Stanford University Online High School

Why did you choose OHS?

I have been in public school since Kindergarten, and the whole way it has never really challenged me academically. I was in French Immersion until grade three, and although the French made everything more interesting, it still left me bored at the end of the day. I switched to the public gifted program a year later, but that still wasn’t rigorous enough. But the gifted program was already one of the best academic programs in Toronto, so my parents and I decided to look elsewhere as a supplement. We found a few US universities that offered online programs for talented youth, one of which was OHS. I chose OHS because it offered an education far superior than anything I could get locally—a rigorous, top-notch American education, right here in Canada. I arrived at Summer Session 2011 and after meeting my roommate, Nassim, I went outside to meet everyone else, and immediately I knew that OHS was the right choice for me. Over the course of two packed weeks I met and worked with OHS’s wonderful students and teachers, a lot of whom I continued to work with as a full-time freshman with five outstanding courses. My first year exceeded my expectations both in terms of academics and student life—I was a part of many clubs, including the OHS Lego Guild, which I formed early last year—and I continue this year with six courses, looking forward to what the future will bring.

What are classes like at OHS?

Classes (as well as assemblies, homeroom, and clubs) are conducted through a video-conferencing software. This is our online environment—a stark difference from a regular classroom. Although I adapted fine from an all-French grade three going into an all-English grade four, the online environment took me a few weeks to get used to, but after that adjusting period, everything is easy to use and simulates a real classroom well. There are action buttons you can click to communicate a certain message to everyone and a group text chat, where you can contribute ideas when you are not speaking on camera, which makes up the bulk of class meetings.

For most classes, there are lectures, reading, discussion, and homework. Lectures are recorded and, together with the readings, they cover everything you need to know for the next discussion. Discussions review the material and are opportunities to engage in deeper thinking and understanding of it alongside your instructor and peers. Homework makes up the bulk of your learning because it is here you really are tested on your mastery of the material. Most classes have a weekly homework assignment, some have quizzes and/or labs as well, and still others, especially the languages, have daily work. How much time you spend on the class ultimately depends on you and your efficiency, but having said that, there is a tremendous amount of work, especially for the full-time students.

Often, the more work you do, the more accomplished the feeling you get at the end of the year. In Textual Analysis and Argumentation (TAA) last year, we covered a lot of colonial history, texts, writing styles, and literary devices, and I truly feel that I have improved quite a bit as a writer, thanks in no small part to my teacher, Dr. Rzepka, whom I had a great time working with between papers and Explorers’ Club.

What is student life like at OHS?

Student life at OHS is a stark contrast to extracurriculars at a regular school, and the first and foremost reason for that is its online environment. Since we’re all in different places, we can’t do things like have a school band, sports teams, or even build some real Lego together. However, the online format brings some advantages as well. Not only is the student body extremely diverse, but that diversity greatly enhances clubs. For example, publications are more interesting when written by people of different backgrounds.

OHS gives many opportunities in extracurriculars for students willing to take them. Absolutely anyone can create absolutely any new club, and there is a club fair showcasing clubs new and old at the beginning of the school year; there were almost fifty different clubs this year! This openness to accept new clubs and activities allowed me to form the OHS Lego Guild, a community of Lego enthusiasts, which is now in its second year and running strong, as well as The OHS Oracle, a service dedicated to answering students’ anonymous questions via email and compiling answers into a podcast. I had a great experience in Debate and Explorers’ Club, and Yearbook as well.

Outside of official OHS activities, students chat and hang out using services like Facebook, Skype, email, and others; this is like the hallway or the cafeteria of a regular school, and although expressing thoughts through words isn’t always optimal, there’s the option of video chat too. Real-life interactions with fellow students occur at student organized meetups, as well as Graduation and Summer Session. These are what I love best about the OHS community; since we are online, seeing people in real life is a rare commodity, and it makes us truly value the few weeks we have together at Stanford, being with the people we’ve gotten to know so well online.

How has OHS helped you realize your goals?

OHS has allowed me a tremendous step forward in terms of academics; the material is not impossible, but sometimes it gets very close, especially with the workload. It has made me rethink my scheduling tactics, and improved my time management. I’ve heard from alumni that university can be easier with this preparation, and our workloads prepare us well in that aspect. I’ve learned things at OHS that are being learned at my local university; our textbooks are taken from colleges; nobody in Toronto has even heard of taking AP’s before eleventh or twelfth grade, but at OHS, seventh graders can do so if they are ready. OHS is renowned for its flexibility; the classes are divided throughout fourteen periods from Monday to Thursday, and since full time students usually cap out at six or seven courses, there is a lot of non-class time that can be very valuable for those with other interests. For example, I can write music when it comes into my head since I’m always at the computer; I’m not confined by a six hour block each day when I’m at school. OHS truly is an amazing school, and I look forward to the next few years here.

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