<p>I dont know how many of you have heard similar stories. But here's mine:</p>
<p>This happened 2 years ago, but I heard it only yesterday.</p>
<p>A guy from a well reputed school suicided somewhere in Early April. In his hand he had a letter....the letter was R*'s rejection!!!</p>
<p>I dunno how he died.....but I'm pretty much sure why he killed himself.</p>
<p>I am not revealing the college R*'s name because if their adcoms read this post, I'm sure they will feel really bad.</p>
<p>I am just writing to let you know, ppl, you don't have tokill yourself if you didn't get into your top choice school...
if you want to go there that bad....wait anothr year and spend it in making a fabulous application...or..transfer later on....or try going for graduate studies (if it offers..).</p>
<p>I am not making this up!!! It came in the newspaper 2 years ago and there was a big fuss about it then. But only now did I come to realise that the reason he killed himself was a rejection!</p>
<p>Don't take it too harshly....</p>
<p>April is comming.....decisions are comming....a rejection is a block in the road...not the end....you have to get over it!!!</p>
<p>HOPE FOR THE BEST......BUT BE PREPARED FOR THE WORST!!!</p>
<p>Yup, its the sad reality of having students who want to go to school but have no idea why. No purpose, no region, and they want a school/someone/something to give them that purpose. </p>
<p>but ya def not getting worked up over. The coolest people I know (and oddly some of the more successful people) came from pretty humble histories.</p>
<p>Jimbob posted: "Obviously, he was not college (or life) material."</p>
<p>Jimbob, I am embarrassed to share part of my username with you. That statement is wrong on so many levels! First of all, people who commit suicide are sick people. Yes, depression is an illness. He certainly had some illness going on. Ordinary people get sad when they are rejected. Sick people get suicidal. What are you saying? He's not "life material" ??? EVERYONE is life material. (except maybe murdererers, but that's another question...)</p>
<p>Also, rejection doesn't mean you're not college material. Admissions officers everywhere tell us that there are thousands of applicants that they'd love to admit but can't because there's a limited number of seats. So plenty of people who are college material get rejected. It doesn't make sense that there are only 1600 people of "college material," and everyone else is not of "college material." (1600 being the number of seats in Harvard's frosh class approx.) The numbers are arbitrary. Get some sense into your head!</p>
<p>Actually in some Asian countries, it's not uncommon to hear of someone committing suicide because they didn't get into a university...or so my sociology teacher just told our class today.</p>
<p>Wow. I cannot believe someone would actually kill themselves over a rejection to their number one choice of university. I give their family my condolences and may the person RIP.</p>
<p>jimbob1225, I believe JimBob was trying to say that if said person had not killed himself over the rejection (I found the clutching of the rejection letter particularly disturbing and melodramatic), he probably would have been one of those who lit himself on fire or threw himself off a tower after getting his first C. That's why colleges work so hard to advertise counseling services- stuff like this really does happen. Sad, but true.</p>
<p>I agree with the OP. Also, if you truly can't see yourself anywhere else, take a gap year. If you're considering killing yourself, you're obviously quite stressed, so a gap year might do you a world of good. You can then apply next year with another year of experience and ec's under your belt.</p>
<p>um, some of these posts are darn scary...you don't have to be crazy to kill yourself, usually its depression, fear of disappointing everyone, chemical imbalance and a whole load of reasons</p>
<p>it is really sad when a young person has lost all hope and its cruel people like some of you posters that don't help those in pain</p>
<p>my goodness, if your friend was considering suicide, I would hope they would find someone besides jimbob and antarius to confide in and seek help</p>
<p>I knew a girl that killed herself, and a couple of other kids that considered it, fortuneatley they got help</p>
<p>Its the crudeness of the posts by Antarius and Jimbob that show a lack of understanding of the complexities of the mind that saddens me.</p>
<p>"Not life material." I am so angry at that post. At the immaturity shown in it. That shows lack of college qualifications more than a poor soul who felt hopeless.</p>
<p>"Not life material." I am so angry at that post. At the immaturity shown in it. That shows lack of college qualifications more than a poor soul who felt hopeless.</p>
<p>Yes, he got rejected due to that fact. I am not being heartless, just sensible. It is idiotic to contemplate suicide at any point in time.... Finally, at the end of the day, the person in reference killed themselves and thats it... it wasnt worth a life just cause someone got rejected at a college. </p>
<p>If everybody did that, there would be mass massacre each year other than the 20 thou odd that get into HYPSM.....</p>
<p>depression was likely. Although they always say, failure is the stepping stone to success and if u commit suicide, there wont be that chance for success</p>
<p>I am angry just like citygrilsmom is, at those posts by Antarius and Jimbob.</p>
<p>You know why, coz when I first posted it, I thought it was just a joke that my friend had told. I just investigated a bit and called up a fren frm that very same school. He confirmed the news. I went to the school's website and it turns out they have a condolence news in their archives.
<em>*I Suddenly felt very bad when I realised it was dead true *</em></p>
<p>Guys, just imagine that your best friend (you knew his family very well too), whom you spent the happiest hours of your life, had killed himself.
I think the main reason people do that is fear of dissapointing OTHERS (such as parents, frens, teachers, school, ...all he represents) than themsleves.......well you dont have to feel sad..coz you're only imagining.....but to some person it was reality!!!
I expect people to show some respect and actually HELP.
