My kid comes from public middle and feels the pressure mostly from academic. There are a lot of high achievers around. She was amazed some would depress at 95 out of 100. Although she also feels the pressure from money (some kids do wear Prada/Cartier to school, and seems many have tutors or therapists), I think she knows how to manage that at this age.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is doing great in the MS and received similarly good grades in the LS. I’m considering transferring her out to a less rigorous school for Hs so she can be the top dog at a less demanding school. Has anyone tried this?

Where would that be? At a mediocre private maybe. At any decent public school, there will be hundreds of students per grade, and the top students will be just as bright as at NCS, but there will be more of them. And there will be plenty of AP and IB classes offered, so if the kid is struggling with "college level coursework" they're not going to avoid

it by going elsewhere.

Maybe the pressure isn’t just academic. Maybe the girl is going to do better if there are a range of kids of different talents and traits , not like Ncs girls where everyone lives in a gorgeous house and look like walks off a perfect teen magazine that has beautiful skin and wonderful long hair.

I hate to break it to you but there are girls with beautiful skin and wonderful long hair at public schools too. But you are right that the students are more likely to have mansions in NCS than in public if that’s the source of the student’s “pressure.”

Of course. But I think the standard for what counts as an ideal student might be more uniform at schools like NCS than at public or less-elite private schools.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is doing great in the MS and received similarly good grades in the LS. I’m considering transferring her out to a less rigorous school for Hs so she can be the top dog at a less demanding school. Has anyone tried this?

Where would that be? At a mediocre private maybe. At any decent public school, there will be hundreds of students per grade, and the top students will be just as bright as at NCS, but there will be more of them. And there will be plenty of AP and IB classes offered, so if the kid is struggling with "college level coursework" they're not going to avoid

it by going elsewhere.

Maybe the pressure isn’t just academic. Maybe the girl is going to do better if there are a range of kids of different talents and traits , not like Ncs girls where everyone lives in a gorgeous house and look like walks off a perfect teen magazine that has beautiful skin and wonderful long hair.

I hate to break it to you but there are girls with beautiful skin and wonderful long hair at public schools too. But you are right that the students are more likely to have mansions in NCS than in public if that’s the source of the student’s “pressure.”

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is doing great in the MS and received similarly good grades in the LS. I’m considering transferring her out to a less rigorous school for Hs so she can be the top dog at a less demanding school. Has anyone tried this?

Where would that be? At a mediocre private maybe. At any decent public school, there will be hundreds of students per grade, and the top students will be just as bright as at NCS, but there will be more of them. And there will be plenty of AP and IB classes offered, so if the kid is struggling with "college level coursework" they're not going to avoid

it by going elsewhere.

Maybe the pressure isn’t just academic. Maybe the girl is going to do better if there are a range of kids of different talents and traits , not like Ncs girls where everyone lives in a gorgeous house and look like walks off a perfect teen magazine that has beautiful skin and wonderful long hair.

Anonymous wrote:My kid is doing great in the MS and received similarly good grades in the LS. I’m considering transferring her out to a less rigorous school for Hs so she can be the top dog at a less demanding school. Has anyone tried this?

Where would that be? At a mediocre private maybe. At any decent public school, there will be hundreds of students per grade, and the top students will be just as bright as at NCS, but there will be more of them. And there will be plenty of AP and IB classes offered, so if the kid is struggling with "college level coursework" they're not going to avoid it by going elsewhere.

My kid is doing great in the MS and received similarly good grades in the LS. I’m considering transferring her out to a less rigorous school for Hs so she can be the top dog at a less demanding school. Has anyone tried this?

