Princeton Review Academic Rating

catfishin
Tue, 04 Dec 2007 13:58:56 +0000

Oh…excellent. I hope your daughter at UVa is happy and thriving academically and socially. Its a superb school.

Workload? Hmmmm…Princeton Review is too generic in my opinion to give you appropriately accurate information. As you know, not all departments and colleges within a university are the same. For example, its a common misconception that liberal arts students in english, history and philosophy have an easier workload. Wrong! They are often burdened with an extremely heavy reading assignment every night and writing papers…many, many papers all four years. My D is at Fordham…Fordham College at Rose Hill…the main campus liberal arts school. She is working her tail off…challenged to a T, but not overwhelmed and frenetic…what I call Just Right Porridge. That is a measure NOT of what Princeton Review says (and what they have published about Fordham is about 180 degrees WRONG!). Its a measure of fact from what the Jesuits give her to do, what her friends are doing and so forth.

Of the schools you listed,I can’t say that one or another from what I know, sticks out as more or less rigorous in work load. But they are each unique schools with different strengths and culture. You raise a good question…and it is something healthy to ponder, as you obviously have done. That is a good thing. As you know, some schools are hard to get into but not all that rigorous once you get in. Some are easier to get into but harder to stay…they work you to death. Some kids THRIVE in that environment and would be utterly bored and unhappy in any less rigorous environment. Some kids do better in less stressful environments. Its something to ponder because “fit” for that particular child of yours…your son, is really important to ensure happiness and success in college. You are to be commended for looking beyond mere SAT scores and GPA’s in determining what is the best fit. Whether he needs MORE demanding workloads, or would do better under a less stringent environment is something you and he can discuss.

Also, its not just the demanding workload. Its also the environment…do kids there focus on academics or are they party kids? For example, UNC-Chapel Hill is a superb school…near the top of Public Universities in the US. But its also a notorious party school. If you are immature and weak, you will go there and bomb. Or worse. You can sign up for easy bogus classes or take really tough and demanding courses.

Schools that have a strict core requirement are often the MOST rigorous. But that is also my bias. You have excellent schools in mind. But each is a different social and cultural scene. And that plays a huge role in the demanding nature of the school.

We avoided state schools like the plague because we were concerned there are too many party animals and too much loosy goosy scheduling going on. That was our perspective and bias, right or wrong. We are very happy at Fordham and my D is THRIVING, if that helps.

Does your son have an interest in Fordham? I am happy to extrapolate more information for you if he does. Contary to what Princeton Review says, Fordham is an awesome school. And we turned down some prestigious offers elsewhere to go there.

Good luck.