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Fountain Valley School of Colorado

School rating 4 / 5 by

6155 Fountain Valley School Road Colorado Springs CO 80911 United States
Boarding
9th to 12th
Day
9th to 12th
Gender
Coed

Academic

Fountain Valley School of Colorado review by .

Fountain Valley School of Colorado offers one of the best academics in the nation. The School emphasizes interaction between faculty and students inside and outside of classroom. Most classrooms are arranged in a way that fosters student/faculty discussion during class, including math courses. It is common for students to prolong the discussion that happened during the class. By fostering this discussion-based environment, students learn not only to lead a healthy discussion but also to acquire knowledge from the process of getting an answer. Average class size is 12, but classes feel much smaller because faculty members are so accessible to students. Students can drop by faculty's classrooms at ANY TIME they want, and if they want to set up an appointment, faculty welcome the decision. Also, most of faculty members are on duty in one of ten dorms on campus, so students can go to the respective dorm to get extra help after school. Students are not only allowed but encouraged to call teachers' home phone if they have any questions, even in the middle of night. Average workload varies, of course, but the school handbook states that freshman classes require thirty minutes of work everyday, sophomore classes require forty minutes, and junior and senior classes' work requirement is not specified. Junior, senior and AP courses tend to be very heavy in workload, and lab sessions tend to take a long time to finish. The workload, however, all pays off at the end of the year, especially of AP students, because students tend to perform exceptionally on AP exams. Also, while it is a lot of work to take even one AP course, it is possible to take all AP courses for his/her schedule, as I myself have done it so. Also, trained by the School's heavy work load, graduates often find college workload very light, as they've been trained to work for entire day. The School provides the same amount of help to advanced students, as teachers are always accessible to students and students are encouraged to set up appointments with teachers. For those with difficulties in learning, the School provides a Learning Center, established in 2007, in order to give extra help, with designated faculty members who work for the learning center only. Also, the School offers ESL courses for those whose native language is not English, attracting many international students. Fountain Valley School of Colorado tends to avoid its evaluation towards students through tests or exams because the School focuses on comprehensive learning and discussion based education. Thus, final exams often don't have time limits, and neither do tests in classes. However, the School's students get very high AP scores, which can be attributed to the School's high level of education that overcomes its lack of test.

College Counseling

Students in Fountain Valley School of Colorado technically start their college process when they get....

Sample insights on college counseling

  • They have contacts at most of the major universities and feel perfectly comfortable picking up the phone and advocating for a student to get accepted somewhere they feel is a good fit for that student. However, these counselors are certainly not magic bullets. They cannot guarantee that a student will get into an Ivy League university...
  • For those wishing to move on to Oxford or Cambridge, the provision is second-to-none. In the months running up to application and interview, every subject faculty offers classes (often run by former Oxbridge tutors) exploring further areas of their subject as well as offering advice on personal statements, interview technique and more...

Admissions - Getting Accepted

Fountain Valley School of Colorado, due to its location in Colorado and low prestige, has....

Sample insights on admissions

  • For the interview, dress conservatively. Try to be very clean and put together. Also, I was a tour guide for two years and at the end of every tour, we were asked to evaluate the candidate so if you think the tour is not apart of the process, you are very wrong. Ask questions and be interested. Also, tip for the parents: the kids speak on the tour. Do not ask their questions for them...
  • Most younger siblings have an easy time in the admissions process. I can only think of one case of a younger sibling not being admitted. About half of the students who entered with me had come from public schools. The remainder came from private K-6 schools, or had transferred from other New York private schools The Elizabeth Morrow School and St. Bernard were two of the larger feeder schools...

School Life

Advisor system at Fountain Valley School of Colorado has been the essential role in fostering a healthy life of student. Each student is assigned an advisor in his/her first year, and he/she can choose from the year after. The advisor consults with students what classes they are going to take, what extra curricular activities they are interested in, what sports they want to play, etc. From social life to academic concerns, students are encouraged to talk to their advisors. Often, advisors even provide ride to the airport. As shown in this example, advisors and students bond personally, thus maintain a....

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