If you kid is studying at Williams/Amherst/Pomona/Swarthmore/Wellesley/Bowdoin now,

[Anonymous]

For folk attending elite private day or boarding school (social power and money) attending elite SLACS is a simple extension of high school ... smoother transition. For those arriving from public schools transition into this "elite" environment is sometimes not as smooth for all. From the academic and intellectual perspective, those coming in having excelled in public magnet programs around the land, have no issues with the academic load at SLACS (or IVY for that matter); they are advanced and run circles around those from elite private schools around the country! That's my observations over the last half century!

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I went to a big three private high school and then one of those colleges. The big three was way harder in terms of workload and time management.

I worked hard in college. I probably studied, I don't know, maybe eight hours a day, more during exams. But time management was not an issue because I only had four classes and I was neither work study nor an athlete. So I had PLENTY of time to get work done. And I got WAY more sleep than in high school.

I feel like there is something miss here from what you are saying. Did your daughter go to a high school where she only had a couple hours of homework a night? Or did her high school not prepare her well for college level week? Or is she an athlete or have a work study job? She should have plenty of time to get her work done and still sleep 7 to 8 hours a night.

Similar experience. It's about time management. Way more free time in college than in high school. OP's daughter needs to figure this out. If she's only getting 6-7 hours a sleep it's because she's staying up late catching up when she has plenty of time during the day between classes, after the last class and before dinner, or library after dinner. Sunday afternoons and evenings were always standard studying days at college. It's good preparation for life as a consultant or analyst after graduation.

From what I remember, I typically rose at 9, just had coffee for breakfast, headed to library and prepped for first class, then classes/lunch/library studies through late afternoon. Maybe some chilling till dinner with friends. After dinner back to library, then gym and the occasional campus club event. Bed by 1.

Repeat through Thursday. Friday afternoon after last class typically didn't study but hung out and socialized. Same with Saturdays. Sunday was definitely a study day but leisurely.

I tended to study solo in a quiet corner of the library but plenty studied in groups and made it a social thing too. Not always advisable and that may be the other problem if OP's daughter's "studying" is really talking with friends in the library.

I went to an Ivy and maybe averaged 2 hours of homework per night.

These schools sound fairly miserable.

That said, I do wonder with the online ratings of courses/teachers/workloads if it is easier to carve out a better lifestyle these days.

This is why I think the Ivys are BS. I went to a SLAC and my language classes alone had 2 hours of homework a night (1 hour of exercises and 1 hour of language lab or discussion every day). Most reading-type classes had a book a week and a paper every week or every other week, and STEM classes went through a chapter each class so several hours of work in between each class and a unit exam covering a several chapters probably every three weeks. At least 5-6 hours of studying and writing a day, including weekends.

I don't understand how an Ivy is BS just because your SLAC experience was different. College is about so much more than the amount of studying you complete. Did this result in a better job than someone from Harvard with the same degree? Are you the boss of a bunch of Princeton grads because of your SLAC 6 hours of writing and studying?

If the answer to the two questions above is yes...well, then you should feel great about your choices.

?? I'm saying I'm not more impressed by an Ivy degree than a SLAC degree, although many people seem to completely discount the top SLACs compared to the top universities. Everyone who works directly for me has a graduate degree and a lot of work experience so I don't pay a lot of attention to where they went undergrad. But I guess I can look at LinkedIn to see where they went -- University of Wisconsin, Yale, Johns Hopkins, Wellesley, Columbia, Reed, Duke, Allegheny....

Do you report to anyone? What is your boss's background, their boss, etc. Are you 10 levels removed from the CEO or one level?

I'm the boss of a boutique consulting firm (~50 people) and I'm referring to my direct reports. I went to one of the Seven Sisters.

Must be very boutique/specialized. My buddy from an Ivy is global managing partner of a 7,000 person consulting firm and has nothing more than a BS.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like Eric Trump working in Granddad's and then dad's firm!

