<p>Well, I'm taking the advice I read off the "Colleges not discussed on CC" and advertising/inquiring about SRC in Massachussetts. Does anybody here go to this school or have any experiences with it? I ran across it while I was on Princeton Review and it sounds like a really nice fit for me. Plus, its not so hard to get in to like most of the elite schools on these forums. I finally understand the concept of Love your safety.</p>
<p>I've heard it is rife with drug use, which is what the Princeton Review college guide says.</p>
<p>I've heard mention of this too, which honestly doesn't surprise me considering the age/unique background of the kids that go there. Is it enough of a problem that it should deter me from going?</p>
<p>The drug use, remote location, and lack of resources as a result of being a small campus are weaknesses. However, it is the only university in the country dedicated to students entering college early. As a soon-to-be freshman at 16, I think being around people who share this background would be interesting. Thoughts?</p>
<p>Bobisbob -- I skipped a year of high school and went to college at age 16, at a large university. I am very glad I made that choice. I lived in a freshman dorm my first year, and of course most of my classmates were 17 or 18.. but I had no problem relating to them as peers. Unless I told people, no one knew I was younger than my classmates. But the nice thing was that the university also offered me an opportunity to meet, study with, and participate in extra curricular activities with older students - and friendships with people in their 20's were a very valuable part of my life. </p>
<p>I think that Simon's Rock is a great option for the 14 or 15 year old who, for academic/social reasons really needs to move beyond high school early... but at 16, I think you would be selling yourself short to miss out on the opportunity to attend college with a wider range of young adults. The fact that Simon's Rock is remote makes things worse -- I was active in local politics of a fairly good sized college town, which also brought me in contact with a lot of adults. </p>
<p>When I went off to college I felt I was ready to grow up -- the last place in the world I would wanted to have been is was in a small isolated school surrounded by a bunch of youngsters. Again, keep in mind that at Simon's Rock you would have a lot of classmates whoa are <em>very</em> young -- kids going through the same growing experiences at a college that other teens might go through at a private boarding school or prep school. At 16, you would one of the older college Freshman. Is that really what you are looking for? </p>
<p>Somehow for me the advantage of being one of the youngest in any group was the learning and growth that came from the mentorship of older, more experienced peers.</p>
<p>Hi Bobisbob,</p>
<p>I agree with Calmom in her assessment: my son-in-law went to Simon's Rock when he was 15 (skipped junior and senior year of high school) and has told me a bit about the school. It sounds ideal for the younger crowd, but from what I have read of your postings, you seem more mature already and perhaps beyond this place . . .more ready to attend college of the typical sort.
Just a thought!</p>
<p>Are all of the first year students at Simon's Rock without HS diplomas? My (limited) understanding is that any "normal" university requires a HS diploma, so if a kid graduates early he can go to university, but if a kid just wants to leave HS early (without a diploma) his options are limited, but one of those options is Simon's Rock. So, back to the original question, are some of the students HS grads? </p>
<p>Also, for what it's worth (nothing?), next Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's son went to SR after 10th grade, then transferred to Brown.</p>
<p>Not all schools require a high school diploma. Harvard, MIT, Stanford, for example, do not. Simon's Rock is geared toward younger students, as Calmom states. Leo Borstein, the head of Bard College, is on record as stating that high school is largely a waste of time.<br>
I also agree that SR is a better fit for younger students who will want to transfer later on. Its offerings are limited, for one thing, and students can easily outgrow it.
For a young but well-prepared and mature student, there are several options: take a gap year or go to a small LAC where a lot of support is available. Some are used to having younger students.</p>
<p>Actually, most of the students who go to Simon's Rock are 16 or 17, not younger -- although they do occasionally accept students as young as 14, that is by no means the norm. Most have completed 10th or 11th grade. In fact, I disagree completely with the statements above. Simon's Rock is a superb small Liberal Arts College, for students of any age. If you want to attend a large college, then by all means apply to one. What SR does is give highly intelligent students a chance to attend a LAC without wasting time at high school waiting to graduate. It is intellectually stimulating, the professors are excellent, and for many 16 year olds, it is an advantage to have a couple of years studying in that smaller environment with students of their own age. Two thirds of the students receive an AA degree after two years and then transfer to some of the best colleges in the country (last year students were accepted at Stanford, University of Chicago, Swarthmore, Cornell, Brown, Barnard, Bard, Wesleyan, Smith, etc.) They also have an engineering 3-2 affiliation with Columbia and I think Dartmouth. In addition, I should note that one third of students who go to SR stay and get a BA after four years, many spending a semester or year abroad. SR is highly respected by top colleges and graduate schools.</p>
<p>Are there drugs at SR? Yes, of course there are, as there are at almost every college in the country. But in fact, students at SR are more supervised than at most other colleges, as the administration and faculty are clearly aware that they are underage, and parents are much more involved in the student's college life than at any other college I have seen, even afforded the opportunity to meet with teachers and get written reports from them. If you are really interested in SR, I would urge you to visit their website and visit on a Discovery Day to view the campus. Personally, I think it is very special place. It is easy for people who do not have real experience with it to denegrate it. Don't let them convince you not to attend without investigating it for yourself.</p>
