Schools crack down on academic overload

(Correction: Because of a reporting error, the first name of Thom Hughart, a Wellesley High School counselor, was misspelled in a story in last Sunday's Education section about students taking too many high-level courses.)

Jenney Szeto, a Boston Latin School senior, boasts a 4.33 grade-point average on a 4.0 scale and has a transcript stuffed with advanced placement classes in calculus, chemistry, and computer science.

She planned to take four advanced placement classes this year, two more than last year, but Boston Latin drew the line. The school restricted her to three of the college-level classes.

''We are concerned with students who take on too much," said Jim Montague, the school's director of counseling. ''We're saying there's a limit."

The 17-year-old did exceedingly well in her advanced classes, but more high school counselors and college admissions officials -- even parents and students -- are beginning to wonder whether the pursuit for admission to the nation's elite colleges and universities is worth the overextension of students.

In the rush to produce strong transcripts, students increasingly are taking too many rigorous college prep classes, counselors say.

Colleges and universities compound the problem by sending messages they want only the best, but high school counselors complain that colleges don't necessarily tell students that earning less than a B will do more harm than good.

Add to the mix aggressive parents who push children into taking more than they can handle and Montague, among a growing number of counselors, maintains schools need to ''help save students from themselves." Counselors say they're worried about higher rates of depression, sickness and burnout afflicting this generation of high school students.

At Wellesley High, counselor Tom Hughart says the school attempts to rein in the overextended student through one-on-one counseling, and scrutinizing student course loads.

Boston Latin has a more formal policy. It limits the number of advanced placement classes a student may take to three an academic year. Montague said the entire faculty doesn't support the policy, but he believes it's sound.

''There are enough pressures without taking on more academic work," he said.

Boston Latin students may file a waiver asking permission to take more than three advanced placement classes at a time. But last year, the school rejected all nine requests from the incoming juniors and approved just 15 of the 45 requests that came from incoming seniors. More students have been pushing the three-class limit every year and filing requests for waivers, which the school mostly rejects, Montague said.

The school's rejection of Szeto's request to take an additional class initially angered the 17-year-old. ''I felt I could do a fourth AP class, and I really wanted to take economics," she said.

But in the early months of her final year at Boston Latin, she's come to the conclusion that wisdom prevailed. In her junior year, she said, she pulled all-nighters. On other occasions, she arrived to school late because she was finishing work at home.

''I had no time for extracurricular activities because I was so overwhelmed last year," she said. ''There wasn't a lot of time to be a teenager."

She has become more mindful of balance since learning a classmate began seeing a psychologist because of school-induced stress.

In her senior year, Szeto said she has time to sleep and to prepare for classes, and to begin the college admissions process. She also has time to do something else that has eluded her through most of her high school years: go to the movies with friends.

''That," she said, ''is important too."

College admission and recruiting officials say blame can be evenly spread for the current environment in high schools.

''Colleges chase students, students chase colleges, and parents hover," said Gail Berson, dean of admission at Wheaton College in Norton. I think we all contribute to this vicious cycle."

Berson has seen the cycle as a parent. One of her children took an advanced placement chemisty class -- against Berson's advice -- and made a D-plus in the course. Berson is convinced that the only blot on her daughter's high school transcript eliminated her from contention at two of New England's elite institutions.

The fear of stumbling, even on a single class assignment, drove Wellesley High School student Sara Berg to an overloaded state. A rigorous college-prep schedule left little time for even rest last year as a junior, and she found herself constantly sick. Some of the illness came from working with children who had colds at the high school's day-care center for teachers and community residents. But she was also worn out.

''In the spring, I was sleeping three hours a night," she said. ''I certainly was not myself. I was on edge all of the time . . . Every assignment last year felt like acceptance or rejection to college."

As she traveled on family vacations or to visit the 15 colleges and universities on her list, she says one duffle bag was reserved for her clothing, a second bag for her books and homework.

Berg's efforts have paid off in the form of a high grade-point average and sterling SAT score, but she said she sometimes questioned herself about the effort she was expending.

''I couldn't imagine what these schools could offer that was worth what I was going through," she said. ''Many times last year, I thought a lot about making a documentary. If people could see on a personal level what the whole process did to me, then perhaps they would change the way it was run."

On avoiding burnout in the classroom

1. Avoid the temptation to take every advanced class at your school; you may overburden yourself, generate stress, and produce low grades.

2. Colleges look for students who take the most demanding courses available in high school, but they also expect students to do well.

3. Choose advanced classes in the subjects you enjoy most and can succeed in.

4. Discuss your advanced course choices with a counselor, parent, or teacher of the course.

5. Leave room for other, nonacademic, activities.

6. Balance is the key.

Source: From the article, Earning College Credit in High School, from the National Association for College Admission Counseling, www.nacacnet.org.