<p>Daykidmom, I have a somewhat different take on the topic of “pressure cooker”. I think the a acronym schools do tend to be more of a pressure cooker than other schools although it may not be unique only to the 5 or 10 schools. I think it’s a natural effect out of a mix of stronger peer group, rigorous academics and high expectations about college admissions. You might feel it more when you kid becomes a junior. </p>
<p>Many of the posters advise not to take whether a school is one of the acronym schools into consideration when deciding which schools to look into and apply to, but the 5 or 10 acronym schools (depending on which one you use) do share some common characteristics. They are mostly schools that are highly selective, with better records for matriculation to highly selective colleges and larger endowments with good financial aid programs all at the same time (obviously even among them, things differ significantly in these measurements). There are some perceptions out there or on this board that are somewhat negative about these schools, such as they are more elitist, cutthroat and more of a pressure cooker. Having experienced one of them as a parent, I think there’s some truth in these perceptions although again it does vary significantly among these schools on these aspects. So for families and kids who want to avoid fierce competitions “at all cost”, then avoiding these schools makes sense and does give them a better chance of finding the sort of “nurturing” experience they are seeking.</p>