<p>Are there any schools out there that have good academic reputations yet don’t cause someone to have a breakdown because of the amount of homework given or the fact that you have to study every moment to get good grades?</p>
<p>Yale. Harvard too. </p>
<p>Of course, you might get a nervous breakdown trying to get in, but once you’re in, you should be fine.</p>
<p>Aren’t those the type of schools where everyone studies for hours a day and doesn’t have a social life? Right now I am at a pretty prestigious liberal arts school called Washington adn Lee and have been studying a ton and feel like the next four years of my life are going to be consumed by schoolwork and I won’t have a social life. I want a place where jobs will recognize it and it is a great place to get an education, but where I also am not consumed by schoolwork.</p>
<p>The answer, my friend, is in your question. Look for a school that you “fit” not one that is “prestigious.” Fit is a combination of SUBJECTIVE factors. Some kids thrive in a certain academic and social environment and others flail and fail. There is not ONE single answer, rather an answer for you, which has multiple parts and choices.</p>
<p>Breakdowns occur because of many reasons, overwork, lack of sleep, poor eating habits, family pressure, peer pressure, being out of touch with reality, being out of your own normal social group, region, economic environment, or simply expecting too much from yourself.</p>
<p>Being 4.0 in high school does NOT equate to 4.0 in college. Adjusting to that reality is hard to do. Sometimes kids who got 3.0 in high school get 4.0 in college…they do better in a different environment or the light bulb comes on, or they mature, or whatever.</p>
<p>There is not ONE college for you, there are many. You will likely do well no matter where you go, but you will do BETTER at a school where you are comfortable, challenged, and have a balanced lifestyle. </p>
<p>Fit is a measure of campus facilities, geography, socio-economic situation, academics, athletics, healthy food, weather, personal interests, programs, faculty student ratio, public or private, big city or rural setting, on and on.</p>
<p>YOU define what is “fit.” But often its an Epiphany. That warm and fuzzy feeling when you walk on campus (not to be confused with a “WOW!” factor), and is subsequently and continuously supported with more anecdotal information that reconfirms that feeling. What fits for you may be awful for someone else, and vice versa. </p>
<p>We sought academic challenge but also a new setting, new environment, but not too far out and distant from our core values.</p>
<p>The other end of the spectrum is the umbilical cord mentality: those who dont want to leave mommy or their clique in high school. That is also fine for those who want that and who do better in that environment. We know lots who do. While its not what WE would do and we wonder to ourselves if they will “ever grow up” or always be living in their hometown, with the same friends or even living in mommy’s basement at age 30, we recognize everyone grows up differently and at different stages. </p>
<p>You should pick schools that are reach, match and safety from a pure academic standing point of view. Embrace your match and safeties. And do your homework that encompasses MORE than just avg SAT scores or USNWR rankings. Sure, we all want to push out our chest in pride. That is normal. And nothing wrong with reasonable ambition. But its folly to assume you will only be successful if you go to HYP etc. For some that is a wonderful path, for others its disaster. </p>
<p>My D went through huge culture shock and a lot of “personal” adjustment freshmen year. But we hung in there, gave her guidance and helped her transition. Now she is thriving. College is a HUGE change from High School. You will do MORE work on your own (assigned reading and writing) and class discussion is only 10% of the grade often, if that. College courses move QUICKLY…it creeps up on you. Classtime is NOT romper room like high school. Its at least a FULL HOUR, not the normal 40-45 minutes in high school. And you have MAJOR social adjustment going on in the dorms regardless of where you go, even for the “home bodies”.</p>
<p>Prestige is HIGHLY over-rated. Just last evening PBS had a show on a famous American Physicist Hugh Everett. He went to Catholic University of America as an undergrad (though he was agnostic). Not exactly a high prestige school, particularly in math and physics…but challenging enough for him. He won a graduate fellowship and earned his PhD at Princeton and became one of the fathers of the Minuteman Missile system.</p>
<p>Happens a lot actually.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>So even if I don’t go to the major, prestigious universities will I still be looked at the same in the job market? The place I’m at now is a wonderful school and looked upon very highly, but I am a whole country away from home, the culture is the exact opposite of what I am used to, and the people aren’t what I was looking for. It would be great if I stuck it out here and graduated because I would have the W&L name on my resume, but I know that it would be a miserable four years.</p>
<p>Basically, what I am looking for is a place that offers the trimester system where study abroad is emphasized. I would like a place where there are a bunch of things to do such as theater performances, group fitness lessons, some sort of outdoors club, volunteer opportunities, and I would like an equestrian team, but not necessary. I do like how in liberal arts colleges, you can take a variety of courses, but I am not set on liberal arts. Any ideas anyone?</p>
