Molecular and Cellular Biology major here, and it was the same story with my program. 500 students in two intro bio classes became 250 students my second semest

Molecular and Cellular Biology major here, and it was the same story with my program. 500 students in two intro bio classes became 250 students my second semester and 150 students my third. Eventually, less than 50 students received their diploma across every cell bio major (MCB, Immunology, Microbiology, etc.) Reading the comments on here I wonder if it's a "tradition" among STEM majors. I honestly thought the pressure, stress, and competition in my program was universal across all fields until I met my current girlfriend. The very idea of a 90% attrition rate or classes that practically required three hours of sleep a night was completely foreign to her. Even the very culture within our programs were radically different. I was subjected to a lot of "Most of you won't get your MDs or PhDs", whereas she had a much more encouraging rather than discouraging environment.