<p>To clarify one point I made before someone jumps on me: when I say that "Simon's Rock is a superb small Liberal Arts College, for students of any age", I mean that academically it holds up with the best colleges. The mission of the college is obviously for "younger scholars". But that mission does not minimize the quality or rigor of the academics in any way. In fact, most students who transfer from Simon's Rock -- even those who go on to Yale and Stanford -- seem to feel that the work load at SR is harder. SR is definitely not a place for slackers who simply want to get out of attending high school. But for those who want to be intellectually challenged and are not afraid of hard work, it can be a very stimulating environment. </p>
<p>Also, one word about Great Barrington -- yes, it is isolated. But it is also a charming, beautiful town in the Berkshires, with an incredible number of excellent restaurants. I can think of a lot worse places to spend a few years.</p>
<p>Simon's Rock is a good school, but its also a place where a lot of NYC private schools send their burnout students. My school has lost two kids to SRC already. So I'm sure you'll find an interesting mix of highly motivated younger kids who crave the new experience, and highly stoned rich kids who became a liability for their schools/parents.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot, everybody, for your input. It's especially nice getting information from people who have first hand experience with the school.</p>
<p>filmxoxo, yeah, I'd read about how a majority of the students are young and motivated, but there is always the visible group of slackers who wind up there.</p>
<p>I guess I'll never know how I'll fit in on campus maturity or motivation- wise unless I actually check out the campus, but it's nice hearing so many opinions. Thanks, guys.</p>
<p>if you end up going there, definitely check out the Barrington Brewery (restaurant)...their beer battered fries are amazing</p>
<p>I think it's fair to say that there is a "visible group of slackers" at most college campuses around the country. Simon's Rock is no different. The motivations for attending college are numerous. But it's also fair to say that the intellectual stimulation available at Simon's Rock is intense. There are an exceptional group of students and teachers there -- not ALL of them, but they are there and available and easy to find, and that is probably the most important thing.</p>
<p>This has no relevance to the quality of education at Simon's Rock, but it is interesting. </p>
<p>My son was a senior taking AP Psychology at his high school. As part of the course, the class took a field trip to the state prison in MA, Cedar Junction.</p>
<p>Students were required to interview prisoners there. My son interviewed a murderer by the name of Wayne Lo. The tie-in to Simon's Rock is that Mr. Lo was a student there and the shootings took place on campus. Also, I believe that the ammunition was shipped to him at the school.</p>
<p>An interesting link:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.goneboy.com/reviews/nytimes.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.goneboy.com/reviews/nytimes.html</a></p>
<p>"But on the morning of the shootings, college administrators, after some initial hesitation, allowed Lo to pick up a suspicious package from an outfit called Classic Arms that had arrived for him in the college mail room." </p>
<p>That sounds a lot less alert and safety-minded than the administration at any of the better prep schools. </p>
<p>(A good prep school, in my opinion, would probably be a better choice for someone of high school age who does not yet have a high school diploma and who wants a rigorous education away from home. But one could also be an autodidact for a year--and that would probably look a lot more interesting to a college admission officer, if that is your concern.)</p>
<p>The Wayne Lo situation was tragic. It also happened in 1992. Much has changed at Simon's Rock since that time, so all I will say is that one should not judge a school based only on one incident from one severely disturbed student 14 years ago. There are plenty of horrendous incidents that have happened at schools all around the country since then -- public and private high schools as well as colleges. So let's keep things in perspective.</p>
<p>And I agree that good prep schools have their place. One can get an excellent education there, and I highly recommend that option for most students. Prep schools are certainly more protected and supervised than a student would be at Simon's Rock -- although there are plenty of prep school students who get into serious trouble every year, so don't make the mistake of thinking students are living in a protective bubble, because they are not. But prep schools are not colleges. And Simon's Rock is not a high school. That is a difficult concept for many people to understand. SRC is a liberal arts college for young scholars. The curriculum is entirely college level, and in fact more rigorous than many colleges. It is definitely not a place for kids who want to loaf or who simply want to study away from home. If students attend Simon's Rock for that reason, they do not succeed there; but then they were likely not succeeding in their high school environment either. SRC is for students who are ready to leave high school and are seeking the specific type of learning environment SRC offers. Many of these students were not so much escaping from high school as seeking a better option. For those students, SR can be a wonderful experience.</p>
<p>Anyway, I have found the administration at SRC to be very open to discussing all of these issues, including Wayne Lo, and they are far better versed than I am. But I am speaking from personal experience as a parent, and I had many of the same doubts that are being voiced here when I initially investigated the college. I have come to respect and value what SRC has to offer. Again, SRC is not for everyone. How could it be? It only accepts about 150 students every year. But for those students who are willing to think outside the box, it can be a very good choice.</p>