<p>I am worried about this question for a long time.
I think i have ability to enter a top school(the ten?)But i don't think i will be a top student in such schools.You know ,GPA is extraordinary improtant,if I want to enter a TOP 20 university. what's your choice?</p>
<p>I suggest you review the “grade inflation” threads.</p>
<p>I don’t see why people think of things as so clear cut.</p>
<p>If your main objective is to get into a ‘top 20 university’, then boarding school probably isn’t the best option for you… A star at your current, not-so-prestigious-school as opposed to being yet another great kid at a prestigious school where lots of students have hooks like URM, athlete, legacy? Hmm.</p>
<p>I don’t know why everyone makes it so black and white. I mean, look at the matriculation for these top Boarding Schools. Chances are, you’re going to get into a great college, and not only that, will be more prepared for it. I’d choose the /numerous options for classes, clubs, volunteering, etc. at Boarding School than a debate team and average English classes at my public school, any day.</p>
<p>It’s not like being in the fiftieth percentile means an instant rejection from your college of choice. Colleges are quite familiar with many boarding schools. They understand that the average boarding school is quite challenging and the pool is very competitive. Top schools accept students from far more than the top 10%. Speaking from personal experience, I was in the middle of my class and I got into several of the “Top 20” schools (using USNWR 2009). Obviously there are many factors in the college admissions process, of which grades are just a part, but being in the middle of the class is not a death sentence by any means.</p>
<p>Although being in the top 50% of a great BS may not completely eliminate your chances for being admitted to the top 20 schools, it may limit your chances, whereas being at the top 10%, with similar EC’s will greatly enhance your chances at the top schools, may even warrant some merit money, whereas top 50% will diminish chances at any merit money…it all depends upon your goals…BS certainly is a wonderful, worthwhile experience on many levels, but check the matric stats at the BS…are more than 5%, 10% of the seniors being admitted to top schools? Where would you fall into that pool if you are only in the top 50% of the graduating class…will the admits to the top 20 be bestowed upon the top 10% of the class…most likely…unless there is a URM/athlete hook, and then that will work better to your advantage with top 10% at public anyway!!!</p>
<p>Also, carefully consider where in the “top 10%” you might be located at the ordinary school. Top 20 college admissions are generally limited to the first 1-2% of most high schools, not those in the 5-10% range (barring some other dominant factor). Being in the 10th percentile at an “ordinary school” is probably not the best preparation for MIT.</p>
<p>Also you may want to carefully consider what it is about going to a “top 20” school that attracts you. Is it just the prestige? Depending on what you want to study there are many schools that fall below (and sometimes well below) those rankings that will offer an education that is nearly as good or sometimes better than the bigger names. You should also consider the environment that makes you most comfortable (composition of student body, competitiveness, size, location, etc.). Too many students just focus on a few arbitrary rankings without considering whether a school is appropriate and whether they will be adequately prepared to attend.</p>
<p>If all you want is top 20 I’m sure either one of those are perfectly fine.</p>
<p>Top XX percent of the class is a poor metric, if we’re talking about strong schools with fewer students.</p>
<p>Rather, be at the top of your class wherever you go to school.</p>
<p>Top 50% does not necessarily diminish merit money, even at top schools. This I know from personal experience and those of friends. Unless it’s based on class rank, I don’t think many people at top boarding schools would have much difficulty getting merit aid.</p>
<p>At many boarding schools the vast majority of the population would be in the top 10% at an average public school. Colleges understand this. I personally think effect of boarding school on college admission is either neutral or slightly positive. Yes, the pool is more competitive, but there are factors working in your favor. For example, there are many opportunities at BS that most public schools don’t offer. At BS, I was able to volunteer at a school in Africa for the summer, choreograph, become an RA, start a club, delve deeper into math and science, etc. All of these made me more attractive to the adcom than I would have been had I stayed at my public school. Not to mention, the college counselors at BS often have excellent connections to top schools formed over many years of association unlike most public schools. I’m not saying they use them to get unqualified applicants into their top choice. Rather, it is my suspicion that they try to gauge student interest in each school and attempt to get very interested students into their top choices, while squeezing out their equally qualified, but less interested peers. Since a college won’t ever take all the qualified applicants from one school, this would maximize overall happiness.</p>
<p>Merit money is usually determined by the criteria of percentiles, GPA, class rank and SAT scores (unless you are a highly recruited athlete, then merit money can be made available at many NESCAC and DIII schools regardless of stats). If percentile is a factor, even though one may have a high GPA at your BS, one may not be in the top 1-5%, which is a definite determining factor to merit aid, along with high SAT scores. The college counseling services are superior at BS, with many connections…</p>
<p>I didn’t hear of anyone having any particular trouble scoring merit money. The problem tended to be that most schools people were interested in didn’t offer it. So I was assuming that class rank didn’t factor in too heavily or at least was weighted by difficulty of school. However, our school didn’t technically rank. They do release a graph of the number of people that receive each GPA, so it’s not difficult to figure out a de facto rank if a school really wanted to. But it’s possible that rank is not used as a factor to determine our merit money. Either way, I don’t think it would be a huge issue since many academically focused boarding schools don’t rank either.</p>
<p>A college admisssionsperson who was once asked whether a student should take regular English and get A, or AP English and get a B. She replied, Take AP English, and get the A.
If you’re looking at a top 20 school, that’s your answer.</p>