If you went to school in USA…

[Princesspuppy]

Sorry for the stupid question. But I am watching 10 things I hate about you and it got me wondering. Do schools in the US really have car parks for the students? And do the rich kids show up in expensive cars?

I would love to hear your experiences!

Fascinating thread, I am really enjoying reading.

I grew up reading Judy Blume and Beverly Cleary books so know a little about the US school system but this is really interesting reading.

In High School do they do exams equivalent to GCSEs and A Levels? If not, how do they graduate, is it continuous assessment? Do you think that is less stressful than the UK system?

The closest equivalent is AP exams, which I'd say are somewhere between GCSEs and A levels. Students study the subject for a year then take the exam. Usually they can start taking them in either Sophomore or Junior year. They can take a lot - I've heard of kids who have 15.

There's the IB which I don't know anything about.

There is also the SAT or ACT test which are national tests used by many colleges.

There are also SAT subject tests, which again are national tests but at subject level eg SAT Math, SAT Physics.

Then there's your GPA, which tracks your ongoing scores throughout your time at high school. The subjects are tested through a mix of ongoing assessment and exams.

Colleges will look at some or all of the above. They will take into account how well a student did compared to the average student at their school - so if you're at a high achieving school they'll expect to see better grades.

They also look at other things such as volunteering, leadership, sports achievements, club membership, civics, etc.

In some ways I think it's less stressful than the UK school system because there's so much more chance to do well and prove yourself, without so much being based on specific pieces of coursework or exams.

OTOH every piece of work you do potentially affects your grades, so if you want to achieve good results then you need to be a consistently hard worker, while also potentially being very involved in a lot of sports, clubs, etc.

Those are just my opinions - others may have different thoughts or experiences.

To add to the driving conversation, quite a few states only allow new drivers restricted licenses initially.

In my state a new driver cannot drive other people who are under 21 (other than siblings), there is zero tolerance for alcohol and cellphone use, and they are not allowed to drive between midnight and 5am.

IIRC that lasts for 9 months, then they get a full license.

Just to add to @ZZTopGuitarSolo's very full description! AP exams are considered by UCAS (the UK university application system) to be the same as old-style AS-levels (which no longer exist in much of the UK), i.e. half an A-level. The big difference is that many students don't take (m)any of them.

Also, the SAT Subject Tests have now disappeared. The whole SAT system more-or-less collapsed during Covid, and now many/most US universities no longer require them for admission.

Ah that's interesting about SAT subject tests @PhotoDad. My oldest took them in 2019 but my younger two have no interest so I hadn't realised they are now gone. I did think they were a bit pointless when I realised how many students scored 100%.

Very interesting topic.
I would have liked the US system of studying a subject every day for a term for certain subjects like history or drama where I could get really into something and enjoyed them. Horrid for a subject I didn't like for example music.
However it would concern me for core subjects like maths if it doesn't come naturally to someone- (like me!) I also found I would forget so much over even a short holiday (don't get me started on a summer holiday!) that I would be worried about my daughter not studying it for weeks at a time.
The fact geography isn't studied as a separate subject does not surprise me- I have dozens of US cousins and not a single one of them seems to have much grasp at all of world Geography!

For a point of balance I should also point out that I worked with a British lady who couldn't point at the UK on a globe! 😂

The holiday patterns are also different. Where I taught in the US, there were no half-term breaks... you went straight from a long long loooooong summer break through to Winter Break (the Christmas Hols) and then from that to Spring Break (Easter Hols) with no respite apart from the odd Federal Holiday (Bank Holiday). It was absolutely brutal for teachers and students, and now I really appreciate my half-terms, even though the "main" holidays over here are shorter than the US.

Where I am we get Feb break between winter break and April break, so that one's not so bad. The stretch from summer break to winter break is a killer!

@PhotoDad so how do colleges decide which students to admit without formal exam results?

It’s interesting that there seems to be a lot of variety/choice over which exams students take. Stark contrast to the UK - GCSEs at 16, A levels at 18.

@bendmeoverbackwards every piece of class work, homework, quiz and test that students take over all 4 years of High school are graded out of 100 which is then converted into the students GPA (grade point average).
The student's GPA will be on their college application, alongside any standardized test scores, SAT or ACT and any AP exams that they've already taken.
Some schools will add extra points on for students taking harder classes such as Homors or AP. Colleges all receive a profile from each High school so that they know how the schools are grading and what classes they offer.
But test s tires are only part of college applications here, heavy weight is given to extra curriculars, Supra curriculars and community service.

@bendmeoverbackwards In my current job (teaching in the UK) I help students who are applying to US universities. The forms have pages and pages to describe the high-school curriculum, because there's so much variety (and to give the profile of what the school normally awards, etc). Luckily I can put "N/A" in nearly all the boxes and just put "GCSE/A-level curriculum."

I've had a couple of small universities in the past who had no clue what that meant and had to explain it to the admissions office, but all the big places will be familiar with the UK system!

As @BackToWhereItAllBegan says, stuff outside the classroom is often the deciding factor, and applicants can choose to references ("recommendation letters") from people who know them from clubs, voluntary activities, etc etc as well as from the school. Applicants also write a "College Essay" which is almost entirely the opposite of a UCAS Personal Statement; it's all about personality rather than academics.

I think what's strange for someone coming from the UK is that US colleges place much less importance on academic achievements, and more on finding well rounded candidates who show things like leadership or aptitude.

I remember doing a tour of MIT. They were trying to get across to us that they weren't looking for extraordinary exam results but they were looking for students who wanted to build things, take initiative, take risks, work in groups, and change the world. They accept 5% of applicants, and the vast majority of those applicants are really really smart and have got the exam grades required.

In the past there has been a legacy of graduates, some of whom were on academic scholarships and others who had parents who 'paved their way' into a prestigious university that may otherwise not have accepted them, who used their degrees solely to benefit themselves. These days colleges want students who will 'give back' to society in some way, either by some form of public service, by being leaders in charitable endeavours, or working in their chosen field to benefit society as a whole.

As JFK said "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country".

One thing I think is great (but would hate to do personally) is how much you’re graded on participation and speaking up. It would’ve been great for me though to learn such good public speaking skills. That’s why Americans are so good at talking.

@Newnamenewname109870 that's very true. My DS is naturally painfully shy but he's been at school in the US since he was 7 and has been required to give presentations in various classes on at least a weekly basis.
Over the years this has progressed to speaking in front of the whole grade and now the whole school to the point where he now thinks nothing of presenting to 1000 people with just a few hours notice!