Overview of the School
Founded in 1863, Robert College is a private secondary school operated under the jurisdiction of the Turkish Ministry of Education and accredited by the New York State Association of Independent Schools.
Students
We enroll day and boarding students, the latter comprising 18.1% of our student body. Our students are selected from among the top 0.4% of the students who took the national entrance exam to private schools. 100% of our students go on to college.
Regardless of the students’ previous knowledge of English, they must take a full year of intensive ESL instruction before entering our regular high school program.
Approximately 23% of our students receive financial aid to attend R.C., totaling over $5 million during 2011-2012.
Faculty
Our faculty, 58% who have a master’s degree or higher, have an average of over 20 years of teaching experience. Slightly over half are native English speakers.
English is the language of instruction in science, mathematics, literature, physical education, art and music; Turkish is the language of instruction in social sciences and Turkish language/literature courses. All students are required to take a minimum of two years of a second foreign language. By graduation, students will have completed a demanding program averaging nine courses per semester, designed to prepare them for success either at universities abroad or in Turkey.
Graduation Requirements
English: Our students take four years of English (after their preparatory year) with course content similar to that of any academically challenging secondary school in the United States.
Mathematics: At least two years of math are required. Students pursuing the Turkish/Math Diploma must take math in grades 9 and 10 and then one full year math elective or its equivalent. Advanced Math students may go beyond.
Science: Our students are required to take at least one year each of introductory biology, physics and chemistry. Science Diploma students must also complete at least two advanced level courses in physics, chemistry or biology.
Turkish: Four years of Turkish language and literature are required. Turkish/Math Diploma students must also take one full year Turkish elective.
Second Foreign Language: At least two years of French or German are required and students may choose to continue their foreign language as an elective.
Social Studies: Our students must take one year of each of the following subjects: Introduction to Social Sciences, geography, history, Turkish Republican History, traffic and first aid, military science, philosophy and each year a one-hour religion course.
Arts: Each student is required to take at least one arts elective (e.g. photography, studio art, oil painting, drama).
Advanced Placement Courses
Many courses prepare students in various ways for Advanced Placement (AP) examinations and we encourage those students who plan to study abroad to take the AP tests. Some take the AP designated courses of: AP Art, AP Contemporary Art, AP Photography, AP English Literature, AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC and AP Computer (Java). AP courses are offered to 11th and 12th grades only. However, many other students study individually for their exams.
Academic Policy
Robert College does not report student rank. Each student’s GPA is calculated on the basis of the number of periods each class meets per week. AP courses are not given special weight. To earn honors a student must obtain a weighted average of 70; for high honors a student must obtain 85. The passing grade is 60 for English and Turkish at all levels, and for diploma courses. 50 is the passing grade for all other courses.
Community Involvement Projects (CIP)
In September 2006, a student-centered community service requirement was instituted. Every student is required to develop a project and complete 50 hours of community service outside school hours.
Clubs
Over ninety clubs are offered to students each year, covering a wide range of categories including arts and performance, personal skills, creativity, culture, academic learning, physical fitness, and service learning. Students in grades 9, 10 and 11 are required to enroll in a minimum of one club every year.
College Results - Class of 2011
On average 30% of the graduating class go abroad. Students from the Class of 2011 are currently attending the foreign colleges and universities below.
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Schools
|
Students enrolled
|
|
Amherst College
|
1
|
|
Barnard College
|
1
|
|
Boston University
|
2
|
|
Brandeis University
|
1
|
|
Brown University
|
1
|
|
Columbia University
|
1
|
|
Dartmouth College
|
1
|
|
Drexel University
|
1
|
|
Duke University
|
1
|
|
Erasmus University
|
1
|
|
Franklin and Marshall College
|
1
|
|
Georgetown University
|
1
|
|
Harvard University
|
1
|
|
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
|
1
|
|
Jacobs University Bremen
|
1
|
|
Lehigh University
|
1
|
|
McGill University
|
2
|
|
Michigan State University
|
1
|
|
New York University
|
3
|
|
Northeastern University
|
1
|
|
Northwestern University
|
1
|
|
Penn State University
|
1
|
|
Princeton University
|
2
|
|
Rice University
|
2
|
|
Swarthmore College
|
1
|
|
Sydney University
|
2
|
|
The London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art
|
1
|
|
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
|
1
|
|
Tufts University
|
2
|
|
Universita Bocconi
|
1
|
|
University College London
|
1
|
|
University of British Columbia
|
1
|
|
University of California at Berkeley
|
1
|
|
University of Chicago
|
3
|
|
University of Durham
|
1
|
|
Univ. of Illinois, Urbana -Champaign
|
1
|
|
University of Kent
|
1
|
|
University of Manchester
|
1
|
|
University of Michigan
|
2
|
|
University of Nottingham
|
4
|
|
University of Oxford
|
1
|
|
University of Toronto
|
1
|
|
Washington University in St. Louis
|
2
|
|
Yale University
|
1
|
|
