<p>Well, frankly what you (the OP) are saying here is total foolishness. Of course attending college preparatory school, day or boarding, will be advantageous for most students when applying to colleges. I'm typing this from my desk at Princeton.</p>
<p>Tokyo</p>
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So I'm confused...it would be better for me to stay in my bad high school, with such a low range of classes, no AP, not good academics (despite what the locals may think) than go to bs, because of the competitiveness (hope that'a word!) of students there?
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<p>Yes. If you wanted to get into HYPS, then yeah, it would be better for you to stay in your bad high school taking the highest level of classes available and graduating as the valedictorian. Statistically, you'd have a much higher chance of getting in.</p>
<p>You could prepare yourself, though. By taking online AP courses or self-studying a lot, you would essentially push yourself as much as BS students do, but you won't have to compete with them for spots at top schools.</p>
<p>I think this discussion has ignored the chicken-or-the-egg problem with the cream-of-the-crop theory that suggests it's easier to stand out in a crappy public school. The college process obviously comes at the tail end of the high school experience. BS may get you more prepared for HYPS than a crappy HS and you may enhance your ability and attractiveness to those schools in the environment that BS offers while you may languish and suffer academically in a more monotonous, black hole of a high school. In other words, the same people who shine in BS aren't necessarily the same ones who will shine at a crappy HS. You can't look at a person ranked 12th in their BS class and assume that they would have been a valedictorian at a crappy HS. Who's to say that that person wouldn't "check out" academically in a stale academic environment. Some flowers can live in the desert or in fecund soil...but not everything that thrives in the fecund environment can weather the harsh environment and barren conditions of the desert.</p>
<p>I don't disagree with any of the observations here. In the end, if HYPS is your goal, you have to ask yourself where will you shine? It will depend on the individual student. The self-starters, natural leaders and independent learners may find that a crappy HS won't hold them back. Others may look in the mirror and understand that they have a better shot going for the 18th spot from their BS to Yale than going to a crappy school where they may very well die on the vine. (And, then -- as has been noted above -- there are plenty of other reasons besides HYPS to consider BS.)</p>
<p>I feel compelled to present another view, because I think there is a lot of bad information here.
If you stand out as an applicant, which you need to whether you come from a public school as a boarding school, you will have a good chance of admission to a highly selective school. The admission percentages are low, and without a good hook, you are battling a lot of competition. None of this is a reason to give up the opportunities and growth that come from the boarding school experience. Also, you might not be aware how badly some kids do once they GET to these IVY-level schools if they haven't had an outstanding high school education with demanding teachers who push the students. I'll also point out that my son is extremely disappointed in the level of intellectualism at the Ivy he attends compared to his second tier boarding school.<br>
Plenty of kids from my son's boarding school attend highly selective colleges. The aim is for the best fit for the student. Last year kids went to Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Penn, Cornell and Columbia. Not sure about Brown and Dartmouth.
If you are afraid of the challenge of a boarding school, then you don't belong there.</p>
<p>Whoever asked what Wharton was, it is UPenn's School of Finance... sorry if answered already, I just saw that post and wrote back</p>
<p>I did. That must have sounded quite stupid, but you could see how it could be an acronym looking at the first four letters, couldn't you? :D</p>
<p>One thing I like about prep school for me is that the schools I really want to go to (Oxbridge, St. Andrew's, etc.) are in the United Kingdom, and they tend to get less applications from American prep school applicants than the Ivy League, yet they still know about schools like AESDCH, and respect them, and, in my opinion, are as good as or better than HYPSM.</p>
<p>i think we had 2 to oxford, 1 to cambridge and 1 to LSE last year....i applied to imperial, hoping for the best</p>
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in my opinion, are as good as or better than HYPSM.
