<p>and to stay at a lesser institution - well boarding school will be fabulous, i'm sure, but i must admit that i am quite contented with my current school. some people pick prep schools because they want the best experiences, others disagree and stay. boarding school isn't for everyone. again, this is just an observation, not solely for applying-for-juniors-to-be. and it's not in my own self-interest at all. i'm not sure how that could affect me, except for new interesting people to meet as a junior.</p>
<p>I made it through a semester without a computer at my boarding school and got amazing grades and went to bed at 11:00 at the latest every night. I think in a lot of ways NOT having a computer can actually be a good thing. It makes you more focused and forces you to not waste time. It became a huge distraction for me this year, and really hurt me academically. I'm considering not bringing mine very much next year (I go home on the weekends, so I can bring it when I need it) because it's so distracting. </p>
<p>What the other people said about boarding school not being right for everyone is true. It really can mess things up. My school is only grades 10-12, and I left after freshman year because I was unhappy at my public HS. But my grades took a dive. I could have gotten straight A's in all AP classes and done 4 clubs and a sport and a research project with out much stress if I staid at my public HS (which was very reputable). I would be using top Ivy League schools as "matches" for me. But now, with harder classes and more work, I still have an excellent shot at great colleges, but it's much less certain. You do kind of get screwed over if your school grades harder than your public HS. It's up to you though; I have enjoyed my time at boarding school.</p>
<p>Top Ivy League schools are not a "match" for anyone.</p>
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I would be using top Ivy League schools as "matches" for me. But now, with harder classes and more work, I still have an excellent shot at great colleges, but it's much less certain.
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<p>I thought colleges don't really compare grades with a student from a public high school and a student from a top prep school in the country. This wouldn't explain the good matriculation in top universities from prep schools. Prep schools have much harder work. They know that.</p>
<p>illinois_kid, how did the computer mess you up? Most/all bs cut off internet access during certain hours of the day/night. For example, Middlesex cuts off the internet from mid-night to 5am. It would seem that by the time you get settled in for the night, it's study time (7-9pm approx). Of course at times students go well beyond the 2-3 hours of study. So if you study to 11pm, you would have 1 hour od possible distraction. I guess I'm assuming that during study hours, the internet is used for study/research. If not I guess you would have some issues with grades and?</p>
<p>My school cut off internet at 1 AM and it turned back on again at 6 AM. And you're right, I mostly was TECHNICALLY using it for research/homework. But I was also "busy" surfing the internet, commenting on Internet forums, talking to people on AIM. I was "working" during those hours, but my productivity was cut and and I didn't necessarily give all my assignments 100% of my attention. That meant that in a lot of cases the quality of the work went down too. It also took me a lot longer to finish things, which meant I spent more time half-working and less time sleeping.</p>
<p>I don't really have serious grade issues. Even in my distracted state, I usually get mostly A's with a B or two thrown in. After 2 years of boarding school and 1 of public high school, I have a 3.75 GPA (unweighted). The thing is, i could have gotten even better grades if I was less distracted. I also think I would've gotten a lot more sleep too, and wouldn't have had to take 2 hour-long naps during my breaks from class during the day to not feel tired. It slightly affected my grades and performance in the class room and out, but it really did have an impact on my quality of life. It makes you waste a lot of time, and that isn't good. </p>
<p>I'm not a serious internet abuser either. I just read online articles, use AIM and email (and write in online forums sometimes too). There were about 20 guys in 1 dorm who were all straight-A's students (or close to it) at the start of the year. Slowly, they began to spend all their time outside of class when the internet was on playing computer games (which I NEVER did). They started their homework at 1:30 AM. You saw some spectacular GPA crashes among them. They went from A students to C+/B- students. 1 guy stayed awake for 80 hours straight once. That's how bad computers can mess certain people up.</p>
<p>i go to Hotchkiss and we can "borrow" a desktop for the year...or "borrow" a laptop for a few days or so. As long as u start ur hw early and make sure the printing and editing is on schedule, u'll be fine, but it wont hurt to borrow a desktop if they're available! feel free to email me if u have any other qs</p>