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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I like to shove a stick up the a$$ of every poster who says they worked harder at their “big 3” than they did at an elite college. Do they really think that public school kids at elite colleges just waltzed in after not doing shit in high school? Those kids worked equally hard if not harder, taking a dozen AP classes or more in order to stand out among the hundreds of kids in their class. They didn’t have the benefit of a (ridiculously named) “Big 3” to back up their applications so they hard to work harder.

Just STFU already. You’re not special. You’re privileged. There’s a difference.

Maybe you should have a conversations with the teachers on the board who claim there is no real rigor in said AP classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like to shove a stick up the a$$ of every poster who says they worked harder at their “big 3” than they did at an elite college. Do they really think that public school kids at elite colleges just waltzed in after not doing shit in high school? Those kids worked equally hard if not harder, taking a dozen AP classes or more in order to stand out among the hundreds of kids in their class. They didn’t have the benefit of a (ridiculously named) “Big 3” to back up their applications so they hard to work harder.

Just STFU already. You’re not special. You’re privileged. There’s a difference.

Maybe you should have a conversations with the teachers on the board who claim there is no real rigor in said AP classes.

I have been on this board for a long time, and I have rarely seen that. Rarely.

[Anonymous]

That is why people should let up on the pressure to get into the highest rank school.

Kids at this level are burnt out at 17, which is very sad since they are still teens/adolescents.
At a minimum, I hope she is not taking more credits than she needs to. Sleep and life balance are important for health, including mental health.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like to shove a stick up the a$$ of every poster who says they worked harder at their “big 3” than they did at an elite college. Do they really think that public school kids at elite colleges just waltzed in after not doing shit in high school? Those kids worked equally hard if not harder, taking a dozen AP classes or more in order to stand out among the hundreds of kids in their class. They didn’t have the benefit of a (ridiculously named) “Big 3” to back up their applications so they hard to work harder.

Just STFU already. You’re not special. You’re privileged. There’s a difference.

Chip, meet shoulder.

No chip. Just setting the record straight. It’s just so ridiculous.

There’s a chip. You need to settle down. NP.

Nope. But the Big 3 folks need to stop thinking they’re special.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Four classes, none of which are STEM, are typically not overwhelming. My guess is that your dd’s high school was not particularly rigorous and it will take her a a semester or two to catch up, just be patient and support her, she’ll figure it out.

says someone who was not a liberal arts major. My DS takes four classes currently, politics and history, and it's a TON of reading. Literally too much reading. i think he told me he had to read hundreds of pages per day. He got good at being able to skim and only read the parts that he'll need for any upcoming essay or test. Otherwise, there was simply NO way he could read all of that material. So yes, its common. Also common is studying on the weekends.That is par for the course in college. My DS also took all those Ap classes you mention, got 4s and 5s and never broke a sweat, barely studied and got a 4.6 GPA from a competitive HS. So yeah college is another level, as it should be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had a colossal reading load in college but learned to read parts closely / skim others / not read parts at all, and I notice that my kid (freshman at a SLAC) doesn’t have those gears yet. It’s a crucial skill in the humanities.

This. Also, my DC who's an English/Poli Sci major has learned to make sure at least one class every semester is less reading-heavy.

I went to one of these schools (but I’m 30s now) and was going to post to this effect. Both my rather intense boarding school high school and my LAC had reading that was near impossible to do in full - but I got good at prioritization. My grades improved most my last two years after major specialization really was underway and graduated with high honors etc

[Anonymous]

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.

Wellesley is hard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like to shove a stick up the a$$ of every poster who says they worked harder at their “big 3” than they did at an elite college. Do they really think that public school kids at elite colleges just waltzed in after not doing shit in high school? Those kids worked equally hard if not harder, taking a dozen AP classes or more in order to stand out among the hundreds of kids in their class. They didn’t have the benefit of a (ridiculously named) “Big 3” to back up their applications so they hard to work harder.

Just STFU already. You’re not special. You’re privileged. There’s a difference.

Chip, meet shoulder.

No chip. Just setting the record straight. It’s just so ridiculous.

There’s a chip. You need to settle down. NP.

Nope. But the Big 3 folks need to stop thinking they’re special.

NP. You're coming off as unhinged.

