Harvard-Westlake School

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Academic

Harvard-Westlake School review by Columbia University student: Harvard-Westlake School: A diverse student body of athletes and actors, poets and physicists, historians and humanitarians, writers and musicians, linguists and leaders, all of whom are united by their raw intellectual abilities, strong curiosities, and fervent ambitions. Offering 19 AP courses and dozens of honors selections, program strengths include science, English, history/social studies, journalism and performing arts. Students are competitive, but only to the extent of pushing themselves. Strong writing and critical thinking skills are honed in a traditional college preparatory styled education that is recognized as the best in the Western United States, and perhaps the entire country. Exams are administered regularly, but students are developed beyond mere test takers to become strong analytic thinkers. Faculty is incredible accessible and office visits are encouraged, though perhaps unnecessarily because students love to visit them anyway, even if only to chat. Classroom conversations are exciting, teachers are engaging and tend to integrate students' comments with lecture. The work load is considerable and students who wish to succeed will need to commit at least 45 minutes per subject per night to studying. Busywork ends in the 10th grade, but students are still expected to study and review course materials each night even if there is no formal assignment given. The program sharpens not only mental capacity, but it forces students to manage their time, make mature decisions, and develop a solid work ethic. It is largely a consequence of this amalgam that students who graduate from "HW" or "ach-dubb" are among the most successful in their respective colleges, with many if not most attending Ivy League or similarly prestigious and rigorous institutions.