<p>I'm a junior currently facing some financial problems (to pay for some costly international school tuition in Thailand).</p>
<p>my stats:
GPA - 4.04, weighted; probably 3.8-3.9 unweighted
Classes -
gr 9 - English 9, Honors Math 10, Biology 10, Modern History
gr 10 - AP Biology (5), AP Eng. Lang and Comp. (4), Asian Studies, IB HL Math
gr 11 - IB Diploma: HL Chem, Physics and SL English, Psychology, Mandarin and AP Calculus BC
Rank - 1/200, will hopefully be val...if i actually can afford the next year
SAT - 2130 (710 CR, 760 M, 660 W)
SATII - BioM 800
PSAT - 200 (hopefully will get 220> this time)
ECs: Student Council President, many leadership positions in other clubs, committed to MUN, 300+ hrs of community service since 9th grade, summer programs and part-time jobs whenever on break/vacation</p>
<p>Looking around, I found this early college program with scholarships for sophomores and juniors, which seems interesting enough--granted their 3/2 joint engineering program with Columbia (or Darthmouth). Seems that students only need to maintain good grades and then they are "normally granted admission" to these two uber competitive colleges.
(here's the website: Pre-Engineering</a> — Bard College at Simon's Rock)</p>
<p>But all of it sounds too good to be true. Ph.D. professors, liberal art style courses, the independence of college, the full-package scholarship, and yet a 25-75th percentile SAT of only 1000-1300 and a GPA of 3.3 for the incoming freshmen class.</p>
<p>Does anyone know about this college and can verify that students actually successfully transfer into other competitive colleges (Ivies, Stanford...what I originally set out for)? ... or any general idea about how it actually is...social atmosphere, teaching quality, etc.</p>
<p>tokenadult,
My parents really want me to just go to college in Thailand (which is quite easy to get in and is cheap, but doesn't have the majors I'm interested in).</p>
<p>But I really want to get into some college that offers good education and research opportunities. Actually, I'm trying to find a prep school that offers financial aid / scholarships to international students where I can continue my IB program and get a HS diploma. But it seems that most prep schools only give fin. aid to US citizens and most of them are also AP.</p>
<p>And...another question to anyone who has an idea of what Simon Rock is like... how competitive is it compared to Tier 1 prep schools (life Philip Academies, Taft, Milton, etc.)</p>
<p>To answer the OP's question, the top prep high schools in the United States have MUCH better four-year college matriculation results than Simon's Rock. Not to mention that some great four-year colleges have no or few spaces for transfer students, which is what an applicant from Simon's Rock would be. I think the financial aid would also be better at several of the boarding prep high schools than it is at Simon's Rock--the best way to know that is to apply to all the schools, and see what offers of financial aid you receive.</p>
<p>I had a daughter who attended Simon’s Rock and had a wonderful experience there. In my experience, it is indeed an exceptional liberal arts college which is highly regarded. It is NOT a high school and should not be compared to a prep school. If you are ready for college level work at age 16, it is an option that should be considered. The 5 year engineering program in conjunction with Columbia et al is legit and worth considering if that is your intended major. Transferring from Simon’s Rock happens all the time – two thirds of the students get an AA degree after two years and then transfer, many to some of the finest universities in the country. One third elect to stay and receive a BA from S-R or Bard College. If you have specific questions please feel free to contact me. I would advise you to visit S-R and judge for yourself. There seem to be many people on CC who offer advice about Simon’s Rock but have no actual experience there, so I hope you will not pay too much attention to them.</p>
<p>It appears, according to this article, that financial aid money will be first targeted at the increased needs of existing students, rather than incoming students.</p>
<p>So…if you went to Bard College @ Simon’s Rock for the last two years of high school and applied to other universies, you’d have a hard time getting in because of being regarded as a transfer student?</p>
<p>I don’t think that is what that means at all, or why you would draw that conclusion. The article quoted was talking about financial concerns at Simon’s Rock and the amount of money that could be targeted for scholarships to the school. I have not heard anything to indicate that students have any more difficulty transferring after two years than they ever had.</p>
<p>rachael, students don’t go to Simon’s Rock “for the last two years of high school.” They go to Simon’s Rock for the first two years of college. IOW, they leave high school early to go to college early. Yes, they are transfer students if they transfer to another college.</p>
<p>My son has applied for next fall; he’s currently a high school sophomore, and would much rather be in college next year than high school!</p>
<p>The people I know who have attended Simon’s Rock have been very bright young people who have problems with the standard high school curriculum and environment. I would describe them as 16 year olds who were ready for college courses and disliked the regimentation of the typical American high school.
I have much sympathy for these folks and generally have been impressed by them, knowing them years later.<br>
I have no idea how someone coming from outside the country would perceive or experience Simon’s Rock.</p>
<p>Hi I was going to apply to Bard College at Simon’s Rock until I read the reviews on StudentReviews.com. The reviews of SR consisted of postive, negative, nuetral, and advice. I was really taken aback to read that there is a “drug scene” at this college in every section of the reviews. I still don’t understand how someone could leave a “postive” comment but still say there is a drug scene. However, anyone can leave a comment on the site. So I have come to this site to determine if the school is really as it appears or what I have read from supposed student reviews.</p>