Isn't the whole college in high school thing getting a bit crazy?

[Monoclide]

<p>

To me, there are two issues:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Kids being able to learn higher level material earlier, and go at as swift a pace as their hungry minds can absorb.</p></li>
<li><p>Kids who are competing at the top of their class with other top kids in an ever-spiraling arms race of GPA and #of AP classes, for top rank or other “trophies”. Especially when the impetus is not coming from the student, but from the parents.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Number 1 is healthy and desirable, and Number 2 is often stressful and undesirable. I don’t mean that a little competition is a bad thing, but there are lots of negatives that flow from the #2 situation if it gets out of hand. Sometimes when we debate, some people are talking about #1, and some people are thinking of #2.</p>

<p>Just my two cents.

</p>

<p>That’s the perfect way to describe it. </p>

<p>I view them as the Honors and AP paths. The Honors kid will score 90-95 in all their honors (and even little AP) classes. Top 10% and will get into a great college. The latter, the AP kids, will score 95+ in each of their classes, mentally and physically drain themselves while fighting for tenths of a point in the top 10 in hope of scoring an Ivy. </p>

<p>It’s a huge let down for the AP kids, too. A friend of mine, an AP student, - ranked number four. She applied to Yale. Rejected. All of her hard work thrown away in one little letter. Another friend of mine, an honors student, was accepted into Boston College. It’s no Yale; but it’s still a gorgeous and reputable school. </p>

<p>If you have legacy, money, political status and high 2300s - you have a shot at Yale. Otherwise - stop killing yourself over the AP scores and aim for NYU, Northwestern and the like.</p>

<p>-x-</p>

<p>Oh, and college courses are a bunch of BS. Most of them are in accordance with the local community college. You’ll get nothing out of it. You are taking the same class as the people in community class. You know, the drop outs, deadbeats and low lives.</p>