For those selective Boarding schools, which ones are most flexible on courses requirement and which ones are not flexible? My understanding is that lots schools may have hundreds of course offered on paper, but the freshman/sophomore year students may not be able choose any for heavy core course requirements.
The curricula at most BS are very prescriptive, requiring four years of math, language, science, and English/writing (regardless of the the level at which you enter each stream), leaving very few slots available for electives which are mostly taken as a sixth/additional course. In our son’s four years at Choate, he had room in his schedule for three electives. Theoretically, electives can be take in any year (with permission, our son took a sixth course freshman year), but each year you will be taking a course in each of the four major disciplines. In the upper years, you will have some latitude in choosing among various offerings in each stream if that is what you mean by electives.
Boarding schools are not flexible on requirements, but there is some flexibility in how you meet those requirements.
@ChoatieMom, thank you for the reply. It is very informative. For meeting requirements, are there any schools allowing exemption from some courses by placement rather than advancing to harder courses?
My DK is several grade ahead on some subject but we do not necessarily want to rush more, neither do we want to repeat. If time can be saved for other subjects that would be ideal.
It depends upon the school. Almost all schools give placement tests for math and foreign language and will be placed accordingly. Note that in some cases, the student may be repeating a topic at the BS. E.g… Just because they got an A+ in precalc at the old school does not mean they have mastered precalc.
Almost universally, the student will take grade-level history and English regardless of past coursework.
Our kids’ school does not so much require X years of a subject in all cases, but rather the satisfaction of a particular level. That’s true e.g. in math, so depending on the results of your placement test you could finish this requirement in your first year.
See P3 here: https://www.andover.edu/files/COS2018-2019.pdf
@DroidsLookingFor, thank you. This is great flexibility.
While true, most selective colleges have expectations that exceed HS requirements. Few will find an applicant with one year of HS math and meeting the bare minimum math requirement someone who maximized their potential.
@skieurope if they took BC calc their freshman year - as one of my kids’ friends is currently doing - I have a feeling the selective colleges would get over it. Also, chances are that that kid is likely to go on to take a Math6xx class (and/or stats and/or CS courses which while not technically “math courses” would likely be happily met by a college).
Calc BC exceeds Andover’s requirements. I was talking about a person who took precalc as a freshman. Although in either cade, it’s unlikely that either student, being advanced in math, would opt to stop math after 9th grade.
Informal recommendations also can exceed both the college and HS requirements. That is common for foreign language. The HS may only require proficiency and particular college websites may indicate that only 2 or 3 years (or proficiency) is required, but our BS college counselors say the top college AOs actually highly value 4 years of a FL regardless. So do your research and/or talk early with your HS college counselors before pumping your kids up on all of the electives they can take junior and senior years.
@skieurope am aware of where it falls in the progression. I was responding to your comment about “one year of HS math.”
Agreed regardless those kids are moving on to other/higher courses.”