Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So no schools in the top 25 or so that are NOT pressure cookers? Really?

By nature of being the top 25, of course they are pressure cookers.

And the mindset of the kids that make it in are not related Ed.

You are looking for a unicorn.
Consider seeking healthy balance instead of prestige for your child. One leads to a more solid foundation.

Hi I would like a universally recognized elite college attracting the highest achievers in the world, and you need perfect grades/scores to even enter the lottery to get in but NO PRESSURE and also NO COMPETITION once there.

Next up, find me a house in perfect condition in a great neighborhood that’s super safe with great schools and short commutes, but UNDER MARKET PRICE.

My daughter says there's very little pressure about grades and a lot more pressure on the easy breezy topic of, "so what are you going to do this summer?"

My daughter says it reminds her of her days in ballet, when all the girls asked what summer intensive they were applying to .. but only after the deadline passed to apply to said summer intensives.

Anonymous wrote:yes, I am concerned about prestige, but we also want a school that is nice, friendly.
Do they exist? When I Google I find things about the best special services but that clearly doesn't mean it's a healthy environment

Because why?

Anonymous wrote:I don't know about that. I am old, but went to HYPS. I am Type A and was even more so then. I wouldn't describe it as "laid back," but it wasn't a pressure cooker.

I’m middle-aged and went to one of those schools and it was absolutely a pressure cooker.

Anonymous wrote:Bryn Mawr isn't a pressure cooker because it's taboo for students to discuss grades with each other

Glad this is still the norm, it was so nice being somewhere where no one (students, professors, etc) talked about grades, rank, GPA.... You had your own info and kept it to yourself.

Bryn Mawr isn't a pressure cooker because it's taboo for students to discuss grades with each other

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: My child graduated from Swarthmore and he told me no one ever talked about grades. Pressure cooker is self imposed.

I agree that it's self imposed. DH and I went to the same T20 and met our sophomore year. If you were to ask me, our school was so much fun, but he would tell you that it was a grind. I had a lot of friends, went to parties, joined clubs and wasn't concerned getting a few Cs. DH only cared about his grades.

This is it.

Anonymous wrote:I don't know about that. I am old, but went to HYPS. I am Type A and was even more so then. I wouldn't describe it as "laid back," but it wasn't a pressure cooker.

as you said, you are old. you have no idea how things are there now as a student anywhere.
of course, once one gets in anywhere and is happy with a gpa that is just high enough to graduate, no place need be a pressure cooker...but the energy of those around them likely will be at HYPS and many other places. depends on major also.

Similar question was asked recently in this thread, which has lots of suggestions.

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1177050.page

Anonymous wrote:Brown

LOL, no.

Is UVA a party school

Pressure also depends on major. Premeds typically are under a lot of pressure for grades. Engineering majors typically have a pressure workload and good grades may be harder to achieve.

I agree with the PP that, to a large extent, the sense of a pressure cooker environment is self-imposed, i.e., depends on the kid.

Brown

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So no schools in the top 25 or so that are NOT pressure cookers? Really?

By nature of being the top 25, of course they are pressure cookers.

And the mindset of the kids that make it in are not related Ed.

You are looking for a unicorn.
Consider seeking healthy balance instead of prestige for your child. One leads to a more solid foundation.

Anonymous wrote: My child graduated from Swarthmore and he told me no one ever talked about grades. Pressure cooker is self imposed.

I agree that it's self imposed. DH and I went to the same T20 and met our sophomore year. If you were to ask me, our school was so much fun, but he would tell you that it was a grind. I had a lot of friends, went to parties, joined clubs and wasn't concerned getting a few Cs. DH only cared about his grades.