How do you know if your child would be competitive at top schools?

al2simon
Mon, 24 Apr 2017 02:33:19 +0000

I am surprised at many of the responses.

Many people prattle on and on about the virtues of a well-rounded liberal arts education at the college level and bemoan its replacement by an outcome oriented, pre-professional, consumer-driven undergraduate curriculum. Many people lambasted the governor who wanted to offer a stripped down $10,000 college education that focused on job relevant skills.

But if many people feel that way about the undergraduate curriculum, then how about some consistency when it comes to high school education? Students should be receiving a well-rounded education to prepare them to be educated citizens and intelligent adults. Bright high school students should be taking many different subjects in order to lay a solid life-long foundation and to discover new interests.

I understand why this sophomore boy wants to heavily focus on subjects he really likes. What I don’t understand is why most posters here aren’t encouraging him to slow down a tiny bit and not short-change himself when it comes to non-STEM subjects. I suppose that I feel that it is my job as a parent to help guide my kids’ high school education - this includes getting a rigorous, well-rounded education as well as diving deeply into their passions.

Of course, I understand that this student isn’t completely neglecting the non-STEM subjects. But he is clearly bright, and I think he is short-changing himself relative to his abilities more than I would prefer for my own kids. I suspect some colleges might possibly feel this way too.