[Anonymous]

I thought Swarthmore was the most intense in this group.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Four classes, none of which are STEM, are typically not overwhelming. My guess is that your dd’s high school was not particularly rigorous and it will take her a a semester or two to catch up, just be patient and support her, she’ll figure it out.

says someone who was not a liberal arts major. My DS takes four classes currently, politics and history, and it's a TON of reading. Literally too much reading. i think he told me he had to read hundreds of pages per day. He got good at being able to skim and only read the parts that he'll need for any upcoming essay or test. Otherwise, there was simply NO way he could read all of that material. So yes, its common. Also common is studying on the weekends.That is par for the course in college. My DS also took all those Ap classes you mention, got 4s and 5s and never broke a sweat, barely studied and got a 4.6 GPA from a competitive HS. So yeah college is another level, as it should be.

Actually was an international studies major at a T10 college so plenty familiar with the demands of these classes, amd yes, still feel they are less work than STEM classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Four classes, none of which are STEM, are typically not overwhelming. My guess is that your dd’s high school was not particularly rigorous and it will take her a a semester or two to catch up, just be patient and support her, she’ll figure it out.

says someone who was not a liberal arts major. My DS takes four classes currently, politics and history, and it's a TON of reading. Literally too much reading. i think he told me he had to read hundreds of pages per day. He got good at being able to skim and only read the parts that he'll need for any upcoming essay or test. Otherwise, there was simply NO way he could read all of that material. So yes, its common. Also common is studying on the weekends.That is par for the course in college. My DS also took all those Ap classes you mention, got 4s and 5s and never broke a sweat, barely studied and got a 4.6 GPA from a competitive HS. So yeah college is another level, as it should be.

Can anyone give a good explanation of the point of just hundreds maybe thousands of pages of reading each week?

Is this preparation for academia? Is the real point to learn how to ignore 90% of it and figure out the 10%.

These schools sound pretty miserable. I now appreciate the business world more and more where even Jeff Bezos won’t allow you to exceed 6 pages when you pitch a multi-billion idea.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I like to shove a stick up the a$$ of every poster who says they worked harder at their “big 3” than they did at an elite college. Do they really think that public school kids at elite colleges just waltzed in after not doing shit in high school? Those kids worked equally hard if not harder, taking a dozen AP classes or more in order to stand out among the hundreds of kids in their class. They didn’t have the benefit of a (ridiculously named) “Big 3” to back up their applications so they hard to work harder.

Just STFU already. You’re not special. You’re privileged. There’s a difference.

Where did any Big 3 parent say anything about public school kids? We are just sharing our own experience, nobody disrespected you or public schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Four classes, none of which are STEM, are typically not overwhelming. My guess is that your dd’s high school was not particularly rigorous and it will take her a a semester or two to catch up, just be patient and support her, she’ll figure it out.

says someone who was not a liberal arts major. My DS takes four classes currently, politics and history, and it's a TON of reading. Literally too much reading. i think he told me he had to read hundreds of pages per day. He got good at being able to skim and only read the parts that he'll need for any upcoming essay or test. Otherwise, there was simply NO way he could read all of that material. So yes, its common. Also common is studying on the weekends.That is par for the course in college. My DS also took all those Ap classes you mention, got 4s and 5s and never broke a sweat, barely studied and got a 4.6 GPA from a competitive HS. So yeah college is another level, as it should be.

Did she not read hundreds of pages in high school?
I hate to interject this yet again (although I'm a different poster) but my Big3 kids honestly did. There was so much assigned reading. Commonly 10-12 books per year in English class alone. Between that and history both my kids would spend 1-2 hours per night in high school just reading text.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like to shove a stick up the a$$ of every poster who says they worked harder at their “big 3” than they did at an elite college. Do they really think that public school kids at elite colleges just waltzed in after not doing shit in high school? Those kids worked equally hard if not harder, taking a dozen AP classes or more in order to stand out among the hundreds of kids in their class. They didn’t have the benefit of a (ridiculously named) “Big 3” to back up their applications so they hard to work harder.

Just STFU already. You’re not special. You’re privileged. There’s a difference.

Chip, meet shoulder.

No chip. Just setting the record straight. It’s just so ridiculous.

Sorry, but my kids are in nearly all APs or IBs at two different MoCo high schools. They do maybe two hours of homework a night and are getting straight As. It's not the same. And I saw how much harder the public school kids had to struggle to adjust to college, like OP's daughter. Many of them were shocked by the workload and weren't as prepared. Freshman year of college was hard for them, rather than being a relief and less stressful than high school.

[Anonymous]

Hmm that’s too bad. The hamster wheel continues. College should allow for exploring, downtime, pursuing interests, meeting random people and cultivating relationships.