Maximizing Prep School Experience: Let’s Embrace Pressure
By Dylan Chu ’29
Approximately 750 students from across the world journey to campus every September, some for the first time, others for the last. Upon their arrival, each of these students is subjected to the grind of life at Milton Academy. The pressure is unavoidable. Even the brightest of students, no matter their effort, find themselves questioning whether or not they belong at this school. For many, this pervasive feeling presents itself as we attempt to forget the sea of red marks on a test, remember to study into the early hours of the morning to prepare; as we stare at our phone, eyes glued to the messages left on read; as we sit during an empty club block, contemplating whether our extracurriculars are enough to propel us into the Ivy League. These walls are permeated with exhaustion, stress, and uncertainty. Nevertheless, the conclusion that rigor needs to lessen is wrong and is ultimately a detriment to those it seeks to support.
In moments of doubt, I encourage my peers to look ahead. Ultimately, our goals carry us beyond Milton Academy and into the real world. Whether those goals are college, family, or career-oriented, our time here will shape the way we approach them. I’m inclined to think that this exposure is for the better. No one knows which elements of Milton will apply later in life. It’s quite possible that upon our commencement, we may never again solve a piecewise function, or converse about Sumerian politics. However, the lessons that we learn about ourselves while lamenting over an assignment before dawn are what I’m certain will serve us in life, regardless of where opportunity leads us.
Personally, the biggest lessons that Milton has taught me transcend the content of particular courses. We are inclined to view pressure as an issue in need of fixing. In reality, every assignment, every hard week, and every night I spend redrafting my history papers allows me to realize that pressure should be welcomed. Though the horror of bad grades (whatever that may mean for you) may compel us to choose a safer alternative, I conclude that exclusively through repeated, structured pressure, we may learn to achieve greater outcomes. I say structured to remind students that this pressure is designed so that we are provided resources to help us through it until we no longer need them.
Our greater outcomes are not measured by specific results, but by improvements in how we work, how we think, and how we handle the next difficult task. There are certainly academic improvements, but the improvement in process is infinitely more important than any given grade.
None of this is to say that pressure is uniform. Each of us carries it differently, and sometimes, students hit a point where the load feels impossible. Instinct may lead us to want to drop a course, to alleviate stress. But the right response is to use what Milton gives us: the opportunity to ask for help. Whether it be from a teammate, advisor, or friend, we learn to open up and find support. Asking for help isn’t at odds with handling rigor; often it is part of what rigor teaches. Less rigor would only strip us of the chance to learn how.
As we look beyond Milton and into life ahead, we see the return on the effort spent in high school. Graduates of the prep school system often cite their time in high school as a key advantage later on in life. Letitia Chan ’17 stated that “the grind more than prepares students for success in college and careers.” Chan continued that the rigor and depth of Milton’s humanities classes sometimes even exceeded that of her classes at Harvard. Though attending institutions such as Milton confers clear academic advantages, preparatory school also tends to shape the character of those who emerge from the system. Aidan Lin, Phillips Andover class of ’23, remarked, “The sink or swim environment helped me come out of the experience with the confidence in myself that I could do anything I wanted.”
We often view prep school as an early end to childhood, where children are sent to endure ruthless academics and elite competition. Those who find the determination to endure and succeed emerge with something an easier path rarely gives: proof of what they can handle. When the red marks come back, or the doubt sets in, look past them. I encourage students to instead challenge their limits, for it is in this process that character is built and future experience is defined, not by grades, but by the person you become while earning them.