If Cho was mentally ill, how did he get into University (Virginia Tech)?

Question

As far as I know, in order to get into college, you have to pass the certain level of SAT and pass the test (COMPASS) and/or interview. If he is mentally ill, how did he do that? He must had some conscious to get into college. He must had some goal about what he wanted to be. Don't you think? I mean crazy people do not care about college, right? Except Hannibal, the smart intelligent man who killed a lot of people.

Answer 1

Oh dear here we are living in the first decade of the 21st century and we still have to contend with misconstrued ideas about mental illness.....

Suffering a mental illness does NOT mean that you have the IQ of a poppy seed. Some very Brilliant people have suffered from mental illnesses...

Depression is classed as a mental illness, Schizophrenia ( and there have been some utterly brilliant schitzopheniacs( , bi-polar people also are suffering a mental illness. Sociopaths and Psychopaths are also suffering from mental illness and can still perform academically excedingly well.

I think you need to do a little research on Mental illness...might make you a more compassionate person (unless you are a sociopath yourself) .. and definitely a little less ignorrant.

Mental illness affects at least one in four people... in one form or another .

Answer 2

You will see a very compelling answer to this question if you watch the movie "A Beautiful Mind." It will be well worth your while. It was an award winning film in 2001 (Oscars for best picture, best director, best writing, and best supporting actress, plus Russell Crowe starred and was nominated for best actor). I'm surprised at how quickly the American people, including several who have answered this question, forgot this film about a man who achieved significant academic success despite serious mental illness. Granted, they and those around them sometimes face major challenges. I'd say more, but I don't want to give away the story, which is true (mostly) as opposed to the fictional character with whom you are acquainted. It might also be interesting to read the book by the same title. Mental illness need be no more of a handicap than many physical problems.

Answer 3

Don't assume mentally ill people are unintelligent. All indications are that Cho was of above average intelligence.

Most state universities will accept students who meet academic qualifications and are otherwise qualified to enter. If mentally ill or mentally unstable students were forced to disenroll from all universities there would probably be a double-digit reduction in enrollment.

Indications are that Cho was exhibiting a lot of very overt signs he was mentally unstable and there was even a police opinion he was potentially dangerous. But he was also apparently pretty intelligent.

I'm not sure what a "crazy" person is, but I don't think I've ever met one. I have met legions of mentally unstable people however, and many of them can be very functional and only a few actually turn out to be harmful.

Answer 4

You can indeed be insane and do very well for yourself with an education. many of them are actually highly intelligent. The difference with them and us, they are high functioning psychopaths. They eat, drink, talk, and do everything we do, look normal, act pretty normal, but inside they are usually quite dead and are capable of extreme cruelty. They can smile outside and come across as charming sometimes.

That is not to say Cho had this, I do not know. He was ridiculed at the college and no that gave him no excuse to do what he did, but let us consider the building up of resentment, hate and feelings inside, confusion and no real closeness to anybody. Place mental instability in the mix and a long slow building up of hate to where he's actually convinced himself these people really do deserve to die and perhaps he'd played it over and over inside his mind "I'll show them". Do that for long enough and these kinds of people actually start to go from fantasy to reality. He wanted the sense of taking the ultimate revenge and feeling the power in doing so, he didn't give a toss about himself or his own death, he was simply focussed on revenge. An insane obsession.

It's not to say he is unintelligent, but he can still be mentally ill, whether that way already, or he became that way .I'd say he was a sick young man, possibly spiritually sick for those who believe in God, very very possible that the demonic had a part to play in this. Considering he would have left himself wide open for it with his own anger and mental instability.

If someone concentrates on hate and evil and revenge and they have perhaps not a great close home life, they may not be overly expressive or able to express their feelings too well, teased at school, it really is like a time bomb.

They feel devoid of any self esteem or stability already, and doing what he did, gave him the feeling and satisfaction of the ultimate act of revenge. Taking a life. I think he was hell bent on what he did and even the nice people or the ones that tried to help him, would not really had much impact. He made his mind and I think that every other insult from that point on, was probably just the extra fire he needed to fuel what he already planned to do.

