Anonymous
Post 10/23/2023 14:40     Subject: Schools where balance is possible
Anonymous wrote:Lately, I've been hearing my kid talk about the pressure in their high school and not wanting a cutthroat environment in college. Is it school dependent or more major dependent? What kind of school would you look for a good balance or education and time for sports, hobbies and friends? If your kid is smart, but doesn't want to grind, grind, grind at the expense of everything else, what kid of school would you target?

If seeking Big State U, field of study probably determines the stress level.
Anonymous
Post 10/23/2023 14:37     Subject: Schools where balance is possible
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Any big state university. Michigan, UCLA, UNC etc. Yes a portion of the kids are high achievers but there is a portion who are not, too (or who weren’t as well prepared, etc). Vs any college like Wash U, Georgetown, etc will be virtually all high achievers.


UCLA acceptance rate is 10% and the average freshman GPA on entering is 4.6

there's no one attending UCLA who is not well prepared.


Do you live in CA? The CA admittees don’t all come from LA and SF … Many students attending UCLA come from school districts that do not prepare them for a rigorous university experience. And they somehow graduate from UCLA …


Yes, I live in Los Angeles.
Anonymous
Post 10/23/2023 14:35     Subject: Schools where balance is possible
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Any big state university. Michigan, UCLA, UNC etc. Yes a portion of the kids are high achievers but there is a portion who are not, too (or who weren’t as well prepared, etc). Vs any college like Wash U, Georgetown, etc will be virtually all high achievers.


UCLA acceptance rate is 10% and the average freshman GPA on entering is 4.6

there's no one attending UCLA who is not well prepared.

as one who went to a CA public HS, and know people who went to UCLA. I can assure you there are people not as prepared for college level academics as you might assume there, particularly in certain subjects. It is a large group of people and not all seek challenging majors.


You may think you know this, but your information is likely 30 years out of date. Catch up.
Anonymous
Post 10/23/2023 14:03     Subject: Schools where balance is possible
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Any big state university. Michigan, UCLA, UNC etc. Yes a portion of the kids are high achievers but there is a portion who are not, too (or who weren’t as well prepared, etc). Vs any college like Wash U, Georgetown, etc will be virtually all high achievers.


UCLA acceptance rate is 10% and the average freshman GPA on entering is 4.6

there's no one attending UCLA who is not well prepared.


Do you live in CA? The CA admittees don’t all come from LA and SF … Many students attending UCLA come from school districts that do not prepare them for a rigorous university experience. And they somehow graduate from UCLA …
Anonymous
Post 10/23/2023 13:34     Subject: Re:Schools where balance is possible
Anonymous wrote:Honestly, I think most schools outside the top 25 or so. Even some within. My best friend went to Cornell and had a VERY balanced experience. They are notorious for mental health issues, but it wasn't my friend's experience at all. (And I know many other people who were similar.)



Same here. My cousin's kid went to Cornell and loved his experience. Made friends, had social outings, did well.
Anonymous
Post 10/23/2023 13:18     Subject: Schools where balance is possible
Anonymous wrote:Big 10 school, anything but engineering.


+10 I love Big 10 schools. They have everything!
Anonymous
Post 10/23/2023 13:07     Subject: Schools where balance is possible
Anonymous wrote:OP, what are their stats?


All As at this point. I don't know how the AP weighting works at their school, but basically all sophomores take 1 AP and that's what mine did. SATs are scheduled for late fall.
Anonymous
Post 10/23/2023 12:51     Subject: Schools where balance is possible
Big 10 school, anything but engineering.
Anonymous
Post 10/23/2023 12:49     Subject: Schools where balance is possible
OP, what are their stats?
Anonymous
Post 10/23/2023 12:42     Subject: Schools where balance is possible
Avoid engineering
Anonymous
Post 10/23/2023 12:38     Subject: Schools where balance is possible
I hear about kids going to college and wondering if what they put themselves through in HS was really worth it, especially since so many schools are reaches these days just based upon % admit anyway.
Anonymous
Post 10/23/2023 12:36     Subject: Re:Schools where balance is possible
Anonymous wrote:My DC, wants to "Think Fast, Run Fast", any colleges you could recommend for them?


This is the opposite of this intention of this thread.

Anonymous
Post 10/23/2023 12:34     Subject: Re:Schools where balance is possible
My DC, wants to "Think Fast, Run Fast", any colleges you could recommend for them?
Anonymous
Post 10/23/2023 12:29     Subject: Schools where balance is possible
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:A big ten school- Work hard, play hard. I have one at Michigan and one at UMD


The phrase "work hard, play hard" is not used in a discussion of balance. It is used more commonly with say working in investment banking where you work 14 hours a day, then go out to clubs where you blow your $$$s, get home at 3am and do it all the next morning.


+1
Thank you PP, exactly what I was thinking!

My kid wants to work medium and play medium!
Anonymous
Post 10/23/2023 12:29     Subject: Schools where balance is possible
You need to be more specific about how smart you kids really is. These days, any kid is called smart as long as they're not documented as mentally challenged.