Posts by rowdypanther12

Honestly, the UK is barely more civilized than the US. Both countries are pretty rough

In most developed countries, private schools aren't really a thing

I used to spend a lot of time thinking about private prep schools, but everything I read back then just didn't sit right with me.
Maybe an elite academy like Phillips Exeter would be an exception—that actually sounds decent.
As for the rest... I'm just not sure. I really don't want my kid ending up in a school where everyone is used to solving every single problem with a credit card; it feels like that's all it ever comes down to.

Do you think kids just don't care because they aren't posting on the forum? 👋tf:
Kids don't even know what a forum is, let alone have the habit of sitting down to type out thoughts and chat like this.
Usually, they're completely absorbed in it, but once they hit the beginning of seventh grade, they start thinking about it more—asking older kids at practice about different schools and stuff like that.

I haven't done much digging into this, but I get the feeling there aren't many paths to choose from if you aren't into tech or the arts. Is it mostly just business or tourism? 🤔

Hey monstera, my colleague’s son is currently enrolling.
He scored a 4.8 in seventh grade and a 4.6 in eighth.
Could you please help him out and let me know which high schools in the area he might be able to get into?

rustyowl7 said:It honestly feels wrong that someone with a 4.8 GPA has to sit around stressing over whether they’ll actually get an acceptance letter.
What’s the best strategy here? He actually has a better score for MIT. 🤣 anyway, there’s no way to appeal the decision once it's made.

Of course it isn't normal. Then you get those people acting all high and mighty, claiming that if you don't have a perfect 4.0 every single year, you don't belong in a top prep school. 😂Honestly, the whole system is so backwards it's starting to feel like Stockholm Syndrome.

I just went to check my GPA out of pure curiosity, and I'm a little confused. 😂The lowest score listed was an 85.43?
Man, we’re going to have to write motivation letters soon just to get into high school. 😂

northerntiger9 said:It doesn't have to be that way—you could just pick a combination of irrelevant classes that slowly drags down your GPA every year. Like, say, 4.6 + 4.8 + 4.8 + 4.8 and suddenly you're sitting at a 79.

Edit: Actually, looking closer, I see you're aiming for that second decimal point, but... honestly, the post targeting a 79 wasn't exactly going for mathematical precision.😬

Yeah, I wasn't really paying attention to that either. We still have a whole year before we need to worry about those kinds of details. 😂

hiddendriver34 said:Actually, you can definitely have a 79.xy score. 😉 To hit a perfect 80, you'd need to have maintained a straight 4.0 GPA through all four years of high school. A 79 is what you get if you earned an A in every single core subject but didn't quite maintain that perfect 4.0 average the whole time.

I would have had an 8. Under what circumstances would it be a 5.0?

nimbleviper3 said:Look, the real issue is that parents put this insane amount of pressure on teachers regarding grades.
Then, they drop their kids off for freshman year of high school with a perfect 4.0 GPA, only for half of them to fail the very first math and physics placement exams.

Yeah, that’s exactly the point.
It's about how standards are slipping and creating this unfair landscape where if you live in a major city like Chicago, you basically have to be a genius just to get into a good academy—and then you end up with some teachers handing out easy A's while others actually stick to the rules.
The whole system feels totally chaotic and inconsistent.

nimbleviper3 said:When you say "in the grade," what does that actually mean? If there were three classes of about 35 students each, that puts the percentage at roughly 2-3%.
But nowadays, in a standard class of 20-24 students, you'll see at least 18 honor roll students, and 10 to 12 of them are sitting on a perfect 4.0.

But honestly, it really depends on which school you're looking at—that’s where the real issue lies.

hiddendriver34 said:True, but let's be real: a parent can either dial that stress and anxiety way up or help bring it down.

Sure, a kid might be dead-set on a school that demands a 4.0, but what happens if they don't get in? Is it the end of the world? Does everything fall apart? Or do they just head to another great school?
It’s honestly pretty unhealthy to pin all your future happiness on a single goal like that. Life is unpredictable. A kid could land a spot at their "dream" school and end up miserable, begging for a transfer after the first semester. On the flip side, they might miss out on their first choice and end up totally thriving somewhere else. So much of it comes down to luck—like hitting the jackpot with a great group of friends or landing a teacher who actually gets you. Even in the same building, the experience can be night and day.

That’s why, even when a kid is absolutely spiraling, the parent needs to be the voice of reason. You have to be the anchor, not someone adding fuel to the fire and cranking up the pressure.

That applies to everything, not just school life.
But facts are facts, no matter how much people try to spin them. The whole system is fundamentally broken, and it ends up punishing the teachers who actually hold their students to high standards.
Then you have people entering professions they aren't suited for—especially when working with kids—and you end up with the mess we see today.
I guess I’m asking: what am I supposed to do when you keep insisting it's not a big deal to get a B? There are high schools you can get into with a 3.7 or 3.8 GPA, but the school tells my child to "watch out" because their grade dropped to a 3.5, and there are still five weeks left in the semester. What happens if it slips below a 3.4?
You go in there and tell them to stop pushing for perfection, but honestly, the damage is already done. ☕

I guess a lot of kids manage to get by with just okay or decent 🤷
but for my little one, there's honestly no chance they'll end up with 🤷

Where on earth could you find a hall that big?

I mean, just speaking generally, do you think everything will usually be wrapped up by July 15th? 😁

Wait, please, does enrollment usually wrap up by July 20th every year?

I need to get something booked for next summer😂

Do schools usually have open house days? Are those things announced somewhere online?

Well, yeah, they're handling all the educational programming in those schools participating in the pilot program.
could you just write out, I think

mellowskipper said:Between evening practices, language lessons, violin rehearsals...
When you actually sit down and tally it all up, they’re running at a higher capacity than most working adults I know. It's honestly a bit embarrassing.

Exactly. Between my kid and everything else, they put in more hours than I do. 🤷Once you factor in all the studying and various projects, they easily blow past an eight-hour workday.