<p>I sent you a PM, ping me back. Okay? W & L is a wonderful school and very highly regarded. But its not the only place in the world. What matters is what is right for you. Ping me back.</p>
<p>shamrock4-
i’m a mom of a daughter looking strongly at W & L. So sorry to hear it has not been a good fit for you so far. I would say as a mom - to hang in there though - it hasn’t been very long yet- my kids always take at least a semester to 1 yr to adapt to a change in environment. When you say the culture is the exact opposite of what you’re used to - that saddens me - I would hope (being from the South)that they would embrace you and learn from your culture. As to the study all the time aspect - that does concern me. - You need balance- find a church there you can get plugged into - we are not meant to be in this journey alone. I will pray for your happiness and new friends there.</p>
<p>I second that miltonmom. We are southerners as well. Its a process and it takes time…for all freshmen no matter where they are. It is overwhelming at times for kids, especially being far from home. But being strong and focused helps a lot. It does get better. W & L is notorious for being a bit clique-ish and sorority/fraternity centric. Also a drinking environment they are attempting to correct. And it tends to be upper socio-economic kids. It has a rigorous academic reputation and some grade deflation. But that is also true at many colleges.</p>
<p>The thing is, is to get kids to make GOOD choices: eat right, sleep right, dont drink and pace yourself in your studies with time management. And learning HOW to study…being efficient. Nobody is perfect so dont expect too much from yourself. Stay out of dorm drama if you can avoid it.</p>
<p>I also recommend the church environment as Lexington has several beautiful churches. </p>
<p>Freshmen funk happens to a lot of kids. Being homesick is normal. It does get better. So just BREATHE. Relax and be proud of your accomplishment. The grass is not always greener elsewhere. HOWEVER, some of this is going to take time…maybe until Feb or March…spring break does wonders to open up kids eyes.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Stanford too. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>There are indeed plenty of students at those schools who will study for hours a day. But it’s really their choice. If all you want to do is graduate, you don’t have to study very much at all. You won’t get top grades, but you’ll still graduate. </p>
<p>I’ll put it to you this way. Both George Bush and John Kerry managed to graduate from Yale, yet both of them have freely admitted that they were deeply unmotivated students who cared far more about doing other things. Despite that, they both managed to graduate. Furthermore, those schools are even easier now than during their days due to grade inflation. </p>
<p>''I always told my Dad that D stood for distinction," Kerry said yesterday in a written response to questions, noting that he has previously acknowledged that he spent a lot of time learning to fly instead of focusing on his studies.</p>
<p>Based on what Smith recalls teaching that year, Kerry scored a 71 and 79 in two of Smith’s courses. When Smith was told those scores, he responded: ''Uh, oh. I thought he was good student. Those aren’t very good grades." To put the grades in perspective, Smith said that he had a well-earned reputation for being tough, and noted that such grades would probably be about 10 points higher in a similar class today because of the impact of what he called ''grade inflation."</p>
<p>[Yale</a> grades portray Kerry as a lackluster student - The Boston Globe](<a href=“http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/06/07/yale_grades_portray_kerry_as_a_lackluster_student/]Yale”>http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/06/07/yale_grades_portray_kerry_as_a_lackluster_student/)</p>
<p>Bottom line - if you want to get top grades at those schools, your life may indeed become quite stressful. But it’s not that hard at all to simply graduate. {Surely, if Bush and Kerry managed to do it, you can too.} Contrast that with other schools (i.e. Caltech) where it is a huge chore simply to graduate at all.</p>
<p>I’ve heard very good things about Rice and the LACs (Bowdoin in particular, but probably since that’s the only one I’ve looked at)</p>
<p>If you’re one of the premed drones don’t expect any school to be safe from nervous breakdowns, though.</p>
<p>After two months its WAAAY too early for a freshman to bail…unless there are MAJOR grade issues going on, a concern about safety, or major depression. This is just a case of freshmen funk and the OP will get through it and be glad that people helped them get through it.</p>
<p>Perhaps the PR list of ‘happiest students’ will help you. This is the first year in a long time that Brown doesn’t have the #1 slot. Some of the things that Brown does that helps:</p>
<p>open cirriculum - zero distribution requirements
no D’s - if you score below C it won’t be on your record, but you won’t get graduation credit for the class either
any class can be taken pass/fail - this allows you to take a chance on something and not worry about GPA (my daughter took Mandarin)
collaborative culture</p>
<p>But yes, she does have to work hard to get good grades.</p>