This has become my safe place for information and the deep, dark secrets/feelings I won't even share with my spouse about the college admissions process, lol.
I'm wondering how you guys handle information, test scores and other information from other parents. In our area, it all depends on the public high school you go to whether you will have an absolute grind in school or be free to pursue a million activities outside of school. The city school is quite good, and offers nearly every AP class (with the workload) while the surrounding schools don't. The experiences at the schools are completely different, both socially and academically. At the city school it is a rare honors/AP kid who can "do it all" and still find time to sleep. At the surrounding schools it is the exact opposite.
I know the colleges compare what you take to what you could have taken in terms of "rigor" and the like - and I think my child will stack up okay (not a genius, but a hard worker and a compassionate person that the world needs more of). But how do you handle jealousy when a bunch of parents get together and start talking? I know what my child is taking - no study halls and not even a lunch period - and it is nothing like what kids in the other schools are taking. That's why my child limits extracurriculars to a handful of long-term ones as opposed to every single club and sport. It's hard to hear about no homework at another high school when my kid is doing several hours a night while trying to have a life. And it will get worse as they start to take those standardized tests.
I know I should ignore it. I know that. But I am human. I guess I am looking for some "been there, done that" from other parents on how to carry on and process the information. It's a small, first-world problem, I know.
Thanks for being gentle. :-)
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