But don’t a lot of schools make the boarding students put smartphones in the hallway during study hall?
Also, I think a lot of the work is more meaningful. My public school student is constantly doing multiple choice online homework on his Chromebook (which is being used as a standardized test prep vehicle). My other student (in BS) gets challenging problem solving homework in the traditional pencil-paper-show-work way. Also BS students may have more writing work. So I think the question is about the quality of work vs. quantity. But I agree more than a couple hours a night gets excessive (it also sometimes means that the courses chosen are too difficult for the student). My son, though not at an acronym school, does not have more than 2 hrs a night. His school wants kids to be balanced and recognizes there are multiple ways to learn and develop at this important age. And, it gives the kids time to pursue passions which also require time, practice, and dedication.
Again, the OP is asking about Andover, where there are no mandatory study halls. While Andover suggests that the internet should be limited to academic purposes after 8 p.m., it is not a requirement.
It is not at all unusual to do 5 hours of homework nightly at Andover. Homework load depends on courses but since Andover allows more advanced courses for younger students – this can be quite intense even in 9th or 10th grade as there can be 9th and 10th graders in organic chem and MVC and fluid mechanics. Classes are supposed to have 45 minutes to an hour of homework per class per night, but more advanced classes state that they may have more – and they do.
Time management is necessary but also challenging, especially with a lot of ECs. So for example, say a kid is in classes during the day with one hour free at most (that hour can be work duty, or an extra lab, or an extra class and so sometimes not free), and then sports (if intense, like crew, this is 3 to 6 pm), and then orchestra meets 6-8 a few nights per week. So then at 8 pm, after an intense 12 hour day, the 15 yo then faces at least 5 hours of homework. Not much time to catch up on weekends if you are in sports, music/theater rehearsals, academic competitions off campus that you travel to, etc., not to mention the need to catch up on sleep. So yeah, there is a lot of work.
@sunnyschool – I agree that speed of the kid matters a lot and it isn’t surprising that anyone who takes 30 hours to do a paragraph struggles. But the Andover students I know are really, really fast and really, really smart and are just unable to manage the work load and get adequate sleep. One way to manage would be fewer ECs and easier classes, but for kids who wanted Andover for the challenge, those classes and sometimes ECs are the reasons they are there and not things they want to give up.
gungablue. one thing I’m thinking of is how difficult it is to take the “most rigorous” load at Andover. I would believe the kids who take the most challenging classes and excel are the ones who wind up at their choice colleges. My younger brother fears that if he takes a more average academic load at Andover that he won’t stand out to colleges. He really wants to be able to stand out. I’ve told him if that’s the case, he should look at more “chill” boarding schools like Westminster, Putney, etc.
I will just say many elite prep school, you will find multiple kids who took Math AP BC call in 9th and 10th grades. Students take Multi variable calculus and linear algebra before senior year. Some of these math type like math but love other subjects more and pushe the envelope in humanities. They do research beyond AP science. In addition they participate in leadership role of very demanding extra curricular activities in multiple varied interests outside of math and science club. The circle for this student is not very big, but it is there.
^^ Yep that was a shocker to us - how many kids are already in Calculus as Soph, and will take post-Calc classes in 11th and/or 12th.
@umichwolverine23 - it’s important to view this holistically. There is so much at BS that enhances one’s life. BS can really be a great place for kids that want a living/learning environment that is more intellectual than public school, and where they can do activities and sports right on campus. But it IS competitive, and there are no guarantees that the outcome (ie college admissions) will be any better than being a superstar in public school.
One goes to elite prep school not only for education but also for friendships, connections, and opportunities even after one has graduated from prep school. Those life long connection helps life time and open door that would be wide open just being among the alumni.
If one wants only education than they are better of staying at magnet school. Majority of education does not come from classroom, but outside the class room in clubs, very nurturing faculty who are there to help and most importantly kids who are as driven as you are. Love boarding schools, I envy my kids that I did not go myself. Thanks prep school
OFF TOPIC NOTICE to Parents: Don’t despair if your 13 year old isn’t doing Calculus or AP Science yet. I just read an article about how Google, Facebook, and other tech companies in Silicon Valley are finding that liberal arts majors (not STEM majors) tend to do better professionally in their organizations (including in tech jobs!)
Yes classes assign homework each night, but if I remember correctly Andover has a rotating schedule, so you don’t have ALL classes each day. You miss one core class. This was done specifically to reduce the workload. If you have a class long block, it doesn’t meet the next day, giving you one less class of homework to worry about each night. Also, weds are half days and a good day to get caught up and there are no weekend classes. There is a lot of work, but you also need to be smart about your time.
At A/E there are no study halls. You have to check into your dorm but it is on you what you do with your time after that. There are study hours, but no one is collecting phones, or really making sure you are doing your work. It is on you. Some dorms are strict and some are lax with lights out. Some nights I know SwimKid is playing video games after study hours, but he also does homework during office hours and free blocks and sometimes lunch.
@momof3swimmers is correct on all counts. I’m a current PA student, and there’s only one day a week I have all five of my classes, with the other days being between 2-4 (will vary depending on which courses you take and what periods you have them). While Mon, Tues and Fri are officially days when all classes meet, certain classes (typically humanities and some foreign languages) will have “red dot” days meaning that on either Monday or Tuesday, that class will not meet. Between that and the “Friday Free” which is new this year as part of the Empathy and Balance scheduling, you will have at least one class not meet more often then not. Then on Wednesday and Thursday you never have more than 3 classes (75 minute blocks as opposed to 45)
No official study halls, but between free periods during the day and “study hours” (as explained above) at night, the workload is considerable but definitely manageable. If you have any other questions, feel free to PM me.
I’m not sure anyone can answer this question (unless we had about a dozen current students tackling it). Some kids are using the internet/phone as a distraction tool while other kids are going to be studying during the day in small pieces and have little work at night. We heard from a student that she had only about 1 hour max 2 hours per night. She seemed bright, focused and not a time waster. For my kid, writing takes a long time but the rest is attacked with a plan in mind. I think many kids are pushing the envelope based on parental pressures rather than intellectual curiousity but who knows? Maybe some just want the grades and so are willing to put in extraordinary hours of work. Either way, it seems like from our data collection that boarding schools have more assigned times for homework thereby reducing the perceived time to completion vs. the public schools (with their endless array of AP courses in which some kids chose 1 and others chose all). Impossible to tell until you get there, IMHO.
Many of my friends at BS schools with internet restrictions usually do all of their work that requires internet first and then paper assignments, this way they don’t have to worry about the internet getting cut off. A lot of people usually end up using Hotspot after the internet turning off anyway.