<p>Okay, I'll take a shot at adressing this issue. First of all, I go to Andover, and am neither wealthy nor extremely smart. I worked really hard in middle school, played sports and took a real interest in community service, and was very happy to get into Andover. Don't think of Andover and Exeter as country-club type environments, there may be a few kids who might not deserve to be there, but the vast majority of the people who go there are hardworking and make the most out of their prep school experience. I would definitely be getting better grades at my local high school and probably could be at the top of the class, but that's not the issue. The reason why Andover is so great is because of the diversity of people, the amazing faculty and facilities, and the connections you make. I didn't go to Andover to be "placed" into a selective college, I went because of it's amazing resources and because I knew that going their would be an unforgettable experience. The people who end up the worst at our school are the ones who just go there and expect to coast their way to an ivy. Everyone needs to stop making assumptions that everyone at prep schools are rich white people like George Bush was, for although it may have been like that back when he went to school, Andover is more ethinically diverse and gives out more financial aid then almost any school around. </p>
<p>The people who get accepted from prep schools might have lower "gpa's" than some other applicants, but most have been taking very tough courses and are very involved in the community. It is a misconception that you do not have to work at Andover/Exeter to get into Harvard. Sorry, I might have strayed away from the previous postings, but I got a little worked up.</p>
<p>First of all, no one, (atleast i didn't) said that kids at andover/exeter are all rich wasps. Quite frankly, I could care less about andover, exeter, choate, hotchkiss, mka, deerfield, stuyvesant, TJ, or whatever other schools are out there that are super feeders.</p>
<p>second of all, this entire post went completely away from what I intended it to be. Yes, there are several schools that you can be a subpar student at and get into whatever college you want. But the fact is...even if there are a 100 high schools that can get even the worst student into whever he or she wants, thats less than 1% of all the high schools in america. The original intention of my post was to say that everyone on this website puts in their chances forum that they go to an "ultra competitive high schools." the fact is, you probably don't. And as for the 99+% of high schools in this country, it doesn't matter if you went to 1 over the other. AS LONG AS YOU DO WELL IN WHATEVER SCHOOL YOU GO TO YOU ARE GOING TO BE COMPETITIVE IN COLLEGE ADMISSIONS. However, don't think that you're 3.6 is as good as someone elses 4.0 because you go to "a harder school." 99%+ of the time it isn't, if you both took comparable schedules OR took the hardest offered at your respective schools.</p>
<p>Sorry, didn't mean for my words to come out harsh like that. I was just looking at someone from earlier in the post, who made some negative comments about prep schools. And yes I agree with you that it is just as possible for a hard-working person to get into a great college from public high school than from a prep school. I also agree that saying you go to a competitive high school is not an excuse for disappointing grades. Just because you go to a good school doesn't mean you should be selected over someone who worked harder and had better grades at maybe a less selective school. High school is all about what you make of it, and the people who make the most out of their learning environment, whether it is private or public, should have a leg up in admissions. </p>
<p>I'm sorry that I sounded so bitter in yesterday's post. It was pretty late, and one post just kind of bothered me. I got away fromm the topic that I meant to be talking about, and went off on an unnecessary rant. Have a good night everyone!</p>