Yes I too have heard good things about Chaminade. It is approximately 45 min to an hour each way of travel time. I see students who do this sort of travel and I'm always suspect of students ( and parents) who boast great grades, sports, ECs in the face of a minimum of two hrs of travel a day. I mean how many geniuses are there out there? It seems to me that getting such grades with that type of travel ( yes they can do work or sleep while traveling as often stated ( not likely) )is extremely unlikely unless the course work is abridged or there is grade inflation .
For those in the Chicago area, or others who are knowledgeable, How does University of Chicago Laboratory Schools High School compare to Andover, Exeter, Choate, Deerfield, etc?
Could a current parent or student of the Hopkins School in New Haven Ct. provide some insight into the school? Considering this school for my child, but would like to increase my comfort level that the school is not too "intense".
My research keeps bringing up adjectives such as "gifted" when describing the students, and certainly their SAT averages and matriculation list seems to support that definition. While my child is a very good student in a competitive school, not sure that a high pressure environment would be a good fit. Any insight would be appreciated.
The concern about the intensity at Hopkins is legitimate and it is an open topic at the school. However, I believe that the reason it is discussed so freely is because the school is serious about managing it and seems to do a pretty good job. One school official told us before entering "it is definitely an intense environment but we've softened up around the edges since my days here..." I understand that Hopkins must have been a real pressure cooker at one point but if that's the case today the kids do a great job of hiding it.
Its only my D1's first year there so we're only comparing it to her experience in public school (and its only one month in) but she's definitely challenged with level and volume of work. She's a committed athlete with lot of traveling in planes / trains / automobiles and very little of that time is wasted. Plenty of people in her class are placed in 1 or 2 grade advanced classes depending upon the subject. It doesn't seem to carry any stigma either way. Our D is pretty smart and very disciplined. That combo seems to work at Hopkins...
