<p>I am thinking about applying both to college (regular decision) and a prep school for a post graduate year. I am applying to some elite colleges like the Ivies, Rice, Stanford, etc. but I want a fall back option just in case I do not get accepted. I would use my fallback schools as my second choice but I'm starting to feel like doing a post-grad year at a prep school and improving my academic rapport will help boost my chances into getting into one of my dream schools. Should I follow through with this plan; will this extra year really make a difference in my chances of being accepted into one of these schools? </p>
<p>It’s hard to answer this question without knowing stats (GPA, test scores, etc.), but my initial reaction is to go with your first plan and expand the list of colleges you are willing to attend and use that as your fallback option. The problem is that the colleges you name are highly selective and reject their fair share of perfect SATs/valedictorians every year. So attending prep school is no guarantee that your chances would appreciate significantly enough to make spending an extra $50-60K worthwhile. I’ve seen discussions on this board that prep school can, in some cases, hinder the ability to get into an Ivy. So in my mind, it’s a $50K gamble without a high probability of success. If you were my kid and we had $50K to burn, I would explore other ways to spend my money to enhance your application and chances of success. </p>
<p>Further complicating the issue in my mind is that to really “juice up” your college app. you would probably need to attend one of the more selective prep schools. These schools reject 8.5 out of ten applicants, even applicants with perfect grades/perfect scores. If you are an athlete or young/immature for your grade than the analysis may vary slightly. </p>
<p>I think a postgraduate year is a really good opportunity to amp up your stats and things, provided you attend a top tier like a GLADCHEMMS. If you’re young or immature (in terms of study habits or social ability), a postgrad year might be the perfect opportunity for you. You can also use it to grab more athletic or academic experience. Additionally, there are other options that might work as well: traveling the world, interning, etc. if you decide you want to experience a gap year. Besides that, you might want to try opening your horizons. There are plenty of smaller, liberal-arts colleges that are less known but still quite good.</p>