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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 schoo

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 ACT, and the expectation of 1500+ and 35+ still holds. And even then there's no guarantee you'll get in. Most applicants who successfully get into Ivies, impacted majors with single digit acceptance rates at Mich or Cal tier programs like EECS or a BBA, and other peer programs are basically burnt out by 17-18 (the age most kids at these programs now matriculate). And the first semester is not impactful in any shape or form. It's best to take summary and intro classes as P/NP to even the playing field and then throw in a weed-out class (in CS that was historically data structures or OS). So many HNers complain about how the younger generation is hyper-competitive yet when universities start taking steps to help reduce that they start kvetching. Heck, with my profile from the late 2000s and early 2010s (right when everything became hyper-competitive and optimized), I actually wouldn't have a shot at most programs at Mich let alone my Alma mater, especially when I compare it to my younger sibling's profile who also attended a Mich tier engineering undergrad in the 2020s.

doctorwho42 2mo ago
Seriously, and how many HNers would cite MIT as one of the best around? Well I learned over a decade ago that they have had Pass/no-credit for the first year implemented for years... So at this point it wouldn't surprise me if you said it's been going on for two decades (at min.) Again, I think people are having the same reaction I had "what, MIT just gets off scotch free for the first year?!". Decade later, watching it help relieve the stress from their rat race of 110% from their childhoods... Man is it worth it. And everyone still loves hiring people out of MIT
- cj 2mo ago
  MIT describes the purpose of Pass/Fail during the first semester as: > giving you time to adjust to factors like increased workloads and variations in academic preparation and teaching methods. [0] I can 100% get behind that logic. I can't get behind a college saying they're doing it to "curb a mental health crisis". [0] https://registrar.mit.edu/classes-grades-evaluations/grades/grading-policies/first-year-grading https://registrar.mit.edu/classes-grades-evaluations/grades/...
  - OkayPhysicist 2mo ago
    > giving you time to adjust to factors like increased workloads and variations in academic preparation and teaching methods. > curb a mental health crisis In this context, both have the exact same meaning, of "stop freshmen who are used to overachieving their entire lives from taking a header off the tallest buildings on campus because they're not used to being less than the top 5% at everything"
  - sokoloff 2mo ago
    Small nit: it’s Pass/No Record rather than Pass/Fail. If you get a D or F, there’s no external record you even attempted the class, rather than a record that you attempted and failed it.
ajcp 2mo ago
> And even then there's no guarantee you'll get in. > yet when universities start taking steps to help reduce that they start kvetching Your argument is hard to follow. It is prohibitively hard, to the point of being unhealthy, to getting admitted to the University of Michigan. Okay, but how does this policy solve for or address that in any way? Wouldn’t the solution be to increase capacity to meet demand, thus relieving those pressures that create the conditions for them to admit young adults that are suffering from health issues that the universities admissions policies itself precipitated?
- alephnerd 2mo ago
  It gives students one semester of breathing room that allows them to chill out and concentrate on education for the sake of education. And UMich Ann Arbor is already massive - 8,000 students enroll a year.
  - ajcp 2mo ago
    But, again, the University of Michigan’s own admissions policies created the need for the students to “chill out”. Is this not treating a symptom of the problem, not the motivator? Also 32,000 undergrads is not “massive” by any measurement[0], especially when accounting for the population of the state of Michigan, much less the broader United States. O. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_public_university_campuses_by_enrollment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_public_u...
    - steele 2mo ago
      Michigan admissions create opportunities for students that found success within the challenging conditions. Umich treats the problem by educating future policy makers about those systems. Then occasionally yields to powerful lobby groups and clandestine operations of fascist administration.
      - ajcp 2mo ago
        Not gonna lie, really had me going in the first half there.
giantg2 2mo ago
"So many HNers complain about how the younger generation is hyper-competitive yet when universities start taking steps to help reduce that they start kvetching." Dropping a semester of grades is a cover up for the symptoms, not a fix. A better fix would be stress management and realistic expectations. Building your identity or self-worth around going to a particular school is the insane part. It's great to have big goals, but you have to separate those goals from defining you. It seems many kids today don't make that distinction. Pick a cheap state school with a decent program, get a scholarship, and start living life. All this prestige and pedigree is the type of stuff we should be trying to destroy.
cpburns2009 2mo ago
You can handle all of that in high school, but suddenly can't handle the mental stress of a grade report your first semester of college? Give me a break.
- porridgeraisin 2mo ago
  Yes, it doesn't transfer. This is because the type of work required to perform in school is completely different from the type of work required to perform in college. This means first sem performance often dives even for a diligent student. The stress is not about the first few course themselves rather it is that they can terribly impact your entire GPA. Considering how relatively unimportant the first sem courses are relative to the whole degree, it makes sense to drop it from the GPA. You could also assign them much fewer credits, that would be an alternative solution I suppose.
hirvi74 2mo ago
That's a lot of effort to go through just to end up writing some shitty JS for some Mega corp.
ryandrake 2mo ago
> Heck, with my profile from the late 2000s and early 2010s (right when everything became hyper-competitive and optimized), I actually wouldn't have a shot at most programs at Mich let alone my Alma mater You're right about this one. I'd never get accepted today at the state university I went to back in the 90s. Back then, applying to college meant taking the SAT, filling out an application, and maybe submitting an essay. That was it. Then you figured out how you'd pay for it. They didn't care that much about AP courses, extracurricular activities, career shadowing, volunteering, college level credits, or anything like that. Sure, they were nice bonuses but nobody treated them as hard requirements like they do today. Hell, my high school didn't even offer AP courses, so I couldn't take one even if I wanted to. Now, my kid is approaching college age, and all these college admissions coaches are breathing down my neck to get her to take 40 AP courses, join the debate club and chess club, play Sportsball every year, take 4 years of a foreign language, do volunteering, tutor other kids, and then take extra courses at the local community college, and that doing all that will only improve her already-low chances of acceptance. Good grief!
Der_Einzige 2mo ago
Stuff like this is why I'm super duper glad that AI is going to fundementally kill education.
deleted 2mo ago
[deleted]

