^^^^I was just about to post this. Will eventually elaborate on 7D1’s college search/app/matric process…she starts in a state flagship honors program in a few weeks.
Out of curiosity, are there many fans of honors colleges among boarding school families? Isn’t the concept of honors college similar to that of a “gifted program” or “enrichment program” in many public K-12 schools where a selected group of kids are guided to take a somewhat different track than the rest of their peers? Without judging whether it’s good or bad, I thought that parents who sent their kids to BS believed in a quality school community as a whole including faculty, facilities and peers that are much better than what their public school could provide in the name of a special program. Why take the “pain” to let your son or daughter leave home for better schooling at the age of 14/15 only to send them to an “enrichment program”? Shouldn’t it be the other way round, wherease parents should keep their kids around when they were in tender age, be more hands on in finding the right resources and programs to prepare the kids for a college providing the challenges and opportunities (and that can include the honors colleges if money is a concern)?
Pan, if that is your concept of honors colleges, you need to do more research. Start with the Barrett Honors College at ASU. I would have been proud for our son to have chosen that program. It is certainly not an “enrichment program” nor are any of the other top-notch honors colleges. I have posted about Barrett in several places, but here’s the gist and an example of one program that can compete with any highly selective LAC:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/17282312#Comment_17282312
Did you read the article @paynforward posted?
We sent our son to BS for the fantastic high school education he would receive, knowing that he would be well-prepared for ANY college he chose to attend. Allowing him to go to BS was a high school decision independent of the college decision.
Curious as to why you equate honors colleges with money concerns? Some can be quite expensive if you are OOO.
^^ because of the scholarships many seem to get, which sounds like a draw to many. But I hear you.
Also, @panpacific: I confess I cannot figure out why you are interested in the Prep School Admissions thread… most of your posts seem to put down the decision to attend boarding school, and I have yet to see a post where you indicate you are researching the possibility for yourself/your kid… I am very curious as to what information you hope to glean here? Not being rude… I really can’t figure it out.
As to Honors colleges… I love the idea. I would be thrilled if my kid were admitted to one. Every one I have researched so far provides the facilities that a state university can offer combined with the personal attention and high quality teaching of a LAC. Sounds like a win/win to me!
@London : what you said is not true. No need to try but you may feel free to try whatever you feel like try. Thanks.
This website has some helpful information about honors colleges. I found it looking for information about how “honors” students are housed at a particular university. ymmv
First, a disclaimer: I am no stranger to boarding school and I’m not anti-boarding school in any way. But, I’m interested in learning and exchanging different opinions, perspectives and experience, for which I think CC as an Internet board is the perfect platform. Posters can continue supporting each other with “likes” and “+1 - 1000” and choose to ignore me, but whoever chooses to read and respond to my posts, please know that sometimes I’m just posting a question (not all of them are rhetorical!) and sometimes I am offering a different point of view, which I don’t even always fully agree.
Here’s one for @ChoatieMom. You said,
I understand the first part of your answer, but can "a high school decision" be really independent of the college decision? To me, at least in terms of cost consideration, since neither is free and both are very expensive for the overwhelming majority, if a family can find an acceptable honors program for college, can't they find an acceptable but cheaper high school arrangement, be it a local private school, a charter school, a public school with a decent enrichment program supplemented by online classes and strong family support? It would not only save the money that could be used for college down the road (at the minimum, it would open more options) but also avoid sending the kiddo out for schooling at a tender age, which I understand to many families is a "pain" to live with.
IMHO- If kiddo lacks maturity and basic age appropriate survival skills, I’d recommend keeping kiddo home. No one ever died because they went away to BS at a ‘tender age’… If anything- I’d argue that the younger a kid goes- the better.
Strong family support is usually unconditional and continues unabated whether kiddo is at BS or not. It’s a wash. Parents don’t relinquish their duties or rights when their kid goes away to BS. From my perch ( as a former BS parent and alum) , I think it says a lot about a kid if they’re able to go off to BS and fly on their own. It also confirms that a parent has a reasonable amount of confidence in how they’ve raised their kid… who is now capable and ready for a major life experience and challenge.
How great is that?
Scripting a young person’s life ( before and during SS) is nuts. Yes, the “high school decision” is independent of the college decision because no one has a crystal ball.
Read a BS Mission Statement. None of them mention Harvard.
I can’t/ won’t argue the cost of a BS education because it’s a sizable amount for anyone- I don’t care who you are.
But I will defend having a choice any day of the week. How people educate their kids and how they spend their money is none of my business… and I don’t waste time fretting over it nor would I ever ask anyone to justify it.
It’s that simple.
Of course, “no one ever died”, but you don’t wait until someone died, well not always, to have a discussion like “why did you do A? I thought B would work better. Maybe A is better for family A and not for family B?..” By the way, do you think you as a multi generation full pay BS family representative of those who often express on here that they had no viable local options and “had to” send their kids to BS?
Harvard? I can’t say all BS are Harvard, but the “top 30” are pretty much the Ivies + top LACs of the high schools. You don’t think they are honors colleges of high school do you? Why is it OK to target a best high school but not a best college?
I am not asking you or anyone to “justify” how they spend their money. I meant to prompt a discussion on how to use limited resources most families have and achieve the best results for kids’ education. I meant to understand how others view the quality of high schools and colleges. And how they make these decisions which I happen to think are not “independent from each other”. Please don’t get defensive. It’s JUST a different opinion.
I think part of the problem in “discussing” issues with you @panpacific is not the difference of opinion but the fact that you never say what your opinion is - you just argue. You might get further in your discussion if you actually state your own point of view vs. asking others for theirs. Try it. You’ll like it.
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While expressing differences of opinion is fine, expressing them in a discourteous way is not. As a reminder, per Terms of Service, a moderator can and will edit or delete posts, with or without comment, that are not in compliance.
I wish. If we’d been able to find that decent alternative, we’d never have considered BS. We did consider BS/high school an independent decision. Our thinking was that if the high school foundation were strong, college would take care of itself.
After all, this is Prep School Parents board where parents considering or chose Prep School path discuss experiences and seek wisdom on this very specific, tiny topic of Prep Schools. This is not ‘What is more bang for the buck’ board.
There are much information on ‘Enrichment programs’ on internet or at the district office or state Gifted/Talented organizations from which parents can research and choose specific course of action. Discussing those in this forum is not helpful as such programs are location specific and vary with time, state/private funding and resources.
Going a step further, this is a specific thread for the parents or families of boarding students graduating in 2016. That should narrow the appropriate questions, considerations or topics quite a bit. ~O)
Does anybody know of a pattern as to how colleges assign admissions representatives to the boarding schools? Is it usually the same as the state in which the school is located, or something else? Sorry, I know this has been addressed before.
http://www.al.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/08/bama_sorority_video_worse_for.html
When family seeks prep schools for diversity, no amount of local enrichment can solve the lack of ethnic and SES diversity. Our schools are 90% white, state flagship university is 80% non-minority US students (75% white.)
@Charger78 I would imagine different AO for boarding schools. You will find out soon in fall college visit days in September and October. At my DS1’s local school/district where I volunteer, hundreds of AOs are expected to fly in on the week of October 5th.
^^^+1 on the diversity thing. Local public school is very white, and has consistently cut academic & arts programs. The private day school our kids attended through 8th grade was much more diverse, at least racially (not so much SES-wise, but what do you expect from a Princeton-area school)…but then there was that 1 hour drive each way to deal with.
Going back to the “why honors programs/honors colleges” issue…I think the college honors programs are VERY different from “gifted” programs at average (or below average) local public high schools. Not at all apples 'n oranges…at least not in our neck of the woods.