Does Boarding School lower college chances?

[Axelrod]

<p>OP: The competition may affect one’s chances for a particular university, such as Harvard or Yale, because so many from the elite boarding schools target the highest ranked colleges & universities & HArvard will limit the number of students it accepts from any particular prep school; but it will not harm chances for admission to a Top 10 or so university for those who are well qualified–and doing well at a top boarding school is a strong indicator of academic readiness for the most selective colleges & universities.</p>

[GMTplus7]

<p>@SEWinter,</p>

<p>

Most of those 30% getting in are not all academic stars, they are the people with connections like the Bushes, athletes, other Hooked candidates.

No doubt, ever since HYPSM went to a “holistic” opaque admissions process they admit proportionately fewer academic stars. But this is not an issue unique to applicants from BS.</p>

<p>

whereas the public school kids compete nationally such as Intel and Siemens for which BS students have no shot as they are stuck on campus not able to go to local college to do research etc.

Really?
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/1104797-both-massachusetts-ap-siemens-winners-andover-students.html?[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/1104797-both-massachusetts-ap-siemens-winners-andover-students.html?&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>

People here don’t talk about all the problems with BSs such as not able to do meaningful ECs, missing siblings and family.

The people here do indeed discuss the problems— nearly 14,000 views for this recent thread:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-parents/1406178-families-entering-bs-world-eyes-open-know-down-side.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-parents/1406178-families-entering-bs-world-eyes-open-know-down-side.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>

Many kids also waste time playing video games as there is minimal supervision at BS.

Yes, and kids who don’t go to BS don’t waste time playing video games as they have adequate supervision at home? If you are wasting too much time playing video games, then TURN THE MACHINE OFF!</p>

<p>

Only reason BSs survive because the rich want to send their kids to there for water cooler talk, not that they provide any superior academics. Let’s face it, the hardest thing you do in high school is calculus, one can easily study that at home, you don’t need a grand old BS for that.

I don’t think anyone here but you is suggesting that BS’s are the only place to get a superior academic experience.</p>

[SEWinter]

<p>Really. They are local competition winners lol, not national. On top of it, these top schools recruit students from Korea and China that are already playing these Olympiads, nothing home grown or made.</p>

<p>[Intel</a> Winners](<a href=“http://www.societyforscience.org/document.doc?id=348]Intel”>http://www.societyforscience.org/document.doc?id=348)</p>

[GMTplus7]

<p>You have a very skewed perception of achievement if you do not find it at all remarkable that a school can repeatedly boast students that are Siemens or Intel semi-finalists and finalists. </p>

<p>Here is a list of other Andover notables for the last 8 years:
[Phillips</a> Academy - Siemens and Intel Competition Semifinalists and Finalists](<a href=“http://www.andover.edu/Academics/NaturalSciences/IndependentResearch/Pages/SampleCompetitionProjects.aspx]Phillips”>http://www.andover.edu/Academics/NaturalSciences/IndependentResearch/Pages/SampleCompetitionProjects.aspx)</p>

<p>It is not intuitively obvious to me that kids with names like: “Sean Ballinger, Luke Hansen, Zachary M. Feldman, Sebastian J. Caliri, Joshua R. Infantine” are recruited from Korea or China.</p>

<p>I don’t even know why I am defending PAA other than the fact that I don’t like to see any person/organization be unfairly maligned.</p>

[classicalmama]

<p>I have to take issue with the assertion that students who have a hook don’t also have to be academic stars. While it is undoubtedly true that hooked students fare better in the admissions race to Ivies, these schools want both academics and (for example) athletics. That is precisely why they DO accept more prep school students than ps–in a sense, the bs has already done the academic vetting and then prepared all students–hooked or otherwise–to excel academically. </p>

<p>My kid has been talking to Ivy coaches and without fail, all of them emphasize maintaining excellent grades and test scores over improving as an athlete.</p>

<p>In addition, my kid has been able to compete both within that limited bs pool and on a national level against ps students. Many of his friends have done the same, from math team to athletic events. It is true that the intensity of the academic schedule can definitely make taking the time for these kinds of events more difficulty and stressful. </p>

<p>And…yeah, he plays video games, but way less than at home. There are only so many hours in a day, and bs does a way better job filling them with homework, athletics, and other ec’s. This is actually, in my view, one of the positives of boarding school; it keeps most of its residents too busy to screw around much–or, anyway, as much as they might at home.</p>

[ChoatieMom]

<p>

…public school kids compete nationally such as Intel and Siemens for which BS students have no shot as they are stuck on campus not able to go to local college to do research etc.

