Anonymous
Post 05/21/2025 11:55     Subject: Pressure cooker schools
We were on a tour of Swarthmore and the student tour guide told us that they call a B at Swarthmore "an A anywhere else"
Anonymous
Post 05/21/2025 11:54     Subject: Pressure cooker schools
OP, this is so individual. What is your kid's intended major? Some majors are going to be more pressure cooker than others just by their nature.
Anonymous
Post 05/21/2025 11:47     Subject: Pressure cooker schools
Anonymous wrote:We also wanted to avoid pressure cookers, so nudged kids away from Carnegie Mellon, Chicago, Cornell, MIT, Reed, Swarthmore. Also, to a lesser extent, Penn. If they had been drawn to those schools, we would have talked more, but there were plenty of other schools that were more appealing to them anyway.


All these schools have severe grade deflation. Are they different from other schools in essence? I doubt it Ochem at Cornell is taught differently from at Dartmouth.

Once they inflate the grade by a level up (B to A), all the pressure gone.
Anonymous
Post 05/21/2025 11:41     Subject: Pressure cooker schools
Bucknell, Virginia Tech, Davidson
Anonymous
Post 05/21/2025 11:39     Subject: Pressure cooker schools
We also wanted to avoid pressure cookers, so nudged kids away from Carnegie Mellon, Chicago, Cornell, MIT, Reed, Swarthmore. Also, to a lesser extent, Penn. If they had been drawn to those schools, we would have talked more, but there were plenty of other schools that were more appealing to them anyway.
Anonymous
Post 05/21/2025 11:31     Subject: Pressure cooker schools
Columbia
Penn
UC Berkeley
Cornell
JHU (if premed)
CMU


Anonymous
Post 05/21/2025 11:28     Subject: Pressure cooker schools
[twitter]
Anonymous wrote:Berkeley, no question.

*incorrect buzzer sound*
Anonymous
Post 05/21/2025 11:27     Subject: Pressure cooker schools
Cornell
Anonymous
Post 05/21/2025 11:26     Subject: Pressure cooker schools
Berkeley, no question.
Anonymous
Post 05/21/2025 11:26     Subject: Pressure cooker schools
Anonymous wrote:Pressure is more about major/career plan (e.g. premed) and individual student response to stress.


+1 sort of, but also some schools are just more intense. My DS didn't like CMU for that reason, just seemed so serious, even when discussing the fun aspects of the school. Chose same major at a less intense school.
Anonymous
Post 05/21/2025 11:25     Subject: Re:Pressure cooker schools
Carnegie Mellon
Anonymous
Post 05/21/2025 11:25     Subject: Pressure cooker schools
Pressure is more about major/career plan (e.g. premed) and individual student response to stress.
Anonymous
Post 05/21/2025 11:24     Subject: Pressure cooker schools
CMU
Anonymous
Post 05/21/2025 11:20     Subject: Pressure cooker schools
Anonymous wrote:https://www.reddit.com/r/reedcollege/s/OA9GqkPNQY

This comment about Reed made me wonder what other pressure cooker schools you know of? DS is just starting to build his list and tour and neither him nor I want a pressure cooker.


Chicago - where fun goes to die.

Swarthmore
Anonymous
Post 05/21/2025 10:53     Subject: Pressure cooker schools
https://www.reddit.com/r/reedcollege/s/OA9GqkPNQY

This comment about Reed made me wonder what other pressure cooker schools you know of? DS is just starting to build his list and tour and neither him nor I want a pressure cooker.