I taught there for a decade and have taught at a variety of east coast privates - my NCS students are the only ones I even remember, for the most part they are dedicated, smart, hardworking students. The pressure cooker came from a few impossible classes (9th grade physics back in the day) where it was impossible to get an A and getting tutored, putting in hours at conference period, didn’t move the needle much… maybe a B to a B+ This plus the rigor for all humanities with an extremely high level of writing expected along with major weekly reading assignments it can be a lot for even strong students. I’ve heard standards are a bit lower than the 2000-2010 period now a days and the teachers are expected to be a bit more flexible. In the early 2000s the teachers were not flexible. At some point a rule was put in place that if a student had 3 tests in a day, they could reschedule one. The outrage this caused among the faculty! It was a different time.

Absolute pressure cooker

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^and to add — there are plenty of girls you happily thrive in a grindstone environment like NCS. I was not one of them. It’s important to know your kid.

I don't know of there is anyway to say this gently but a previous poster mentioned that physics in 9th grade was a disaster. A number of girls get close to 100% in that class each year. So it isn't a disaster, in fact for many girls it is too simple.

If your child is struggling in 9th grade---10th, 11th and 12th grades aren't going to be easier. You need to CHANGE SCHOOLS. There are so many schooling options here in the DMV. NCS doesn't pretend to be "one size fits all." It doesn't pretend to be anything than but a super rigorous, grind of a school. If that's not the right fit for your kid, then find a school that is. Many of us have been in this position and have made that move and our kid is so much happier because they're in an environment that works for them.

To be fair to previous poster… it really depends on the teacher your kid draws. The teaching is not consistent among the faculty for this class.

Anonymous wrote:do those of you with current girls in the UPPER school and especially those with older kids or graduates think that it's gotten softer/easier this year or last?

Definitely not.

Anonymous wrote:^and to add — there are plenty of girls you happily thrive in a grindstone environment like NCS. I was not one of them. It’s important to know your kid.

I don't know of there is anyway to say this gently but a previous poster mentioned that physics in 9th grade was a disaster. A number of girls get close to 100% in that class each year. So it isn't a disaster, in fact for many girls it is too simple.

If your child is struggling in 9th grade---10th, 11th and 12th grades aren't going to be easier. You need to CHANGE SCHOOLS. There are so many schooling options here in the DMV. NCS doesn't pretend to be "one size fits all." It doesn't pretend to be anything than but a super rigorous, grind of a school. If that's not the right fit for your kid, then find a school that is. Many of us have been in this position and have made that move and our kid is so much happier because they're in an environment that works for them.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Current family of an US student--I found LS to be nurturing, MS the right amount of a step up but the step from 8th to 9th was too big in terms of academic expectations.

I think the problem of these rigorous HS Sidwell, big 3 including NCS is the MS is too easy. Why can't they make MS a bit more rigrous, teach a bit more math and physics and writing?

Parent of Sidwell students, and I agree with this. The MS should be a strong building block for expectations in the US.

in my country, students take physics from 7th grade all the way to 12th grade. how can one learn physics within a year?? How can it not be super stressful?

There are 15+ girls who graduate each year with close to all As and most of them take the most rigorous classes as well. Some do this with very little or no stress. They are just extraordinarily bright.

The other 60-70 girls struggle to one degree or another and can't keep up with the lead pack. Many should probably be in a different school but parents keep them in for many reasons: friends, prestige, faculty, curriculum, habit, legacy, etc.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Current family of an US student--I found LS to be nurturing, MS the right amount of a step up but the step from 8th to 9th was too big in terms of academic expectations.

I think the problem of these rigorous HS Sidwell, big 3 including NCS is the MS is too easy. Why can't they make MS a bit more rigrous, teach a bit more math and physics and writing?

Parent of Sidwell students, and I agree with this. The MS should be a strong building block for expectations in the US.

Anonymous wrote:Current family of an US student--I found LS to be nurturing, MS the right amount of a step up but the step from 8th to 9th was too big in terms of academic expectations.

I think the problem of these rigorous HS Sidwell, big 3 including NCS is the MS is too easy. Why can't they make MS a bit more rigrous, teach a bit more math and physics and writing?