<p>I was kind of just wondering because seeing the credentials of all these people is scaring me. I go to a Jewish parochial school and I'm worried that compared to these people, I look like a horrible applicant.</p>
<p>The boarding schools have always been there and there are many who think that these boarding schools hold less of an advantage than they did many years ago. </p>
<p>And many years ago, I'm sure that kids from your school got into many very good universities, so I wouldn't worry about the kids at boarding schools. </p>
<p>And your parochial school is probably light years ahead of many public schools as well.</p>
<p>That being said, you do have to make sure that you are assertive in both preparing yourself for college admissions (it doesn't happen by itself) by taking appropriate courses for what you want to study and you also have to be assertive with your counseling staff, letting them know your desires from a university education so they can help you find appropriate schools to apply to.</p>
<p>And outside of school, try to find an endeavor (or 2) where you can pour your time into and achieve something special. One advantage of a non-boarding school life is that you can do more non-school based ECs whereas boarding school students have more of their EC time tied up in school activities.</p>
<p>Make the most of what you have and don't worry about what the others are doing. You'll be fine.</p>
<p>Ok. Sounds like I'm in good shape. Thanks!</p>
<p>if your grades are good enough to get into a school, you'll get in for the most part. schools want diveresity so they aren't going to accept every student from exeter, milton, andover and the likes. they need people from every background.</p>
<p>this is a re-post of one of my earlier posts, but addressing a similar question:</p>
<p>Things certainly seem much harder than when I attended prep school (way back when - the year shall remain unknown!) - however, that is not to say that you were a shoo-in into the Ivies merely by graduating from an elite prep nor that the environment wasn't ultra competitive (it most certainly was).</p>
<p>The phenomenon taking place at prep schools now is merely a reflection of the reality that all graduating HSers face today, which is simply: increased competition. Add to that adcoms efforts to diversy and this only adds to an already competitive market.</p>
<p>Bottom line is: if you are an overachiever / standout (academically and otherwise) than prep school offers a tremendous opportunity for intellectual / personal growth (e.g. character building, leadership skills) and can be a powerful backdrop for fostering lifelong friendships / connections / networking. In other words, the Top 10% of the elite prep schools will have no problems.</p>
<p>BUT - and here is the rub, for those who only manage to keep their heads above water (i.e. bottom 15-30%) those individuals will find it increasingly difficult from a matrics perspective. That "bottom" range was probably lower in the past for graduates of elite prep schools, but with the playing field "evening" out, the biggest "losers" from this new reality will be the underachievers.</p>
<p>Now people will say "duh" of course, but the point is that (at least historically) graduating from an elite prep school DID give you a bit of an edge over the average public school graduate (and perhaps still does) - AT THE MARGIN - but now, merely graduating is not good enough.</p>
<p>So, what you are left with is a widening of the "haves" and "have nots" for prep schools graduates - you better be good if you are to leverage everything that prep schools offer - if not, you might find that staying at your local HS may (in the end) have been a better road to take than "the road less traveled".</p>
<p>I would say the real edge comes when you actually arrive at college rather than when you apply. Sure, strong prep schools have better college advising, more impressive course offerings, better reputations, and better extracurricular offerings than your average high school. But, as others have pointed out, the onus is on you the student to take advantage of all those things. If you don't, then college adcoms have little reason to expect you to successfully take advantage of what their elite college or university has to offer. So by choosing a more challenging high school, you are exposing yourself to some degree.</p>
<p>No matter where you end up for college, though, I think most graduates of good prep schools have an edge on their new classmates. I remember being horrified my freshman year of college to meet people who were valedictorians of their high schools but had no idea how to craft an argument, study effectively, or do their own laundry. This is not even to mention the huge gaps in basic cultural literacy--not having read Marx or Emerson or Yeats, or not having a good sense of American history. There are a lot of very, very smart people out there who have been subjected to mediocre educations. If you have the opportunity to grow intellectually and emotionally in high school, you will almost certainly be better prepared to succeed in college than they are.</p>
<p>I just tried to private message you.</p>
<p>Well said, Naoka!</p>
<p>You can just go to a really good private day school. And you said you're from New York, and you go to a Jewish school. New York is the hub of super-schools. Horace Mann, Dalton, Riverdale, Ramaz (if you want a Jewish high school), all these schools will get you into the same schools as boarding schools will. You should look into that.</p>
<p>Yeah, that's true PurpoisePal. Going to a NYC day school and doing well never put anyone at a disadvantage as opposed to their peers attending boarding schools.</p>
<p>Yeah, and actually, people coming from private day schools in NYC have an edge over boarding school kids in college because the schools in the city are definitely smaller than boarding school ones and they prepare the kids for college just as much. Like, last year, my school got 14 kids into UPenn early decision, 8 kids into Columbia early decision, and like 5 kids into Princeton (and 2 to Harvard and 1 to Yale). And each grade is only 100 kids. And pretty much everyone goes to good colleges from my school. 2 kids went to Cuny Honors I think, but that's pretty much it as far as "bad" schools go. </p>
<p>Also, we only have geniuses from New York, not from the rest of the world. So it's a lot easier to compete in school, I think. Although the type of kids that go to private school in New York are pretty much the same type that go to boarding schools.</p>
<p>last year's intel science winner turned down harvard and yale and matriculated to the cuny honors college at city college. i wouldn't say its a "bad" school because clearly, tuition wasn't a problem. i'm a current honors college student myself at baruch and i enoy it. in fact..there are people who were rejected from the cuny honors college and ended up at schools like cornell and nyu-stern.</p>
<p>what day school are you referring to? dalton, trinity, horace mann?</p>
<p>yeah i read about that...i couldnt say if he made the right choice or not; i'm not him. but i think its really nice how he kept his head and ignored the prestige and the trumpet-blast itself that accompanies the word "harvard" or "yale". i read that the honors program he's attending is really wonderful.
i'm not sure what you mean by "edge" (maybe it would help if i read the entire thread i guess) but i would say definitely not as much as twenty years ago. college is getting so competetive, and they are steadily cutting down advantages (some are ending ED, affirmative action is a huge controversy) and i wouldnt say that going to boarding school gives you any large advantage over other applicants other than opportunities and a good education.</p>
<p>I think you forget some of the big advantages that boarding schools bring. </p>
<p>No, not uber-bright kids sitting next to you in class. Lots of private and magnet type public schools have them.</p>
<p>No, not the fancy facilities that many of the top preps have. They are found lots of places as well.</p>
<p>A lot of it has to do with teacher access. Let's face it, with 10-15 kids in a class, a great teacher can do a lot more and a lot better. A discussion of a novel in a group of 12 is whole lot better than a teacher questioning 24-30 kids about the concept for stimulating thought. Add in that in other schools, when you go home, your access to the teacher is done for the day. When you can ask more questions about an assignment at dinner, it adds lots more opportunities to accelerate the learning.</p>
<p>And this is not just limited to the top boarding schools. Even the ones who aren't at Andover/Exeter/SPS/etc. have this type of environment where they can make the best of their talents, if they choose.</p>
<p>If you measure a boarding schools edge statistically in gettng you into HYPSM, you are missing what a boarding school is really about. Its about making the most out of your school life, whereever you may end up matriculating.</p>
<p>My son's coach/mentor/advisor/AP teacher said the best teching moments occur outside the classroom. He said my son would run (literally) by his house at the end of a Sunday morning long run and stop in to discuss the New York Times editorials. These opportunities are priceless.</p>