Perfect Place For A Budding Scientist (years ago)
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3/2/2017
I'd like to start by saying I hope that some of the situations in some of the other posts are isolated incidents. Also, I am qualifying this post with: I haven't been a student at Clements for almost 20 years.
I think I can safely assume the school is as competitive now as it was then and maybe even more so. As a freshman, I saw 7 seniors clutch MIT acceptance letters. My own class had numerous students going to schools like Stanford, MIT, Wash U (St. Louis), U Chicago, Rice U, UC Berkeley, Cornell, etc. etc. UT Austin (currently ranked 56 this year, 2017, in US News) was the undergraduate university for over 100 Clements High graduates each year.
At the time, and hopefully also true today, most teachers were warm and generally helpful in teaching but also strict and a bit demanding when it came to grades. Obviously, AP classes in Clements are difficult. Homework and extracurriculars take up time and so students need to have good study skills and time management.
But that is the beast Clements High students must battle. Students are expected to be at the top of their game which includes taking APs. Keep in mind students are competing with future Stanford students. This is a double-edged sword in a good way as you may not be the best student in, say, AP Chemistry, but the fact that you ARE in an AP class with a good instructor and getting at least a B or B- makes you several cuts above the average student nationally -- i.e. you can be proud you scored only a few points below a future Harvard student. All in all, you should be very well prepared for college and proud of the work you do.
Brian | Baldwin Park, CA