Throughout my time at the Bromfield School, teachers, administrators, and guidance counselors threw around the phrase “college readiness.” I wasn’t exactly sure what it meant then; my priority was getting into college, not necessarily getting ready for what would follow.
Yet, as the euphoria of college acceptance wore off and the reality of my freshman year kicked in, my readiness for college became a much more serious and important topic to me and—I’m pretty certain— a hundred other 2013 Bromfield graduates.
U.S. News & World Report measures the readiness of graduates of a given school for college by using an index based on the weighted averages of the school’s AP participation rate along with a “quality-adjusted” participation rate. In other words, the authors calculate the percentage of seniors who took at least one AP exam before or during their senior year, while also taking into account how well those students performed.
The AP tests are useful for measuring one school’s performance relative to another’s, but is that truly how we want to define college readiness? Many would say “yes,” and based on their definition of the phrase, they would be correct. However, for the purposes of this article, let’s broaden our concept of college readiness to include other aspects of college that may require different kinds of experience, such as making friends, tolerating differences, getting employed, and, of course, succeeding academically.
When I first started at Johns Hopkins, I always had this fear that I would get pummeled during my exams. This is not unlike the first days of a new academic year at Bromfield, where I was always uncertain how hard each teacher would grade until I got back a homework assignment or two. The main difference in college is that there is much less room to test the waters; the first materials to be graded in college are typically midterms—a whopping 30 percent of the final grade.
Despite these fears, many of the habits that Bromfield helped me develop were highly useful. As a student who likes to get involved in extracurricular activities, I learned at Bromfield how to balance a significant school workload with an active extracurricular life. Time management is one of the most important skills you can have at college, and with a culture that encourages extracurricular participation, Bromfield forces you to improve on that skill early on. Don’t get me wrong—I still pulled at least one all-nighter a week, but I slept like a king on Friday nights!
As far as academics is concerned, I think Bromfield does a fine job of preparing its students for the rigors of college. In particular, I have felt that my prior experience in writing is right on par with that of my peers, and the expectations set for me in AP English match those of my freshman seminar in philosophy. As for mathematics, I have found it difficult to adjust to the lack of communication with my course professor, especially after a class with Mr. Wass, a teacher who answered at least 20 questions a class no matter how ridiculous—mostly from me. Nonetheless, a strong Bromfield foundation in math greatly helped, especially Mr. Wass’s “no calculator” philosophy.
When it comes to the more “abstract” pieces of college readiness, it’s hard to say definitively how well Bromfield prepares us for the nonacademic aspects of college. There is at least one gaping issue, and that is Bromfield’s lack of diversity. Is it really a surprise to anyone that I didn’t have a single close black friend until I went to college or that I never spoke Korean to another Bromfield student unless I was being asked to “say something in Korean.” This appears to be a systemic issue because of Harvard’s homogenous population. However, it would be nice to explore the various cultures and religions of people all around the world. Ms. Mattie’s global studies class helps mitigate this problem, but a more focused world religions or ethnic studies class might be more effective.
Lastly, there is so much that I have learned (the hard way) when it comes to business etiquette. While some business-savvy students like Nick George know how to dress for any occasion, other students like me may have trouble differentiating between dinner attire, business professional, and business casual. Furthermore, high school students are expected to be able to perform well in college interviews and create an effective resume for the Common Application; however, 30-minute sessions with a guidance counselor may not be enough. It would be interesting to see a class at Bromfield that teaches some basic professional etiquette, such as resume formatting or interview rehearsals. This may prove to be an extraordinarily helpful tool for those students looking to participate in selective college clubs, professional fraternities, research positions, or summer internships. It may even lessen some of the stress associated with the college application process.
Altogether, I feel that Bromfield was a good place for preparing me with the tools necessary for college. Academically, the “college readiness” is on the dot, yet there is definitely room to improve the nonacademic aspects of readiness, such as a stronger emphasis on learning about cultures from around the world and professional etiquette. It’s also important to note that my experience in college may not necessarily be representative of the experiences of all Bromfield students.
Every university is different. Every student is different. However, based simply on my experiences, I give Bromfield a thumbs up for readiness.
Seal Bin-Han is a 2013 graduate of the Bromfield School. He is currently a freshman at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
