Of course, college admissions, and admission to selective majors like business at Michigan and other schools, is a competitive process where someone is comparing the student to others. Getting a job, particularly a “good” one (for whatever definition of “good” one uses), is also a competitive process. Perhaps the parents are internalizing that message that colleges and employers are shouting loudly and clearly to them (even if the others that the student is competing with may not necessarily be the ones that they know specifically), taking it to the extreme of “elite or bust”, and then reacting poorly when their kid “fails” to meet such unrealistic expectations.
“Perhaps the parents are internalizing that message that colleges and employers are shouting loudly and clearly to them (even if the others that the student is competing with may not necessarily be the ones that they know specifically), taking it to the extreme of “elite or bust”, and then reacting poorly when their kid “fails” to meet such unrealistic expectations.”
The world is hard enough without your parents being jerks too.
^^Sometimes you lose a war because the enemy is better than you. Better motivated, more competent in the environment, and more willing to sustain losses.
Your parents sound like the kind of people you might do better to avoid … that or make sure you work somewhere with great health insurance that covers counseling. You’re going to need it.
I’ve never heard of this outside the sports world. It’s almost unbelievable.