<p>Wanted to check in with all the other parents, and the kids who want to chime in, about grades as students are headed into the back half of the trimester. After visiting with teachers during parent's weekend I am personally worried about S being behind the power curve - a bit of procrastination exacerbated by over socializing and higher standard of performance by teachers seems to be the perfect storm to possibly shake his faith in his own ability to earn high grades.</p>
<p>Exactly, what I wanted to see as a challenge but keeping my fingers crossed that he'll make it through the maelstrom with more maturity and improve rather than crash and burn. Overall, the math and physics appears relatively easy for him but the writing has been challenging. What are you guys seeing?</p>
<p>The opposite…the writing is going well (which is not to say that it has been easy) but the math has been a challenge. Just called to say he got an A on a math test though, which let’s just say is a BIG move upward–so I have faith that it’s going to end up more mature and improve than crash and burn. Coming off Parent’s Week-end, I’m amazed at all that they’ve had to adjust to and how well they’re doing as a group. Wasn’t Harkness in action just incredible? </p>
<p>I keep reminding myself that it’s only been seven weeks. My kid told me that first year grades don’t count in their cumulative GPA–so I expect that Exeter knows that most of the preps are going to take a while to adjust. </p>
<p>The bigger question is, how’s he handling it? It’s hard for these type A kids to no longer be getting the easy A’s, I think.</p>
<p>Great to hear your son is getting on a strong footing. Hope to see similar outcomes with mine. </p>
<p>As for GPA all grades count at PEA. Pass/fail for some classes but as a prep you get minium 5 lettered grades that all count towards cummulative.</p>
<p>Hmmm…I’ll have to ask him where he got that piece of (mis)information! In any case,his adviser told him (and me as well) that most colleges consider later grades to be much more important than prep year’s. </p>
<p>It would surprise me if they didn’t all fall flat in something or in some part of their work at Exeter at first. I’m sure your son will pull it together, but that they’ll both continue to have some pretty steep hills to climb.</p>
<p>In my son’s first year we found that his final term grades tended to move up in general one notch from the mid-term grades. B+ to A-, A- to A, etc. A number of contributing factors: Always takes a bit of time for my son to get familiar with particular teacher / testing format / style, so invariably, his test / paper grades improve as he goes through the term. I think the teachers probably also want to challenge the students and pitch the mid term grades perhaps a little low. That being said, no free grades. My son received an A- = 10 with a 93% average in a science course. Very hard to get an A. May sound simple, but grades reflect the average performance across the entire term. If performance is poor at the beginning of the term, near impossible to raise the overall average in the second half of the term to average an overall A. Final exams can be tough. From what my son has told me, they don’t just test facts. They look for the student to extrapolate from what they’ve learned. Can sometimes be a challenge to make that leap on an in class final exam. You really have to understand the material to make those types of leaps, not just cram for the final exam. One thing my son learned very early is to get assistance from the teachers if something isn’t making sense. Material is presented in a very systematic way and builds on prior work. Difficulty will compound if there are gaps. Teachers go far out of their way to help whether in math/science or writing courses, but they can only help if the student seeks assistance.</p>
<p>Thanks for that Exeter123. It reinforces my son’s experience–he has been learning to reach out to his teachers and is finding, without exception, that they are all helpful and caring–and just building that personal relationship with the teacher doesn’t make class easier, but seems to give him the confidence he needs to do better in class. He has also had the sense that his midterm grades were pitched a bit low. And that straight A’s are an exceedingly rare thing at Exeter. I like that–hate the way grades have become so inflated. </p>
<p>Okay, now I’ve got to demonstrate some of my kid’s work ethic and stop avoiding the set of essays I need to grade by posting on CC every hour. :)</p>
<p>Prepare for a bumpy ride and recognize that it will take most of the first year for boarders to settle down. They are not used to the distractions, they are surprised by the leap in academic rigor, and they are not used to being around so many other students just as capable (or more so). It is a very tough adjustment that, if you think about it, most other teens will not make until they hit college. No matter how mature they seemed at home, they are making a tremendous leap at age 14/15. We underestimated the magnitude of this last year (and I think the schools don’t acknowledge it enough b/c they want our darlings to come). I am happy to report however that the 2d year has begun on more solid ground.</p>
<p>Exsrh, We were just back from parent’s weekend for our son. I almost want to post the exact same message. Generally we believe it is due to 14 years old boy’s maturity. The writing part may be due to my son is from public school, in that he can not be trained well because of number of students.</p>
<p>Bumpy indeed. Although the college counseling office reports show more than 10 percent of four year grads had a 10 or higher GPA - which make straight A’s not so rare. It might make it more common than my S last school. But definitely kudos to those who earned high marks as it is a significant accomplishment.</p>
<p>Everyone talks about prep year grades not counting. My son’s first year was his best. If anything, it has gotten more difficult (which seems normal to me) because the coursework is more difficult with AP’s and higher level courses.</p>
<p>Boarding school like is a huge adjustment. It’s not necessarily the academics standards; it’s also the style. Whether it’s Exeter’s math or Deerfield’s physics, it is a very different way of teaching. I wouldn’t be too concerned about the first or second semesters. It’s also expected that grades will not be as high as where these kids come from.</p>
<p>But having said that, our child’s former middle school sent a group of kids (all good friends) to HADES, including several to Exeter. They ALL say it’s not as tough as they expected. I told each of them, that perhaps the hardest part was getting accepted.
