Strong Academics - what does that mean?

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This is a common theme throughout TS. Latest thread talks about it at Prep school and the ongoing D3 vs D1 debate centers around assumption that certain schools have "Strong Academics". What does that mean?

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They can lift heavy books.

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In general "Academics" relish assessing others, and bristle at the concept of being assessed themselves. There is no objective formula for ranking academics as that would allow the rank and file to compete.

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If you are asking what "strong academics" is at a top prep school (and not every prep school has top academics), it is the strength and breadth of their offerings, the highest quality teaching, and possibly the most important, being surrounded by extremely bright peers. The students will all test in the top 10%, and I'd venture to guess a large majority will test in the top 5%. Class discussion, and pace of learning thus is better than public school.


There are downsides. Some schools are pressure cookers, with the resulting mental stress for some students.

There is much more to consider, but that's academics.

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If you are asking what "strong academics" is at a top prep school (and not every prep school has top academics), it is the strength and breadth of their offerings, the highest quality teaching, and possibly the most important, being surrounded by extremely bright peers. The students will all test in the top 10%, and I'd venture to guess a large majority will test in the top 5%. Class discussion, and pace of learning thus is better than public school.


There are downsides. Some schools are pressure cookers, with the resulting mental stress for some students.

There is much more to consider, but that's academics.

Basically what you want to put your kid through as a kid who can only be a kid once.

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Basically what you want to put your kid through as a kid who can only be a kid once.

But it depends on the kid. For some, prep school is the perfect environment and for others it would be a living he'll. Funnily enough, as with so much in raising children, there is no one size fits all way to do things.

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If you are asking what "strong academics" is at a top prep school (and not every prep school has top academics), it is the strength and breadth of their offerings, the highest quality teaching, and possibly the most important, being surrounded by extremely bright peers. The students will all test in the top 10%, and I'd venture to guess a large majority will test in the top 5%. Class discussion, and pace of learning thus is better than public school.


There are downsides. Some schools are pressure cookers, with the resulting mental stress for some students.

There is much more to consider, but that's academics.

Actually it's more like top 5% and the rest will test in the top 1%. Top 10% won't get you that far these days.

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Actually it's more like top 5% and the rest will test in the top 1%. Top 10% won't get you that far these days.

That's probably true.

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All that matters is what is the best academic fit for each individual student, not what schools are ranked the highest on any ranking table. They should be the best school they like and get admitted to that has good programs for their major(s) of interest (they usually change their minds :) ). It should be a school that will challenge them, push them, help them find good jobs in their career path, but not one where they will struggle. It also needs to be a good social fit and meet any other criteria a student has for location etc. Admit it, we'd all love four kids to go to a top 10 school but know it wouldn't be a good academic fit. If kids have a good sense of themselves and their abilities, and parents do the same, then good targeting means the likelihood of a positive outcome is much greater.

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Basically what you want to put your kid through as a kid who can only be a kid once.

10 years ago I might have made the same statement. As my 2 kids grew up, they became individuals. My son likes school, but loves weekends, friends, vacations. He wants to get good grades but won't lose sleep over a C.

My daughter absolutely thrives in highly academic situations. She always loved school and absolutely flourished when we moved to a district that offered "gifted" (sorry, I don't like that word either) programs. Not only because she liked the content but because she loved being around others who enjoy academics too.

Me, I'm more like my son. Work hard, play harder. But I love watching my D come into her own self and will give her every opportunity to attend a school with others like her. She's the soccer player in my house and I can tell you that the happier she is in school, the better she plays. Some kids thrive on competition. My son would hate prep school while it would be my daughter's dream come true.

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yup ever one is different, every school is different, what works for one doesn't work for the next kid who, on paper, seems nearly identical. when you find that magic fit and your kid is happy and thriving? priceless.

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This is a common theme throughout TS. Latest thread talks about it at Prep school and the ongoing D3 vs D1 debate centers around assumption that certain schools have "Strong Academics". What does that mean?

Duke University(D1) admitted freshman 2017-18(10% admission rate):

75% of admitted students had SAT scores above 1390 and ACT scores above 31.

The top 25% had SAT scores of 1580+ and ACT scores of 35+.

90% of admitted students were in the top 10% of their high school class.

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Duke University(D1) admitted freshman 2017-18(10% admission rate):

75% of admitted students had SAT scores above 1390 and ACT scores above 31.

The top 25% had SAT scores of 1580+ and ACT scores of 35+.

90% of admitted students were in the top 10% of their high school class.

Thanks Heiny!

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Thanks Heiny!

ha, my thought as well

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Thanks Heiny!

I doubt it given his daughter's widely publicized academic record.