That's just my opinion. But quite honestly, it's an absolute nightmare that boggles the mind.

Answer 5

Some others have answered this well. One who is not mentally ill does not necessarily have learning disabilities.

Please don't take this the wrong way, but I do think your question reflects our nation's general ignorance when it comes to mental illness. Plus, I believe we tend to see it as a huge taboo, which is unfortunate.

Don't forget that mental illness includes common issues, including depression and anxiety. And, though this is a generalization, certainly you have heard of a number of artists and scholars who are looked on as geniuses and who, even so, have suffered mental illness. Consider Sylvia Plath and Ernest Hemingway, for example. There are legions more --- and not just writers.

Please, do not use "crazy" to describe those who are mentally ill. We are all guilty of crazy actions now and then. If you really think about it, all of us are capable of even monstrous actions. We're also all capable of benevolent actions, and everything between these extremes. One's mental health is a major component in determining whether one acts on these myriad impulses. That's why I don't like it when we label some people "monsters." That could be any one of us.

Social pressures appear to have gotten to Cho. He may have felt caught between cultures, thereby making him feel as though he belonged nowhere. Obviously, he was mentally ill. And clearly, he was also relatively book-smart. His university and our legislative system failed him and his fellow students. His dangerous behaviors --- stalking and setting fire to his dorm room, for example -- were documented, but what did the university do about this? And when his English professor alerted the authorities about the disturbing content of his writing assignments, after he refused mental-health treatment, there was virtually nothing they could do, due to the constraints our legislative system places on some mental-health cases.

I say it's about time we stop looking at mental health as taboo. We should be giving it as much time, attention and discussion as we do our physical health, if not more. And in a nation of so many "others," we ought to put more effort into showing some cultural sensitivity.

I'm going to rant a bit here: So someone in your university-level class is socially awkward and has a funny voice. Does that warrant the entire class to laugh and yell at him to "Go back to China"? He was an American resident, born in Korea. South Korea shares a culture with North Korea but not a government. Both nations belong to a large continent called Asia, to which China (a separate nation entirely) also belongs.

I guess my point is that Cho is not the only one to blame here. In a way, we all are.

Answer 6

There are a lot of different types of mental illness. Some of them are chemical imbalances in the brain and can be helped with meds. Some can be helped with counseling. Some are pretty extreme. This kid could have easily passed the tests / interview and have been mentally ill. I'd guess the killings were a result of him snapping after some recent stress.

Answer 7

A lot of psychopaths have been brilliant and had really high intelligence levels, so he could have easily passed any tests to get in. Not sure if you guys have "personality" tests that you have to pass in USA, but if you do, he could easily not be truthful with answers and therefore didn't raise any suspicions at all. Also, mental illness isn't always something you are born with, it could've developed to the sociopathic level it did after he got into Virginia Tech. Maybe he always had it in him, but he got worse in his years there until he snapped.

Answer 8

Since when does IQ and having good social skills ever go together. In fact, in this society people with high IQs are the ones who get labled as "nerds" or "antisocial". Many geniuses also tend to be introverted and weird compared to the average person, although it doesn't mean they're total loners and killers like Cho.

Answer 9

Mental illness doesn't equal learning difficulties. He could have been a genius for all I know. He certainly put a lot of effort into his media project.

Hannibal or Lecter (or Lecktor) is a fictional charactor, but you got the idea.

Answer 10

There is no such thing as "standards" anymore.

SAT tests are dumbed down, and laws relating to disabilities allow psychos to get into college.

The politicians (of both parties) who vote for these crazy laws are every bit as nuts as Cho was.

Let me take that back. The politicians are not "nuts". They know what they are doing. What they do is for personal power so they vote for stupid laws to "reach out to a wider audience".

Our nation has gone insane, just like Cho did. The voters of this nation who vote in these morons are to blame also. It is best not to vote. Only a 2nd American Revolution can save our nation.