Sorry, replied too early before reading the whole. My children attended NCS and STA; they were recruited athletes and had their choice of colleges (one went ivy, the other Stanford). One graduated with a science major and being a varsity athlete helped enormously with getting offers from top consulting firms, who incidentally have special recruiting events for athletes on campus; instead went to a top MD/PhD program, where varsity athlete all 4 years in college and national team member was a major topic during the interviews. The other is still in school but has found that during interviews for on-campus research assistantships/internships/summer scholarships, being an athlete at a high level is a major plus. (Also don't forget the athletic scholarships
And, they learned to do their HW in 2 hours/night and during free period at school (NCS)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child averages more time per week on sporting activities than homework. This is typical for private school students.

Isn't this imbalanced time allocation concerning to the parents?

No, because it's the athletics that will get them accepted by a top college

I am the original pp who brought up the sports as being as important as doing the heavy workload and what might really make the difference in one person being selected over another as interesting for admittance, an interview, etc. That said, I do think there is an equal need to those pure academic types, and I think that it is important that those who are in that category to have something outside their studies at school that shows they have the initiative to push the envelope as a leader - be it in leading a team, in taking on something risky because it could be important, in hanging in there is something that is boring as all hell in order to get the final result - anything that shows the personality of the person. Getting good grades simply doesn't, and honestly, now that I know my niece dropped 50 points on the math section of the SAT by getting only ONE question wrong, clearly the SAT doesn't have enough specificity to distinguish much among a group of high-achieving students at school. Personally I wish schools would ratchet down the amount of school work they are requiring so those students who take longer to do the work would have the time to show other distinguishing characteristics about themselves, but I guess they can do that over the summer or by taking a "gap" year after graduation.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I got my first job right out of graduate school mainly because of my established academic records and accomplishments. I doubt, I would have impressed professionally the search committee with stories about my athletic interests or abilities, or my outdoor adventures.

And, as many studies confirm, the academic types ended up working for the non-academic types.

On the other hand, technological innovations and breakthroughs in many scientific and technical fields are led by "the academic type." We do need to nurture an academic culture in schools if we wish to remain a technological and scientific powerhouse in the international arena.

Anonymous wrote:I got my first job right out of graduate school mainly because of my established academic records and accomplishments. I doubt, I would have impressed professionally the search committee with stories about my athletic interests or abilities, or my outdoor adventures.

And, as many studies confirm, the academic types ended up working for the non-academic types.

9th & 12th graders – about 4 hours everyday.
In regards to the sports comments – I’m convinced one reason I received some interviews after my undergrad is because I had listed that I was the Treasurer of my school’s Flying Club, because frequently one of the first question I was asked was “do you have your pilot’s license?” (I did and I’m female, which made in more unusual). Point is, a lot of things will catch an interviewer’s eye that interests an interviewer.

Another NCS 10th grader. 2 to 3 hours a night.

Anonymous wrote:I got my first job right out of graduate school mainly because of my established academic records and accomplishments. I doubt, I would have impressed professionally the search committee with stories about my athletic interests or abilities, or my outdoor adventures.

My kids -- all varsity high school athletes, 2 varsity college athletes (both at Ivys) and one who will play a varsity sport next year at an Ivy-competitive school -- have benefitted greatly from sports. The time pressure involved in balancing a demanding academic workload with the requirements of varsity athletics forced them to develop focus and a strong work ethic. Sports also helped them become resilient people who can come back from failure to win again. My husband and I are as grateful to their coaches as we are to their teachers for helping our kids become young adults of whom we're very proud.

1) 10th grade

2) 2.5-4 hours/night weekdays (but does some in school)

3) Independent college prep school in NJ

I actually found that when I was considering going into academics, that the faculty found interesting my tennis background - it consistently was brought up. Yes, the primary interest was in my scholarship and academic credentials, but the tennis said that little something extra. In watching my niece get into colleges (or not) with a 2350 SAT scores, perfect GPA and a summer of original scientific research behind her, I keep hearing about all the other kids who have exactly the same as she does, and it makes me think about all the times my tennis was the one thing that separated me, if only because it showed a certain type of competitive drive taken on of my own initiative that maybe isn't quite as clear from a pure academic resume.

a) 9
b) 3-4 per nite, usually, also does some at school, 4-5 on weekends
c) small non-big 3 private (so small I might id myself)
d) over 4.0 (mostly A+s, but our school doesn't count them in the average)

DC takes 1/2 credit more than required. Does not play much sports and has one outside interest that doesn't require much time. I agree with PP that less homework and an outside passion would be preferable for DC to be a well-rounded human being and to learn important life lessons. DC claims the kids who play a lot of sports don't make the same grades, and DC believes grades are more important. Makes me sad.

Anonymous wrote:Pp, one of the things that consistently has impressed recruiters and future employers has been my history as a competitive tennis player, which I also did on my college team. It has said more about me than getting good grades with the level IQ I have has ever said, since the expectation was I'd get good grades. The competitive drive to win is something employers want to see, more than just good grades by studying for hours on end.

I suppose this depends on the type of profession. My first job was a faculty position in a technical area at a state university. No one inquired about my athletic background at the interview. As I said, the search committee was manly interested in my academic and research work and, perhaps, my personality. Years later, when I was in a position to recruit new faculty, I would look for talented and hard-working individuals with the potential to become experts in their field of study. Perhaps academia is unique in this respect.

Pp, one of the things that consistently has impressed recruiters and future employers has been my history as a competitive tennis player, which I also did on my college team. It has said more about me than getting good grades with the level IQ I have has ever said, since the expectation was I'd get good grades. The competitive drive to win is something employers want to see, more than just good grades by studying for hours on end.

I got my first job right out of graduate school mainly because of my established academic records and accomplishments. I doubt, I would have impressed professionally the search committee with stories about my athletic interests or abilities, or my outdoor adventures.

A. 11th grade
2. MAYBE an hour. Usually none. He gets his work done in class- he is a multi-tasker.
3. MCPS county high school (Not a W, Green Zone)
4. He is taking 4 AP classes this year- He took 2 last year.
5. His weighted GPA is a 4.2

He may not be diligent enough to get into an Ivy, but his first choice schools are right in line with his work ethic- Va Tech or one of the Carolinas.

He'll do fine. He has a life, and time for his hobbies and friends. He sleeps at night.

What more could a mom want?