[Anonymous]

My proboscis is bigger than yours

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Big 3 big shit. No comparison to Blair Magnet. My kids worked hard at the latter and are breezing through Swarthmore and Amherst. Both double majors Engineering or Biophysics + Economics. Both athletes all years and team captains both high school and college. They worked hard in high school and college; however, acknowledged the high leg up the received from a nurturing home and in public high school. What's this Big 3 nonsense!

Calm down, Lauren. Nobody is saying that your precious and perfect children missed out on even the tiniest shred of advantage by going to Blair Magnet. You can sleep tonight.

[Anonymous]

Glad you recognize that the kid makes the school...and not the other way around. Therefore, deep stick the Big 3 and Ivy nonsense. Do you think Wharton made Trump?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For folk attending elite private day or boarding school (social power and money) attending elite SLACS is a simple extension of high school ... smoother transition. For those arriving from public schools transition into this "elite" environment is sometimes not as smooth for all. From the academic and intellectual perspective, those coming in having excelled in public magnet programs around the land, have no issues with the academic load at SLACS (or IVY for that matter); they are advanced and run circles around those from elite private schools around the country! That's my observations over the last half century!

Top private schools tend to be much more elitist and skewed towards the wealthy than any of the top SLACs. DC reports significantly more socioeconomic diversity at their NESCAC than at their top boarding school.

[Anonymous]

Coming from private boarding school going to a private SLAC is simply an extension of boarding school! We all already know the drill.
I speak from the perspective of the elitist of boarding schools, progressing to the elitist of SLACs before heading to the the elitist of IVY for professional school.

[Anonymous]

Agree. SLACS were simply larger boarding schools. However, for my colleagues at the larger Phillip Academies in Exeter, NH and Andover, MA, some SLACs became too small too soon in their collegiate experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Glad you recognize that the kid makes the school...and not the other way around. Therefore, deep stick the Big 3 and Ivy nonsense. Do you think Wharton made Trump?

Yes, that is the point. You can get into an Ivy and not work that hard, you can go to a top SLAC and work hard and do well. I'm baffled by people who think that the school name is all that matters and not the person, including both parents driving their kids towards certain schools and employers who put so much value on grads from certain schools and none on graduates from others.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:What are their experiences like? I have one at one of these schools and she has been extremely busy with assignments and stuff. She was a self-driven, top student in high school with excellent academic records. She hasn't decided on her major yet. This semester she selected a course in philosophy, economics, environmental studies, and a seminar course. What she didn't expect is the amount of reading and writing required for each class. She sleeps maybe 6 hours a night or less during the week. She studies on weekends. She reads while doing laundry. She made quite a few friends, likes many of her teachers, enjoys campus events and a campus job. Her grades are fine, but she has to work so very, very hard I have to watch out for burnout. What are your kids' experience like? Any thoughts or advice? Thanks.

I think if you were to s private high school these SLAC are no big deal and actually easier.

lol. According to previous posters it’s “toxic” to admit this. You have to pretend there’s zero difference in the workload between public and private schools, lest you be accused of being elitest scum, by people who definitely don’t have a chip on their shoulders.

All the top private school people I meet are…mediocre at best. College is full of Lakeside, Harvard Westlake, Choate, Philips Academy, yada yada. So many of them struggle more than those of us who went to Public magnet schools. Private elites are great if you want to slack your way into an elite school through school recognition, but,

I had the experience of being the near bottom middle of my high school class with 19 APs and a 3.8. Private school kids’ jaws drop when they hear about the workload at top magnet schools, because it’s not a paradise for your elite kids to stress about whether they’re going to take up lacrosse or join an extra seminar- magnet schools are an abysmal grind and take real work to get through. Sure, I wasn’t reading 300 pages of Faulkner every night, but college is 12x easier than balancing 9 Ap classes and 2 jobs with school clubs. Overall, college challenges all of us, but it has nice enough amenities everywhere that it doesn’t feel like you do much at all.

How and why do you take 19 AP classes? Is this the Magnet school's approach (similar to Basis)?

