<p>dramatica: I agree with you and tried to talk my boy into attending Brown for the reasons you state. I think he would learn more with the sword of Damocles over his head. </p>
<p>There certainly are many routes to a fine education. We live in a time in which it is not possible or one person to know everything as it was for the pre-Socratic Greeks. We must make choices, so something is always going unlearned.</p>
<p>Most students get to elite colleges having already taken fairly advanced math and science courses.</p>
<p>I never took math in college, but I now teach Chaos theory and fractals as well as Relativity theory to Humanities students. I pursued these interests on my own, free from the worry that a low grade would ruin my GPA and destroy my graduate school chances.</p>
<p>I agree that both Swat and Brown are excellent institutions and the perfect institution for the right student.</p>