Thoughts on school rankings

grinzing
Thu, 17 Feb 2011 18:31:11 +0000

4 years of a good experience vs. an unpleasant one is very hard to gauge, even applying the best research and inputs a parent can. We used all the tools available to us, S had more than one option after March 10, and we deliberated hard–but unfortunately, S has had a very rough ride at BS. At the end of the day, IMO, BS is very stressful and compounding the normal high school difficulties that most teens go through (especially in this environment–see Race to Nowhere), and they have to navigate it largely alone (yes, there are teachers/coaches/advisors on campus but they are very busy and are not there just for your kid (i.e. they are not YOU parents). I look back on the decision and say: “were we nuts to let a 14 yr. old attempt to handle so much?” For us, I don’t think I attribute it to the particular school being a better or worse fit, b/c all of the schools we were choosing from were very similar–academically top BSs that in reality are a hotbed of pressure. Sorry to be a bummer, but need to put it out there.