I’ve been warned though, that these schools takes it easy on the frosh kids and it’ll get MUCH more challenging soon.</p>
<p>I should have been more specific; when I said straight A’s, I was thinking 4.0, not A’s and A-'s. I’m guessing that a GPA of 11 is pretty rare–though I suppose you’re right that it would be at many schools. However, I’m remembering my college roommate who was one of the 8 valedictorians from her high school; with weighted grades, they all graduated with GPA’s above 4.0. And I guess I’m also thinking rare compared to what these same kids would most likely be achieving back home–most of them would have easily been in that top 10 percent.</p>
<p>keylyme, I see your point; it does seem, at least for kids who manage to hit the ground running, that prep year might be their best. I see, though, that the profile does compute the cumulative average based on 9, 10, and 11.</p>
<p>Returning from parent weekend, and then receiving grades the next morning, I found that my d was doing extremely well. When we discussed her grades she admitted that she works much harder now and waste very little time though she is still finding time to enjoy her EC’s. She admits that she had good time management, and a lot of classmates are struggling with getting enough rest. </p>
<p>I contribute her ability to manage from homeschooling where she was able to complete task how she wanted to within my time frame, (ex. so many math lessons in a month, do them one a day or on all in a week).</p>
<p>I was surprised by her grades, I am a teacher who hates grades and removed her from school in part due to inflated grades. </p>
<p>She admits she loves school more than ever because her school have given her back the love of learning she lost in public school. </p>
<p>(It is easy to study when you are loving the learning).</p>
<p>In CC and this thread, we usually heard good stories from parents. However, I do believed it did not reflect some of facts and most of unhappy stories won’t be post here. I heard and saw different stories from parent week. It all depended on what level of couses kids been placed and how quick kids adjusted himself/herself to harkness way.
For example, Some kids dropped to lower level of math after first test. Some kids promoted to higher level. In higher level math, Teacher kept challenge kids. Those just tried to survive on daily homework assignment but maintaining good grade.</p>
<p>I was sitting in several afternoon classes. most of prep students already had 2 hours PE at morning. Even they sat in harkness tables, I saw some kids ran out of energy, felt sleepy in classroom. In one of toughest math class, I saw teacher kept challenging students on every math problem they presented. Some of smart prep/lower handled it well, some seems like sat on hot needle chair ( nervous you can tell ). At 1 on 1 parent-teacher conference, Teacher told me most of prep need one or two semesters to adjust to fit in.</p>
<p>My point is there are 12 students in one class. It won’t be every student in leading group. If your kids get good grade in first report. They adjusted themself quick and in the right track ( or not been challenge enough ). If not, give them more tlc and understand why. Let them know you 100 % support from home. </p>
<p>I checked out her at Satursday. She took a lot of homework with her and working very late at hotel. All I can help is reward her a good dinner/lunch that she tired of dining hall food already and missed her mom’s cooking.</p>
<p>It is said that the first term of freshmen year is designed to be easier to give new students time to adjust. If you are getting good grades the first term, don’t loosen up just yet…</p>
<p>Some coursework may be easier, though it’s hard for me to imagine how. Teachers allow lots of revision, which is great, but not easy. </p>
<p>However, that’s countered by several other factors: placement in math or foreign language that might have been too high, a bit on the easy side, or just right; how independently kids are used to working; the make-up of a dorm, sociability-wise; adjustment to an entirely different way of doing school; long hours of school and sports; homesickness; etc. </p>
<p>I think it’s safe to say that every term and year at Exeter will present its own new set of challenges. My kid got off to a good start because he’s used to managing his time and seems to have a “work-first, fun later” dorm–but while I think he’s feeling more confident and at home, I don’t think “loosening up” is on his mind. It’s more a growing sense that the challenges can be faced and handled.</p>
<p>Blue gene: Right on. Unconditional support and food are about all we can give–but they’re really, really important, aren’t they? :)</p>
<p>As for first year grades not counting toward the GPA. Prep schools can calculate it any way they want. But if a college asks for four years of grades, then they can calculate it any they want to, also.</p>
<p>For those of you more famliar with the “ins and outs” of the BS curriculums - is there any downside to holding off on the Honors classes until second year? Can you still find your way into Honors classes by 2nd or 3rd year if you didn’t take them your first year?</p>
<p>Madaket: You may want to ask that question in a different thread. It’s a good one, but not really answerable in Exeter terms since Exeter doesn’t do AP, and honors classes seem to be an invitation-only sort of thing in the last year or two of school (at least this is what I gather–more experienced parents might know better). </p>
<p>The only place where placement makes a difference is in math and foreign language, where placement in a higher level or faster track transition class at the beginning can affect the rest of your career at the school However, I’ve gathered from my kid that there’s not much use pushing those boundaries, because if you’re in over your head, you’ll just end up being put back into a slower track class next term, and will have endured a class that’s too hard for nothing. And there are opportunities later to take more accelerated classes that put you back on the more advanced track, so at Exeter at least, a class that will be a comfortable fit, is a better choice than trying to push the envelope.</p>
<p>Of course there is no set answer, but there surely is an easy proper answer.</p>
<p>Take the schedule that fits you, but remember that the schools look to see if student took toughest courses offered by school.</p>
<p>Grades at Exeter or other top BS are tough, and one semester of high grades may well follow with subsequent low grades.</p>
<p>Grades at Exeter are harder to earn than equivalents in college.</p>
<p>Peers at Exeter or BS will be much more densely populated with serous students than almost all colleges.</p>
<p>Reason: your kids are with the best. And, look to bulletin four years after they graduate – these are not normal people. In a good way. If child is in the middle of this bunch – kudos. Even in bottom quarter – that is a feat.</p>
<p>Parents must realize this and keep self esteem up. For many its like little leaguers asked to play high school baseball. The initial jump is hard, but eventually most catch on and get int he groove.</p>