Not trying to go into too many details, but yes a lot of magnet schools have very AP-rigorous courseloads, and mine happened to have students who did that many APs very often (nearly that many on average). None of my classes were actual AP classes however- many teachers with masters and PhDs in their subject, so it’s just a familiar course description for colleges to look at.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are their experiences like? I have one at one of these schools and she has been extremely busy with assignments and stuff. She was a self-driven, top student in high school with excellent academic records. She hasn't decided on her major yet. This semester she selected a course in philosophy, economics, environmental studies, and a seminar course. What she didn't expect is the amount of reading and writing required for each class. She sleeps maybe 6 hours a night or less during the week. She studies on weekends. She reads while doing laundry. She made quite a few friends, likes many of her teachers, enjoys campus events and a campus job. Her grades are fine, but she has to work so very, very hard I have to watch out for burnout. What are your kids' experience like? Any thoughts or advice? Thanks.

I think if you were to s private high school these SLAC are no big deal and actually easier.

lol. According to previous posters it’s “toxic” to admit this. You have to pretend there’s zero difference in the workload between public and private schools, lest you be accused of being elitest scum, by people who definitely don’t have a chip on their shoulders.

All the top private school people I meet are…mediocre at best. College is full of Lakeside, Harvard Westlake, Choate, Philips Academy, yada yada. So many of them struggle more than those of us who went to Public magnet schools. Private elites are great if you want to slack your way into an elite school through school recognition, but,

I had the experience of being the near bottom middle of my high school class with 19 APs and a 3.8. Private school kids’ jaws drop when they hear about the workload at top magnet schools, because it’s not a paradise for your elite kids to stress about whether they’re going to take up lacrosse or join an extra seminar- magnet schools are an abysmal grind and take real work to get through. Sure, I wasn’t reading 300 pages of Faulkner every night, but college is 12x easier than balancing 9 Ap classes and 2 jobs with school clubs. Overall, college challenges all of us, but it has nice enough amenities everywhere that it doesn’t feel like you do much at all.

How and why do you take 19 AP classes? Is this the Magnet school's approach (similar to Basis)?

Not trying to go into too many details, but yes a lot of magnet schools have very AP-rigorous courseloads, and mine happened to have students who did that many APs very often (nearly that many on average). None of my classes were actual AP classes however- many teachers with masters and PhDs in their subject, so it’s just a familiar course description for colleges to look at.

Just trying to understand how you get there without taking the nonsense AP classes like Psych or Human Geography.

Assuming you can take AP Science starting Frosh…that’s 4, plus 2 English, plus language, plus I assume you just take AP BC and Stats, 5 History/Gov…that’s still only 14.

Maybe AP art and music?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are their experiences like? I have one at one of these schools and she has been extremely busy with assignments and stuff. She was a self-driven, top student in high school with excellent academic records. She hasn't decided on her major yet. This semester she selected a course in philosophy, economics, environmental studies, and a seminar course. What she didn't expect is the amount of reading and writing required for each class. She sleeps maybe 6 hours a night or less during the week. She studies on weekends. She reads while doing laundry. She made quite a few friends, likes many of her teachers, enjoys campus events and a campus job. Her grades are fine, but she has to work so very, very hard I have to watch out for burnout. What are your kids' experience like? Any thoughts or advice? Thanks.

I think if you were to s private high school these SLAC are no big deal and actually easier.

lol. According to previous posters it’s “toxic” to admit this. You have to pretend there’s zero difference in the workload between public and private schools, lest you be accused of being elitest scum, by people who definitely don’t have a chip on their shoulders.

All the top private school people I meet are…mediocre at best. College is full of Lakeside, Harvard Westlake, Choate, Philips Academy, yada yada. So many of them struggle more than those of us who went to Public magnet schools. Private elites are great if you want to slack your way into an elite school through school recognition, but,

I had the experience of being the near bottom middle of my high school class with 19 APs and a 3.8. Private school kids’ jaws drop when they hear about the workload at top magnet schools, because it’s not a paradise for your elite kids to stress about whether they’re going to take up lacrosse or join an extra seminar- magnet schools are an abysmal grind and take real work to get through. Sure, I wasn’t reading 300 pages of Faulkner every night, but college is 12x easier than balancing 9 Ap classes and 2 jobs with school clubs. Overall, college challenges all of us, but it has nice enough amenities everywhere that it doesn’t feel like you do much at all.

