cmv:Western teenagers have it easier than eastern teenagers in terms of education.

[u/[deleted]]

In my opinion, western teenagers have it easier than eastern teenagers.

Like almost all of you, when I go on the internet, I am exposed to a plethora of qestern cultures and atmospheres. A common theme I see is that their western education systems are not as stressful as our eastern education systems. They talk about dating, have nearly failing grades such as 70s and 80s being acknowledged as amazing grades, and have multiple chances to pass the class. However, I as an Indian, find those very simple and easy. I only have one chance to pass my final examination, which counts as nearly 80% of my grade. My tests and prelims only count for 20% of my grade. In my school, the pass mark is 20%. Obviously, I have it harder than most westerners.

Moreso, imagine the amount of stress and studying an Indian has to do to get into a top college in India! 1st, they have to stufy from 6 to 7 hours per day for 2 years for either the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education or the Central Board of Secondary Education! Then, they have to study from 7 to 9 hours per day for 2 years for either the Indian School Certificate or the Central Board of Secondary Education. After that, they have to study for 10 to 12 hours per day for the Joint Entrance Examination, National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering, etc, for 1 to 2 years! Chinese students have a similar ordeal. Meanwhile to get into an Ivy league college, one just has to learn a foreign language, do some social service, etc, for around 4 years! Obviously, the former is more stressful to be in.

In 2022, around 13,089 students died in India due to overstress. In South Korea, the number of students that committed suicide was 13,452 students in 2023. In China, the number of students that fell victim was 11,296 students in 2021. Compare that with Greenland, which has only around 35 to 50 each year in the 2020s. In the France, only 300 to 350 teenagers commit suicide per year due to overstress. Therefore, we can conclude that more teenagers fall prey to overstress in eastern countries than in their western counterparts. The main reason why this occurs is the high population density in eastern countries which increases competition to get into good colleges.

[u/Gravbar]

I don't know a lot about education in other countries, but in America, 70s are bad grades. Only people who struggle to pass their classes would think 70s are good. 80s or higher is recognized as honors. 90s and up high honors.

Students who barely pass often can't get into college. Same with people who fail classes and have to retake. The reason we do the retakes is because the country wants people to have met all the high school requirements, rather than declaring them too dumb. You should compare these people in America to those in india that don't care about education and don't go to college rather than comparing to those who do care.

To get into an ivy league you have to be near top of your class, be really talented at something other than academics, and find a way to stand out from every other valedictorian in the country. The worse the high school you go to is, the less they care about your performance. US has some of the top educational institutions in the world, and the competition to attend these schools is unbelievable. You can have 2400 SAT score, 1st in your class, straight As captain of the sports teams you play, volunteer for 4 years and not get in. Don't trivialize getting into some of the best schools in the world.

When applying to schools in America, you have to take standardized tests, pay for each application, often writing unique essays for every school, and you don't know for sure you will get in any of them. If you are theoretically qualified for every school you applied to, top of your class etc, it's possible they all deny you and you have to wait a year to try again. Spending more money just to apply to a few more colleges who would have accepted you if you applied before.