<p>My daughter and son did this. They were both so much happier!
Colleges never asked about the change. DD didn’t address it at all in her essay. DS did write about his experience. Both got into every school they applied to with merit money.</p>
<p>Exactly Toledo! The pressure and competition to do as well or better as others is intense. An “A” is not a “Good A” unless in it is in the high 90"s. Since when is a B a failure? Self esteem is such a big issue for teenagers. Glad your son is doing well in college. Gives me hope DD will actually get to enjoy college.</p>
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<p>Is this true? It was my understanding, from having spent too much time on CC, that kids are evaluated in the context of the school they attend, not some school they did not attend. If she is taking the most rigorous courseload at her school, that should be what counts (not what the adcoms are used to seeing from applicants). I should add our highschool in Canada offers very few APs, and it sure doesn’t seem to matter to the top US schools that admit their graduates.</p>
<p>Correct me if I’m wrong on this though.
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<p>OP, it sounds like your D is a very talented and interesting girl, and that she definitely did the right thing for her.</p>
<p>But I do NOT think that she should mention it in her essay! The essay should accentuate the positive, not make excuses for something that would likely not even arouse comment if she didn’t bring it up. She should be talking about what she loves, not planting a potential negative in minds of the adcoms.</p>
<p>I do think it is wise to have an answer prepared in case it comes up in interviews, and that answer should not be “I transferred to have less work” in any way, shape, or form.</p>
<p>I remember interviewing a job applicant who was switching fields who told me that she was trying to switch into my field because she thought it would be less work and less stressful. Now, if a person told me they couldn’t take being an air traffic controller anymore, I would have sympathized. But if this person thought that our field was “easier” than the one she was coming from, not only was she wrong, but I wasn’t interested in hiring her even if she were intellectually capable of doing the work–which I’m sure she was–because I figured that I couldn’t trust her to stand up to the deadlines and personalities we had to deal with.</p>
<p>Your D doesn’t want to give schools the idea that she will easily crack under the workload. And, to be realistic, in college your D will be able to select many courses that enable her to do what she likes to do IN class, unless she selects a school with a core or extensive distribution requirements, which would probably be a mistake. A HS student usually doesn’t have that luxury.</p>