Miss Porter's School

• Smith College
• Bowdoin College

Academic

Miss Porter's School review by Bowdoin College student: Miss Porter's School was very strong in the humanities while I attended. The English, history, and language teachers were all very enthusiastic and encouraged their students to pursue interest in their disciplines. The sciences were not as strong, but the courses prepared me well enough for standardized testings. They, however, did not prepare me well enough for the academic rigors of the sciences at Bowdoin college. I feel they did not apply the materials well or challenged the students enough. Science material was simply taught and memorized on the most part. Math classes, on the other hand, were challenging. The school even offered multiple variable calculus, a course not many high schools offer for students who passed BC calculus junior year. Finally, visual art classes were above and beyond. Teachers were amazingly talented and the courses offered were incredibly interesting. Science and math classes were mostly lecture-based. Humanities classes were more discussion. However, I felt all classes had the appropriate amount of discussion and lecture. The biggest class I was in was no more than 15 people and most of the teachers were very accessible. The average work load wasn't very heavy compared to an average college work load. We were very scheduled, but the work was always doable within a 2 hour study hall. Support is provided for everyone. There are peer tutors and hired tutors. Teachers hold extra office hours and review sessions. For advanced students, I was offered extra office hours to learn and be more challenged in my math class. Whatever you needed, the teachers were able to provide, for the most part.