How and why do you take 19 AP classes? Is this the Magnet school's approach (similar to Basis)?

Not trying to go into too many details, but yes a lot of magnet schools have very AP-rigorous courseloads, and mine happened to have students who did that many APs very often (nearly that many on average). None of my classes were actual AP classes however- many teachers with masters and PhDs in their subject, so it’s just a familiar course description for colleges to look at.

Just trying to understand how you get there without taking the nonsense AP classes like Psych or Human Geography.

Assuming you can take AP Science starting Frosh…that’s 4, plus 2 English, plus language, plus I assume you just take AP BC and Stats, 5 History/Gov…that’s still only 14.

Maybe AP art and music?

Forgot the 2 AP Comp Sci though Principles is kind of a joke and not sure colleges care much about that.

[Anonymous]

I went to Williams after attending a top MCPS magnet high school. I was told many, many times that college would be easy in comparison. This was NOT true in the end. Granted, I was a physics major, but college was on a very different level even for reading/writing based classes. The majority of my classmates went to normal public high schools and struggled at first, but were on track after a few semesters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are their experiences like? I have one at one of these schools and she has been extremely busy with assignments and stuff. She was a self-driven, top student in high school with excellent academic records. She hasn't decided on her major yet. This semester she selected a course in philosophy, economics, environmental studies, and a seminar course. What she didn't expect is the amount of reading and writing required for each class. She sleeps maybe 6 hours a night or less during the week. She studies on weekends. She reads while doing laundry. She made quite a few friends, likes many of her teachers, enjoys campus events and a campus job. Her grades are fine, but she has to work so very, very hard I have to watch out for burnout. What are your kids' experience like? Any thoughts or advice? Thanks.

I think if you were to s private high school these SLAC are no big deal and actually easier.

lol. According to previous posters it’s “toxic” to admit this. You have to pretend there’s zero difference in the workload between public and private schools, lest you be accused of being elitest scum, by people who definitely don’t have a chip on their shoulders.

All the top private school people I meet are…mediocre at best. College is full of Lakeside, Harvard Westlake, Choate, Philips Academy, yada yada. So many of them struggle more than those of us who went to Public magnet schools. Private elites are great if you want to slack your way into an elite school through school recognition, but,

I had the experience of being the near bottom middle of my high school class with 19 APs and a 3.8. Private school kids’ jaws drop when they hear about the workload at top magnet schools, because it’s not a paradise for your elite kids to stress about whether they’re going to take up lacrosse or join an extra seminar- magnet schools are an abysmal grind and take real work to get through. Sure, I wasn’t reading 300 pages of Faulkner every night, but college is 12x easier than balancing 9 Ap classes and 2 jobs with school clubs. Overall, college challenges all of us, but it has nice enough amenities everywhere that it doesn’t feel like you do much at all.

How and why do you take 19 AP classes? Is this the Magnet school's approach (similar to Basis)?

Not trying to go into too many details, but yes a lot of magnet schools have very AP-rigorous courseloads, and mine happened to have students who did that many APs very often (nearly that many on average). None of my classes were actual AP classes however- many teachers with masters and PhDs in their subject, so it’s just a familiar course description for colleges to look at.

Just trying to understand how you get there without taking the nonsense AP classes like Psych or Human Geography.

Assuming you can take AP Science starting Frosh…that’s 4, plus 2 English, plus language, plus I assume you just take AP BC and Stats, 5 History/Gov…that’s still only 14.

Maybe AP art and music?

We had a lot of those “nonsense” required classes, but they’re fine for freshman. Here’s how I did it:

Freshman: ApHug

Sophomore: French Lang, Spanish Lang, World History, CS-Applications

Junior: Physics 1/2, Calc Ab, Spanish Lit, Stats, APUSH, English Lang, Chem (never took the exam)

Senior: Bio, Calc BC, European History, Government, Macro/Micro (never took the exam for micro), Physics C:Mech/E&M, English Lit, Art History(didn’t take exam for this one)

The not taking exam part is just me being tired of taking many exams in a row or getting sick.