A junior Guangzhou university student committed suicide by jumping off a campus building Friday morning, leaving a letter saying the pressure from course study was unbearable for him.

"I'm very sorry I fell short of your expectations," says the letter written by the student named Jun before he jumped off a ninth floor balcony. The 22-year-old, nearly 1.8 meters tall, was a junior student with the South China University of Science and Technology.

A student passing by the dormitory building found Jun's body at around 6 AM Friday.

"I couldn't believe it was him," said another student who was Jun's best friend. "Later I found the letter he left for his parents in his drawer."

According to his classmates, Jun was from a rich family in Xinjiang and his parents had high expectations of him. Jun was also eager to excel, but unfortunately he was not really good at learning and failed in several subjects in the recent final exams.

His roommates had also found Jun wasn't quite himself in the last few days of his life. He had packed up his luggage and drunk a lot of beer one night with his roommates. He cried when he told people he was drinking with he was going home in a few days.

Some of Jun's teachers said they had always thought he was the type who knew how to deal with his feelings. They said they had also advised him not to care too much about his grades, and never anticipated such a result. The school said the case was still under investigation. Jun's parents were coming to the school from their hometown.

Psychological experts think some college students who have too high expectations on themselves can easily feel frustrated when they have difficulties studying, and may go askew if they can't get timely help.

(Shenzhen Daily July 18, 2005)