Hello,
Which of the five schools (PEA, PA, St Paul, Choate, Deerfield) tends to be stronger at STEM - especially math or astrophysics (and which puts emphasis on humanities more)? I know Choate has a great robotics program.
The one you get into ranks first. The ones that reject you rank last.
All will offer challenging coursework in both STEM and humanities.
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I suppose I’m asking this too early and I should just finish the essays first but I spend much more time in STEM activities so I was still wondering.
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Yeah, that’s a question best asked after you have acceptances in hand.
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They will ALL get you where you want to go in STEM.
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ALL have exceptional math programs with course options that most students don’t exhaust, given that there are core requirements in other subjects. But if those options are exhausted, I believe all of those schools offer independent study courses. I can confirm that CRH does for sure.
Strength in astrophysics is simply not a reasonable criteria for evaluating a high school. Again, a school that is flexible with independent study opportunities would be relevant.
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Regarding astrophysics, look at the course catalog and see if there’s any specific class for that subject. If not, which wouldn’t surprise me at all, and you want to conduct independent study or research in the subject, look up the science teachers and see what their background is. Some might have specialized in school or in industry prior to joining the school. One of my daughter’s physics teachers specialized in some very esoteric subjects, as did a biology teacher.
Make sure you ask yourself what astrophysics means to you and what your current capabilities are. If you want a grounding in calculus-based physics and general astronomy (which usually includes cosmology), those classes are likely available at the schools you’re considering (check the catalog!). Theoretical astrophysics would require fairly advanced mathematics capabilities which you may or may not be able to develop during your high school career (tensor calculus, non-Euclidean geometry, etc). Applied astrophysics (orbital motion problems, an understanding of basic black hole behavior, etc) is within reach with multi-variate calculus, differential equations and some programming capabilities. Research is probably the easiest and simply requires you identifying a suitable subject. Lots of ground out there where amateurs can contribute … though it tends to be somewhat tedious like photographing minor bodies in the solar system and running analyses to refine orbits.
I love that you have an area that you’re interested in and, I’m assuming, passionate about. Astrophysics obviously lies at the intersection of physics, astronomy and math. Again, I don’t know your current capabilities, but building your knowledge in those three realms may take your high school career (and beyond).
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I think there has been a general misunderstanding:
I understand that all of these have great programs and classes and none will be too easy for me or anything. I was just wondering how much they emphasis they put in STEM vs the emphasis they put in Humanities.
(I don’t think this will affect how I write my essays or my application process or wtv but I - was - still - wondering)
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If by “they” you mean the school leadership, then I’d say they don’t emphasize one more than the other at the schools you are considering. They are strong across the board.
Some schools will emphasize one more (usually humanities or the arts), but you haven’t listed them. One example that comes to mind is Concord Academy.
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For an average student, admitted student I mean, each school offers more than enough in stem. If you are into the IMO type of competitions, you can take a look at the results publicly available. If a school has more kids scoring high, it usually means the school has that kind of environment and support and the kids. For researches, you can also check out results of those competitions. However, many times the researches are done with resources outside of the school, so it may tell less about the school.
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