It was pretty impolite and immature (as ^^said above) for you people to think that way.......
Like I said before...(this time I mean it)......this is no joke...sadly...it really did happen!!!</p>
<p>maybe.... im kinda outta the pic cause I know for a fact that none of my friends would even consider doing that. Thats the best part about close friends, everything is with a grain of salt... Whether ur max or flunk an exam ur spirits shd remain the same and thats how it is with everyone here...</p>
<p>Looks like I havent seen the other side...</p>
<p>Also, "I expect people to show some respect and actually HELP." What can I really say? It wasnt an accident or murder where I can offer condolances... It was an act by the victim themselves...</p>
<p>Sensible is not calling someone who is depressed crazy. A large number of teens think about suicide, many seriously, many attempt and many succeed.</p>
<p>Because of attitudes of some people, those kids don't seek help. They hear, your just crazy instead of hey, you should talk to someone.</p>
<p>For kids, they don't see the future, they see the moment, and consequences don't seem real. ANd we as humans need to be compassionate and mindful and not judge others who are having a rough time dealing with certain disappointments. We need to be there to help when and if we can.</p>
<p>WHen I talked about immaturity, I was referring to the posters who called the person who killed themselves "not life material"- for someone to say that someone else was not life material is immature and sad and heartless</p>
<p>And, you do not know "for a fact" that none of your friends have ever considered hurting themselves or ever would. To even think that shows you are truely clueless and arrogant</p>
<p>When you look at the numbers of teens who have contemplated suicide? 20% have seriouslly considered it at one time or another</p>
<p>According to a 1999 Statistics Canada report, suicide is the second leading cause of death among teens ages 14 - 19, running a close second to automobile accidents. The fact that many auto deaths may actually be misreported suicides could theoretically push suicide to the number one spot. Studies in the USA and the UK have yielded similar results, ranking suicide in among the top 3 causes of teen deaths. To say that suicide is a teen epidemic would not be an understatement.</p>
<p>80% are boys
Many deaths in car accidents are really suicides</p>
<p>A recent study shows that 20 percent of Nevada students contemplate suicide every year, and 11 percent actually try to kill themselves. Leslie said teachers must prepare themselves to detect signs and get help for their students.</p>
<p>So please do not assume that all of your friends are okay. WIth you attitude, they may not share with you. I wouldn't</p>
<p>The studies of depression and suicide are inconclusive and not yet complete. All suicides cannot be ruled out as inevitable due to "chemical imbalances". Nor do all people who claim to be "depressed" are chemically imbalanced.
My general point is that our generation is babied and spoiled. "Boo hoo, all my friends have cars, but I don't. I am so depressed. :-( " "Boo hoo, you did not get my flavor of ice cream. I am so depressed. :-( " Compared to other people around the world and even close to home, just being able to apply to a college that exists is a privilege, let alone running water and food on the table.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the "care" and "thoughtfulness" in each of us is feigned. How far does saying "Awwww" really go? Do we really understand? Depression can result from very complex and serious circumstances; circumstances that us average joes cannot fathom or analyze. When we try to pretend to understand, it only hurts more. A truly depressed person may think we are the antidote, but they really need professional help.</p>
<p>A lot of people cry these days to get attention. It is a natural response from since we were born in this world. We are encouraged now to cry. However, this causes a "the boy who cried wolf" effect. Everyone cries, so when people are truly deeply crying, no one cares or notices.</p>
<p>Now, let's go down a more cynical path...
Survival of the fittest. Life on Earth succeeded not because of every single member of a species survived. Selection occurred.
On a spiritual level, it is hard to make someone learn to love life or to make them feel "our way". It takes self-initiative to have the will to live. Do we really have the right to force someone to live a life they do not want?</p>
<p>Anyhoo, I shall refrain any further discussion, as this ambiguous and intangible topic usually only leads to flaming and unpleasantries.</p>
<p>Kids in China commit suicide over not getting a high enough score for university entrance exams. It happens on a daily basis and is quite common, unfortunately.</p>
<p>"Meanwhile, the "care" and "thoughtfulness" in each of us is feigned. How far does saying "Awwww" really go? Do we really understand?"</p>
<p>So when your parents die, JimBob, or your grandparents, or something else traumatic happens in your life, are you saying that no one should show you any sympathy/empathy or extend you any support?</p>
<p>You're one of the most cold, thoughtless people I've ever met. Try putting yourself in someone else's shoes.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Kids in China commit suicide over not getting a high enough score for university entrance exams. It happens on a daily basis and is quite common, unfortunately.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Yea. . . it happens much too often. </p>
<p>It's a very different situation from the one the OP is talking about tho. Most of the Chinese students who commit suicide would, I believe, have been fine in most other educational systems. The competition is just sooo fierce and pressure unimaginably severe for Chinese kids in the pre-uni yrs:( . . .People differ, and some poor souls just aren't that resilient.</p>
<p>
[quote]
So when your parents die, JimBob, or your grandparents, or something else traumatic happens in your life, are you saying that no one should show you any sympathy/empathy or extend you any support?</p>
<p>You're one of the most cold, thoughtless people I've ever met. Try putting yourself in someone else's shoes.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Hmm, maybe JimBob meant that we often don't understand what we think we understand, not that we shouldn't try. It's true in the sense that we often say "oh, I understand" in response to hearing someone else's problems, but how can we really?</p>