According to Brennan, students at the high school are “super ambitious,” which sparks a fair amount of competition between students. He said this competition motivated him in his college preparation.

On the other hand, Kaplan said the competition between students is not always positive.

“Personally, I’m not a very competitive person, so I think that it can be in some ways a problem because if people around me are competitive, then I feel like I’m not trying hard enough,” Kaplan said. “But also for people who can be really competitive, I think it can cause a problem because for them, it’s all about the grade and not what they’re interested in or what they’re learning about and I think it takes away from something that could be really good.”

According to English Curriculum Coordinator Mary Burchenal, another way in which the high school prepares students for a future in college is that the diversity of people often matches or exceeds that of colleges, giving students practice at succeeding in such an environment.

[su_pullquote]“Brookline High School prepares students well for a very diverse world,” Burchenal said. “If they go into a very diverse college, I think they’re very well prepared for it. We prepare them for a very rich and interesting human world, and if they encounter that, they’re prepared wonderfully, and they can work with all different kinds of people.”[/su_pullquote]“Brookline High School prepares students well for a very diverse world,” Burchenal said. “If they go into a very diverse college, I think they’re very well prepared for it. We prepare them for a very rich and interesting human world, and if they encounter that, they’re prepared wonderfully, and they can work with all different kinds of people.”

Brennan said that the high school did a wonderful job preparing him for the academic aspect of college. He said students who take difficult classes at the high school have a sense of what college classes are like.

Rhodes also said that certain aspects of Brookline’s academics are good preparation for college. The amount of work she received at the high school helped her develop skills needed to survive at college.

Schiff agreed that the high school offers a collegiate amount of work.

“Just about every student who comes back to visit says that they had way more work here at Brookline High School than they have in college,” Schiff said. “That includes every kind of college you can think of: community college, state college, technical college, state schools, private colleges, Ivy League, wherever you want to go.”

Despite the support the high school offers its students, both alumni and faculty said there are areas for improvement. Shiffman said the school may offer too much support to the students who use programs such as learning center or tutorial. These students may find it difficult to transition into the college life.

According to Brennan, the application process is the toughest challenge as a junior or senior preparing for college. He said it would have been much more helpful to the application process if the school somehow made it possible to get in contact with alumni attending the colleges that students are considering.

“You’re kind of taking a leap of faith when you’re going to school; you don’t really know what it’s going to be like,” Brennan said. “If there was someone to tell you what the school is like on a daily basis, it would make the decision much easier.”

Meyer said that despite preparing students for the college workload, the high school may be giving its students an excessive amount of homework.

[su_quote cite=”Dean of Students Anthony Meyer”]We as a high school and community need to think about how much anxiety and stress is growth spurring and how much is debilitating.[/su_quote]

“I think some anxiety is healthy; some stress is healthy,” Meyer said. “We as a high school and community need to think about how much anxiety and stress is growth spurring and how much is debilitating. We prepare students well academically, especially the students who take more rigorous classes. They become very ready for college. I just wonder how much is too much.”

Burchenal said the amount of work demanded of students can be worrisome and potentially damaging to students.

Comparing high schools to the tale of the tortoise and the hare, Burchenal said she would rather have most students be tortoises.

“Slowing down a bit might have all sorts of positive effects on learning and stress and happiness,” Burchenal said. “Once they are ready, the learning almost always comes relatively easily, but forcing it early is hard work. I feel the same way about rushing high school students to do college level work before they are ready, before their brains have fully developed. What’s the rush? Some students are ready for it and should have that experience, but I worry that we make college-level work the norm, making students and teachers feel bad about themselves when the bar isn’t met.”

Kendall McGowan and JK Suh can be contacted at [email protected].