doctorwho42 2mo ago

Seriously, and how many HNers would cite MIT as one of the best around? Well I learned over a decade ago that they have had Pass/no-credit for the first year implemented for years... So at this point it wouldn't surprise me if you said it's been going on for two decades (at min.) Again, I think people are having the same reaction I had "what, MIT just gets off scotch free for the first year?!". Decade later, watching it help relieve the stress from their rat race of 110% from their childhoods... Man is it worth it. And everyone still loves hiring people out of MIT

cj 2mo ago
MIT describes the purpose of Pass/Fail during the first semester as: > giving you time to adjust to factors like increased workloads and variations in academic preparation and teaching methods. [0] I can 100% get behind that logic. I can't get behind a college saying they're doing it to "curb a mental health crisis". [0] https://registrar.mit.edu/classes-grades-evaluations/grades/grading-policies/first-year-grading https://registrar.mit.edu/classes-grades-evaluations/grades/...
- OkayPhysicist 2mo ago
  > giving you time to adjust to factors like increased workloads and variations in academic preparation and teaching methods. > curb a mental health crisis In this context, both have the exact same meaning, of "stop freshmen who are used to overachieving their entire lives from taking a header off the tallest buildings on campus because they're not used to being less than the top 5% at everything"
- sokoloff 2mo ago
  Small nit: it’s Pass/No Record rather than Pass/Fail. If you get a D or F, there’s no external record you even attempted the class, rather than a record that you attempted and failed it.

ajcp 2mo ago

> And even then there's no guarantee you'll get in. > yet when universities start taking steps to help reduce that they start kvetching Your argument is hard to follow. It is prohibitively hard, to the point of being unhealthy, to getting admitted to the University of Michigan. Okay, but how does this policy solve for or address that in any way? Wouldn’t the solution be to increase capacity to meet demand, thus relieving those pressures that create the conditions for them to admit young adults that are suffering from health issues that the universities admissions policies itself precipitated?

alephnerd 2mo ago
It gives students one semester of breathing room that allows them to chill out and concentrate on education for the sake of education. And UMich Ann Arbor is already massive - 8,000 students enroll a year.
- ajcp 2mo ago
  But, again, the University of Michigan’s own admissions policies created the need for the students to “chill out”. Is this not treating a symptom of the problem, not the motivator? Also 32,000 undergrads is not “massive” by any measurement[0], especially when accounting for the population of the state of Michigan, much less the broader United States. O. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_public_university_campuses_by_enrollment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_public_u...
  - steele 2mo ago
    Michigan admissions create opportunities for students that found success within the challenging conditions. Umich treats the problem by educating future policy makers about those systems. Then occasionally yields to powerful lobby groups and clandestine operations of fascist administration.
    - ajcp 2mo ago
      Not gonna lie, really had me going in the first half there.

giantg2 2mo ago

"So many HNers complain about how the younger generation is hyper-competitive yet when universities start taking steps to help reduce that they start kvetching." Dropping a semester of grades is a cover up for the symptoms, not a fix. A better fix would be stress management and realistic expectations. Building your identity or self-worth around going to a particular school is the insane part. It's great to have big goals, but you have to separate those goals from defining you. It seems many kids today don't make that distinction. Pick a cheap state school with a decent program, get a scholarship, and start living life. All this prestige and pedigree is the type of stuff we should be trying to destroy.

cpburns2009 2mo ago

You can handle all of that in high school, but suddenly can't handle the mental stress of a grade report your first semester of college? Give me a break.

porridgeraisin 2mo ago
Yes, it doesn't transfer. This is because the type of work required to perform in school is completely different from the type of work required to perform in college. This means first sem performance often dives even for a diligent student. The stress is not about the first few course themselves rather it is that they can terribly impact your entire GPA. Considering how relatively unimportant the first sem courses are relative to the whole degree, it makes sense to drop it from the GPA. You could also assign them much fewer credits, that would be an alternative solution I suppose.

hirvi74 2mo ago

That's a lot of effort to go through just to end up writing some shitty JS for some Mega corp.

ryandrake 2mo ago

> Heck, with my profile from the late 2000s and early 2010s (right when everything became hyper-competitive and optimized), I actually wouldn't have a shot at most programs at Mich let alone my Alma mater You're right about this one. I'd never get accepted today at the state university I went to back in the 90s. Back then, applying to college meant taking the SAT, filling out an application, and maybe submitting an essay. That was it. Then you figured out how you'd pay for it. They didn't care that much about AP courses, extracurricular activities, career shadowing, volunteering, college level credits, or anything like that. Sure, they were nice bonuses but nobody treated them as hard requirements like they do today. Hell, my high school didn't even offer AP courses, so I couldn't take one even if I wanted to. Now, my kid is approaching college age, and all these college admissions coaches are breathing down my neck to get her to take 40 AP courses, join the debate club and chess club, play Sportsball every year, take 4 years of a foreign language, do volunteering, tutor other kids, and then take extra courses at the local community college, and that doing all that will only improve her already-low chances of acceptance. Good grief!

Der_Einzige 2mo ago

Stuff like this is why I'm super duper glad that AI is going to fundementally kill education.

deleted 2mo ago

[deleted]