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Sorry if this seems naive but do students in America actually work that hard these days? Modern television and social media seem to suggest they are all on drug

Sorry if this seems naive but do students in America actually work that hard these days? Modern television and social media seem to suggest they are all on drugs and doing God knows what

TimDotC 2mo ago
This is fairly representative experience for high achieving students. When I was in high school, I was typically up at 6:30 AM to get to my 7:00 AM AP class. Classes can end anywhere from 3-4 pm, depending on your course work. After school clubs and activities ranged from commitment. But we were under the assumption that it mattered a lot for college admissions, so many of us participated in 2-3. Once you got home, you had a considerably amount of homework from each class. If you were prepping for standardized exams, you probably dedicated some time to study that as well. Overall, I felt the amount of time spent working in high school was taxing. But also it worked out for me - went to a good college and got a good job and life.
- VeninVidiaVicii 2mo ago
  Kids shouldn’t be aiming for well-rounded at all; that’s a classic misread of what selections committees are looking for. Our PhD selections chair was explicit about wanting a well-rounded class full of students with great depth. Frankly reading about students with six hobbies and after school activities and volunteering is exhausting. I can’t emphasize this enough: that kind of grind is wasteful, and makes you look just like everyone else.
armchairhacker 2mo ago
I remember waking around 7am and leaving school around 3pm, then no more than on average ~2 hours of extracurriculars and ~2 hours of homework. I think the quantity was reasonable, except too much busywork, I wish I could replace it with subjects I was passionate about (i.e. tech). I also had the entire summer between senior year and college to decompress. Nowadays I hear that most public schools are giving less work. With all due respect, I believe GP is an anomaly and/or it wasn't the school, but their own pressure.
axus 2mo ago
Both are true.
triceratops 2mo ago
Bimodal economy.
WarmWash 2mo ago
>Modern television and social media seem to suggest Wouldn't exactly make the most compelling content, would it?
g8oz 2mo ago
America is a bimodal sort of place.
smcg 2mo ago
From my experience interviewing students applying to Ivies, they are working even harder than before. I am blown away by their resumes.

Sorry if this seems naive but do students in America actually work that hard these days? Modern television and social media seem to suggest they are all on drugs and doing God knows what

TimDotC 2mo ago

This is fairly representative experience for high achieving students. When I was in high school, I was typically up at 6:30 AM to get to my 7:00 AM AP class. Classes can end anywhere from 3-4 pm, depending on your course work. After school clubs and activities ranged from commitment. But we were under the assumption that it mattered a lot for college admissions, so many of us participated in 2-3. Once you got home, you had a considerably amount of homework from each class. If you were prepping for standardized exams, you probably dedicated some time to study that as well. Overall, I felt the amount of time spent working in high school was taxing. But also it worked out for me - went to a good college and got a good job and life.

VeninVidiaVicii 2mo ago
Kids shouldn’t be aiming for well-rounded at all; that’s a classic misread of what selections committees are looking for. Our PhD selections chair was explicit about wanting a well-rounded class full of students with great depth. Frankly reading about students with six hobbies and after school activities and volunteering is exhausting. I can’t emphasize this enough: that kind of grind is wasteful, and makes you look just like everyone else.

armchairhacker 2mo ago

I remember waking around 7am and leaving school around 3pm, then no more than on average ~2 hours of extracurriculars and ~2 hours of homework. I think the quantity was reasonable, except too much busywork, I wish I could replace it with subjects I was passionate about (i.e. tech). I also had the entire summer between senior year and college to decompress. Nowadays I hear that most public schools are giving less work. With all due respect, I believe GP is an anomaly and/or it wasn't the school, but their own pressure.

axus 2mo ago

Both are true.

triceratops 2mo ago

Bimodal economy.

WarmWash 2mo ago

>Modern television and social media seem to suggest Wouldn't exactly make the most compelling content, would it?

g8oz 2mo ago

America is a bimodal sort of place.

smcg 2mo ago

From my experience interviewing students applying to Ivies, they are working even harder than before. I am blown away by their resumes.