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<p>HYPS. Not M. I respect your opinion, but you know this statement is fact. ;)</p>
<p>This has gotton out of control. We're talking about a handfull of colleges where your chances will be reduced, the VAST majority of top prep schools will give you a better shot at.</p>
<p>Adofficer from Tuftw posted last week that kids from top preps are given a better look than others. They know what they're getting. This makes total sense.</p>
<p>And lets not forget for the hooked candidates it really helps. A lot easier for the development people at Harvard to push an Exeter kid. Legacies look more attractive to colleges and athleetes as well.</p>
<p>This has gotton out of control. We're talking about a handfull of colleges where your chances will be reduced, the VAST majority of top prep schools will give you a better shot at.</p>
<p>Adofficer from Tufts posted last week that kids from top preps are given a better look than others. They know what they're getting. This makes total sense.</p>
<p>And lets not forget for the hooked candidates it really helps. A lot easier for the development people at Harvard to push an Exeter kid. Legacies look more attractive to colleges and athleetes as well.</p>
<p>um..not entire true suze... Most State Us dont give a damn about where you come from....We have a worse admit record with UC Berkeley and UCLA than Princeton...like what the hell..my college advisor told me CMU would be easier for me than michigan just because michigan is a state U.. State Us dont pay much attention to where you go to school</p>
<p>^^ Bearcats, Hotchkiss has a lower admit record at Berkely& UCLA than Princeton? Didn't know..haha</p>
<p>Keep in mind, too, that many people who don't go to HYPS but instead to less prestigious colleges get into top-notch graduate/medical/law/business programs and do just fine in life--in many cases, better than those who have had more "protected" educational backgrounds. In my opinion, the only reason to go to a boarding school or top day school is for the experience. As others have said, it is an end in itself. The educational experience will be different there, and you will likely end up a different (though not necessarily better!) person than if you'd gone to your local public high school, however good or poor.</p>
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HYPS. Not M. I respect your opinion, but you know this statement is fact.
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<p>What? M stands for MIT.</p>
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M stands for MIT.
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<p>Exactly. :)</p>
<p>Dang! I was thinking Muhlenberg. MIT? You're sure?</p>
<p>Lolololololol</p>
<p>a fair way to put it is... it depends on the schools</p>
<p>some top schools think very in favor of the top BS, and some dont consider the additional rigor much... good thing is, you will have a very experienced college advisor who only has around 30 kids to care about... </p>
<p>USC, Carnegie mellon, georgetown, tufts are very typical examples of schools that favor top BS...USC and CMU were my safety schools for crying out loud and i merely have a 3.1 - 3.2 GPA....and before you think my college advisor is crazy...look at the stats, she's not.... last year, both school admitted all students with above 3.0 GPA.........if i were to go to the "What are my chances" forum and start a thread asking the chance for CMU and USC with a 3.2 GPA, most people would be like "high reach, impossible reach" blah blah blah</p>
<p>on the other hand, the very high end schools aka all the ivies and stanford etc or the top state Us, UNC chapel hill, UC B, UC LA.. (U mich and UVA are exceptions as they are more willing to take our kids but still more reluctant than the privates) are VERY VERY tough and would have been much easier in a crappy public school where everyone isnt as amazing as you are and not as many people are well connected</p>
<p>True that in some cases, if not most of the cases, if you are the top in your public high school and you are active in many areas, you might have a better chance than a BS student for a slot in HYPS.
But, please take your perspective beyond HYPS; rather, look into one's life in its entirety. You need to have a LIFE GOAL first, more than a HYPS goal; if any, HYPS should only fall within your overall life goal. Therefore, the experience in a good BS, with supportive teachers, excellent facilities, and progressive peers, should get you a better experience in life, significantly enhancing your achievement toward your life goal, and if you are successful of landing a spot on HYPS, that would even be better. However, even if you fail to get that spot, your preparation in a BS makes you a significantly better person, especially in the critical thinking, drive to succeed, time management, planning, and perspective, which is probably the most important of all. Set the vision beyond HYPS, and you will then have better chance to get in. I personally think whoever has the opportunity to go to a BS, or any good school, whether public or private, is extremely fortunate, and should treasure the opportunity and privilege. Hopefully, one day you can create scholarship fund for one or more students who are less fortunate. Good luck.</p>
<p>well sure, they're aware of the rigor, but the problem is that they're not going to take 25 students from exeter even if those students are all amazing. While they will take several from one school, there's no way they'd take every single qualified applicant.</p>