Anonymous wrote:My daughters use study halls effectively and have managed with about 15-20 hours a week beyond that. They take rigorous courses and get excellent grades. I think organization/discipline is the key.

This is not a contest. That's great that your daughters are doing well.

Anonymous wrote:She is not a legacy. Neither parent went undergrad. I am sure she earned it. Sidwell is a hard school. Good luck to her.

Really? I highly doubt it.

My daughters use study halls effectively and have managed with about 15-20 hours a week beyond that. They take rigorous courses and get excellent grades. I think organization/discipline is the key.

The amount of homework swings greatly dependent on the selected courses and assigned teachers. Efficiency certain comes into play but during the upperclass years when some kids are ramped up into the most rigorous math and scince classes, there's a lot of work. Our personal experience was a couple hours per day outside study halls as a freshman and sophomore then it all changed....

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By earn it, do you mean putting 25 to 40 hours into schoolwork outside of the classroom? About the range for "average" Sidwell student.

Really??? I have two kids who went from Sidwell to a HYP and neither put in anything like that kind of time. 15-20 hours per week on homework was closer to the norm for them.

Not a careful reader. It says work outside of the classroom, which means library time, holidays study hall etc. 25 plus per week is the norm at Sudwell, unless your kids are just lazy.

No, I understood. They spent 15-20 hours a week on homework, whether done in study hall or at home. Both participated in a full range of extra-curriculars including sports and they rarely went to bed later than 10pm.

Would be interested to know what the "norm" is, but I strongly suspect that kids who routinely spend more than 25 hours a week on work outside of class and/or routinely stay up past 11pm are not working efficiently.

^^Lady, if her kids were accepted to top colleges with "only" studying 15 hours per week then they're now lazy. More likely to be geniuses. (Not IQ genius but really smart to know how much studying is enough.)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

By earn it, do you mean putting 25 to 40 hours into schoolwork outside of the classroom? About the range for "average" Sidwell student.

Really??? I have two kids who went from Sidwell to a HYP and neither put in anything like that kind of time. 15-20 hours per week on homework was closer to the norm for them.

Not a careful reader. It says work outside of the classroom, which means library time, holidays study hall etc. 25 plus per week is the norm at Sudwell, unless your kids are just lazy.

Anonymous wrote:

By earn it, do you mean putting 25 to 40 hours into schoolwork outside of the classroom? About the range for "average" Sidwell student.

Really??? I have two kids who went from Sidwell to a HYP and neither put in anything like that kind of time. 15-20 hours per week on homework was closer to the norm for them.

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Anonymous wrote:That's what study halls are for.

No, not always. Some kids might trek down to Starbucks, some sleep (a lot). Some might sit under a tree. 'Study halls' have changed since your day.

Not the PP, but no they haven't. When I was at Sidwell we spent study hall literally in the hall. You'd sit on the floor near your locker, or if you were quick enough to get a seat - in the windows on the second floor (pretty sure they are gone now), and "study", which mostly meant talking to whoever else had study hall that period. Senior year we went to the senior lounge. Of course this was the days before there was an on-campus coffee bar and other amenities.

Your last sentence says it all....before there was an on-campus coffee bar and other amenities.

The upper school building hasn't changed too much, although there are plans down the road to renovate the building. As for the "coffee bar", at first I thought it was silly. ("Coffee bar" is a grand description for a counter and a few tables in the school merchandise store.) But I've come to appreciate its value as a place for students, staff and parents to drop by, interact outside class and hold the occasional meeting. Proceeds go to school activities, the coffee's good and I'd rather see the community stay on the campus instead of walking several blocks away to the nearest Big Coffee (Starbucks) branch.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's what study halls are for.

No, not always. Some kids might trek down to Starbucks, some sleep (a lot). Some might sit under a tree. 'Study halls' have changed since your day.

Not the PP, but no they haven't. When I was at Sidwell we spent study hall literally in the hall. You'd sit on the floor near your locker, or if you were quick enough to get a seat - in the windows on the second floor (pretty sure they are gone now), and "study", which mostly meant talking to whoever else had study hall that period. Senior year we went to the senior lounge. Of course this was the days before there was an on-campus coffee bar and other amenities.

Your last sentence says it all....before there was an on-campus coffee bar and other amenities.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's what study halls are for.

No, not always. Some kids might trek down to Starbucks, some sleep (a lot). Some might sit under a tree. 'Study halls' have changed since your day.

Not the PP, but no they haven't. When I was at Sidwell we spent study hall literally in the hall. You'd sit on the floor near your locker, or if you were quick enough to get a seat - in the windows on the second floor (pretty sure they are gone now), and "study", which mostly meant talking to whoever else had study hall that period. Senior year we went to the senior lounge. Of course this was the days before there was an on-campus coffee bar and other amenities.

Actually, I grew up in SoCal during the 70s and went to a HS with an open campus. How kids use study halls and what they're there for can be two different things. You fuck off during school, you have more work after school. No big surprise. And nothing new.

Anonymous wrote:That's what study halls are for.

No, not always. Some kids might trek down to Starbucks, some sleep (a lot). Some might sit under a tree. 'Study halls' have changed since your day.

That's what study halls are for.

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Anonymous wrote:wonder if she put a different name on the common app would she have got in?


oh with Pennsylvania ave address dead giveaway

Different name, withhold race, AU here we come!

Does that make you feel better about your/your child's mediocre academic credentials? Some of the most pitiful people are those who try to tear others down to make themselves feel better.

Heh. I'd be happy with AU. Of course my kid would actually have to earn it.

By earn it, do you mean putting 25 to 40 hours into schoolwork outside of the classroom? About the range for "average" Sidwell student.

+1. My DC has managed to salvage time for favorite EC by utilizing study halls to do some of the homework so DC's average homework outside of class is about 20 hours per week.