The Webb Schools - Review #5

I think there was generally a good work-life balance, or more like study-life balance at Webb. The community was small enough that we would know most everybody, teachers cared tremendously for the students, sports were mandatory so students can feel belonging to their sports teams, leadership opportunities were endless, all the while academics still were tough but fair.

I think I was able to become a pretty independent person. Webb prepared me pretty well for college and I think school/academics was actually harder at Webb than in college. Leadership was actually also helped me grow a lot as a person. In middle school, I was on the shyer side, but I think through Webb and being in the Dorm Council as a prefect and Chairman, being in Badminton, leading Junior Fountain, and just being a mentor for some of the students really helped me grow as a leader.

I think I would not have eaten so much. I got sucked into Domino's Pizza's 2x Tuesdays and potato chips during my first year there and it was so much regrets.I think the most important part of being at Webb was common sense. There are a lot of rules, but you have to know that those rules were put in place for a specific reason (or at least most of them). There's a reason why the school won't let you go out at 11pm at night or why they wouldn't let you do drugs, etc.

I think the culture of honor and how to live as an honorable person was one of the best things about the school. Some people may call it corny or fake or whatever, but I think it's something that is great to try to pursue. It's important to treat other people with honor and respect.

Check out the Alf museum! It's pretty cool. There's a couple aquariums too in the science building with a cute puffer fish.Most of all, cherish your friendships you make at Webb. Some of them will last a life time!

In general, the workload was pretty high but if you manage your time wisely during the mandatory Study Hours (~7-10pm), you should be able to finish all the assignments you'll be getting. As an upperclassmen, you will probably pull later nights especially if you take APs or the Advanced classes that Webb is starting to implement now. When I was there, there were some limitations to take more than 4 APs at a time, but I guess it was for our own good too. When I took 4 APs + 2 Honors Classes + Leadership + Sports + etc, I was already pretty busy. But yeah, looking at their current courses that my little brother was taking, they look very interesting! OChem, biotech, etc. sounded really cool to take in high school. The classmates in general were competitive, but there was still a lot of helping each other in finishing assignments. People weren't super cut-throat and didn't try to sabotage each other before exams like some people do in College. The 80 minute blocks at Webb will also prep you so well for college. 50 minute lecture in college will feel like a breeze and 80 minute classes in college will feel so normal to you.

Athletics is mandatory (1 quarter of a sport). If you are not athletic, you can do like a quarter of being a team manager, journalist, or athletic trainer. There's a pretty wide variety of sports from the typical American ones (Football, Basketball, etc) to not as typical ones like Badminton and Triathlon (I don't know if triathlon is still around). As a pretty academic school, we weren't the best at our sports except a select few, Badminton being one of them. Facilities were pretty good and coaches were sometimes our teachers, so it opens a pretty cool opportunity to get to know them more.

I participated in the choir and chamber singers and overall it was enjoyable! I particularly enjoyed the barbershop quartets we used to do for the guys in chamber singers. Unfortunately, not everyone enjoys the mandatory concerts we have to attend, but I found them fun to take a break from school. But yeah, choir will depend on the conductor.

There. are. so. many. leadership. opportunities.

For the boys, most everyone gets a single while the girls get doubles. Only when they become an upperclassmen can they get a single. Every room has a sink which is really convenient. Every weekday, teachers would go around the dorms and do "room checks" for cleanliness. So every morning, you have to clean your room, wipe your mirrors, dust your cabinets, etc to get Gold Stars. At the end of the year, you get to choose your room choice based on the amount of gold stars you have. Generally, the rules are pretty common sense and the room checks force you to build a good habit of cleaning up your room and staying neat, especially useful when you're in college.

Food was really good actually! Well, it got better as my time there went on. They have an ice cream/soft serve machine and Jamaica and Horchata during meal times! They also have a panini bar and noodle bar that adds a lot of variety and fresh food choices. Meatless Mondays used to be the worst though. But we can always order food for delivery and there's a lot of pretty good delivery places around.

The few town life there is would be the Target, Edwards movie theater, and the Claremont Village. I noticed they recently opened a ramen place in the village that's pretty good. But Target will most likely be your best friend during your time at Webb. They always have plenty of target runs using the school vans that teachers will drive, and you can stock up on your favorite snacks and late night munchies you need. Some weekends, they will have "LA Adventures" as an activity where a teacher will take you to LA or 626 are for really good LA or Asian food.

Social life was pretty good. Since it's a small school, you kinda end up knowing a lot of people so if you're a nice person, most people will like you and you'll get along with most people. You will probably end up having your own group of friends but be sure to mingle with the other groups or people too. Cliques, in my opinion, will for sure form, but I think that's prevalent everywhere. Every student will also get an advisor and an advisory group. Cherish these people since you'll meet up every week and your advisor sometimes brings donuts or treats and it's just a nice time to chill together.