I have been looking at my schools that I was accepted to and while waiting for revisits, I have to ask myself the question of this thread. I’m not sure whether I should go for the place with the strongest EVERYTHING, but barely make an impact in the face of all the students or be part of a tighter knit community based school that has very strong college placements, but also is not as well-known.
I’m really struggling with this decision, but if I could get some advice and words of wisdom, I would really appreciate it…
But really, this is a choice that you need to make based on revisits and your gut. I would not worry about a school being “unknown.” They are not unknown to colleges.
Large schools may have more offerings, both academic and EC, but more students may mean, for example, that it’s harder to make a varsity team. At the end of the day, it’s a personal decision. Whatever you decide will be the right one, I’m sure.
I infer that your question is largely about which choice will stand you in better stead for college applications. The other posters are right that all of the schools you’re talking about are known to the college admissions officers, though certainly some are probably better known that others. But what impresses colleges the most is someone who stands out from the crowd. So pick the school where you think you are most likely to excel. And bear in mind that when you’re happy and enjoy your classes and teachers, you’re much more likely to do well. So “fit” really matters, not just for how happy you’ll be for the next four years, but also for the likely outcome. Confidence breeds success.
Especially if your point is that you want to be a big fish in a small pond so you stand out-- in order to get into a super elite college. Wouldn’t you be a small fish in a big pond THEN? Why would that suddenly be a great fit? I guess I don’t get the argument about picking a small pond high school to get into a big pond in college. Therefore, I agree the focus shouldn’t BE on college, mostly because you don’t know what college will fit you best by the time you’re done with high school. Figure out fit for the next 4 years: some kids do better as the big fish in a small pond, and do best feeling very confident (but then the same might well be true for college). Some kids like to have lots of amazing people around them to inspire them, which makes them do better and makes them happier. There’s no right answer for everyone-- it really depends on your personality and where you will be happiest and do your best. Once you figure out THAT fit, you’ll be well positioned for college-- whether your college choice ends up being big pond or little pond.
Big fish little pond better than medium or small fish big pond. The best analysis I’ve seen of this is from Espenshade. See citation below.
The Frog Pond Revisited: High School Academic Context, Class Rank, and Elite College
Admission
Author(s): Thomas J. Espenshade, Lauren E. Hale, Chang Y. Chung
Source: Sociologyof Education, Vol. 78, No. 4 (Oct., 2005), pp. 269-293
Published by: American Sociological Association
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4150499
Short term, if the goal is acceptance to a very selective college, I think that big fish/small pond is better. I am not convinced that in the long term, this advantage holds. After all, you are going to be going to a big pond for the next 4 years, unless you plan on living in a small pond the rest of your life.
A lot of the “big ponds” have unique learning opportunities, adventures, and exposure to friends/faculty/experiences that may be important in the long-term. I think that one needs to find the pond that fits best and offers the greatest promise for the experience that the student is looking for. Going to a school for the sole purpose of getting a better chance to be at a particular college is probably not a good decision.
Not to stir the pond waters further, but an underlying premise of these kind of discussions is that certain colleges make a decisive difference in what happens to a person after college and therefore one’s choice of boarding school will impact one’s entire future. History demonstrates that’s false logic. Students from powerful, well connected families have traditionally attended the “elite” schools and colleges and then gone on to political or business success or both. The school/college didn’t make the difference, the wealth and the connections did. After WWII, progressive educators saw elite educations as a means for socio-economic mobility and the gates opened for students from non powerful non connected families. Some of these did go on to power, wealth, fame, etc. It is not, however, a given that going to Harvard or Stanford equals future success. Lately, presidents and billionaires have trended towards the elites- Harvard, Yale, Columbia, preps schools, etc. Overall though, there is little correlation.
I think I wouldn’t mind being a little fish (at least socially) as long as I had a little pond. I need to feel connected to everyone >:D< In any case, even the biggest prep schools are a third of the size of my high school (3500 students), so I don’t exactly have high (low?) standards on this count.
I think that being the big fish is less important than being the unique fish, cheesy as that sounds. So you might not be the President of Model UN and a Varsity basketball player, but maybe you can be a leader in Ballroom Dancing Club and be dedicated to making historically-themed origami displays. I don’t know.
I’m not talking about college (although I don’t know why colleges wouldn’t want a ballroom-dancing origami-making history geek), and grades are another thing. I’m talking about what it takes to feel like someone in a place with a lot of students where individual identities need space to stretch.
If u don’t have a hook, I’d be seriously concerned about fish size in regards to academic performance.
If u are admitted, but you’re at the low end of the SSAT spectrum, assess whether this is really something u want to get yourself into. Do not under-estimate how “hard” the very selective schools are.
Don’t underestimate how hard any of the schools are. It is very difficult to be an academic star. Go where you are happiest. Happiness will help you shine in your own way.
Totally agreed with Twinsmama about it being very difficult to be a star, and that no one should assume that – no matter how small the pool – you will be a star. But another important question is how hard you have to work to be at least a good student (B+/A-). If you have to work really hard to be at that level, you won’t have much time for extracurriculars. On the other hand, if you can get those grades without killing yourself, and then spend time really getting engaged in a meaningful way in a few extracurriculars, that’s a different story entirely.
