deflation.
- Hanging out in classrooms full of baby Hawkings may be terrifying, but it’s also amazing. If your daughter can pass classes, why give that up?
- She can probably double major in economics, or take a lot of economics electives if Columbia doesn’t have formal double majors. Then, after she gets her bachelor’s, she can go to grad school for economics, data science, finance or actuarial science and change from being an ugly math-physics duckling into being a beautiful quantitative finance swan. She won’t get the privilege of slaving away as an academic for decades, but she will go be a quant for ungodly amounts of money at Goldman Sachs or the like. She’ll have a terrific quality of life, and no one will care what grades she got freshman year at Columbia.
Has the IQ scale changed? I thought 140 was genius level back in the day.
So what is someone now classified with a 165?
My thoughts too, exactly. 165 is nuts. But I do appreciate the points made in the post overall. Maybe compare 125 to 140 or 145.
On the scale I remember it doesn’t go to 165…I think it ends at maybe 145.