</p>

<p>I really don’t want to get into this silly argument with SEWinter who doesn’t appear to have any understanding of boarding schools and doesn’t appear to be getting any more informed by all our posts, but I will broaden GMT’s example of PAA with Choate’s Science Research Program (SRP) and its Seimens and Intel competition results:</p>

<p>

The Science Research Program (SRP) offers motivated and independent science students the opportunity to practice true laboratory science. The limitations of time, expertise, equipment, and/or space in a typical high school science program do not allow for the level of scientific inquiry and experimentation that is the hallmark of true science research done at the university level. The SRP fills these aforementioned gaps by ultimately linking each student with a professional scientist in whose lab the student will participate in ongoing research or address a novel scientific question through experimentation. </p>

<p>This honors program consists of three linked segments: 1) three terms of training in the basics of scientific inquiry and experimentation, 2) a summer of research in a university (or similar) laboratory, and 3) a final term assembling a manuscript of the summer work that aims to meet the standards of a professional publication.</p>

<p>Students have studied at major research university laboratories or institutions around the country including: Yale University School of Medicine; Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine; Columbia University Medical Center; University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine; University of Connecticut; University of California, San Diego; Stanford University; Medrobotics Corporation (a private company); Harvard Medical School; Upper Michigan Brain Tumor Center at Northern Michigan University, and the University of Chicago.
…
In the past five years, 12 students have been named Semifinalists in the Siemens Competition in Math, Science, and Technology two of whom were named Regional Finalists. Six students were also Semifinalists in the Intel Science Talent Search Competition, two of whom went on to the finalist round.

</p>

<p>@SEWinter: your posts reveal much ignorance of BS programs and the value of the BS experience. If you’re really interested in educating yourself, spend some time in the archives here before you make other unfounded statements.</p>

[classicalmama]

<p>Agree, Choatie Mom. Sometimes I respond, not to the poster of the silly stuff, but for the kids who will be reading it and thinking the person has more insight than he/she really does.</p>

[Periwinkle]

<p>I agree, Classicalmama. At times I, too, respond to trollish comments, because the Internet is forever.</p>

<p>

Let’s face it, the hardest thing you do in high school is calculus, one can easily study that at home, you don’t need a grand old BS for that.

</p>

<p>For the diligent student, many boarding schools offer courses beyond calculus and the option of independent study. Math is not the only area in which advanced courses are available.</p>

[SEWinter]

<p>All BS Defenders: You only confirmed my point that there are no Intel and Siemens winners from Andover or other BS. They shortlist tens, if not hundreds of Semifinalists. But only the winners get to top schools. The reason BS kids don’t win these competitions is a no-brainer, because they are stuck on remote campuses away from colleges to do research. But the BSs will be happy to teach you a dose of medieval wars for a well-rounded liberal arts education. Romney is a finalist, not the winner, and you know where he is now.</p>

[2prepMom]

<p>@GMT</p>

<p>Siemen’s has several awards, and GMT may be referring to both indisciminantly.</p>

<p>Siemen’s gives an “Siemen’s AP science award” to kids who take AP exams in math and science. This simply reflects taking a number of AP exams taken, which the college board automatically sends to Siemen’s for the award, with no activity to apply whatsoever on the part of the applicant. Several are given in each state, and the boarding schools do relatively well with number of AP tests.</p>

<p>This is totally different from the Siemen’s and Intel awards for science research, which involve actual research, paper submissions, mentor input, presentations, and face to face competition with other finalists. Here it is much harder to have the level of time and dedication, as well as the travel logistics (usually to a local university lab) to complete this while at boarding school - an occasional student or two may qualify for the semifinals each year from the top boarding schools.</p>

<p>As for the student matriculation profile, check the 2012 Andover matriculation statistics. You cite the 2010 and 2011 stats. HYPSM matriculations for the class of 2012 are much lower than prior years, for unclear reasons.</p>

[Periwinkle]

<p>

All BS Defenders: You only confirmed my point that there are no Intel and Siemens winners from Andover or other BS. They shortlist tens, if not hundreds of Semifinalists. But only the winners get to top schools.

</p>

<p>So, the 2011 finalists for the Intel Science Search: [Society</a> for Science & the Public - Page](<a href=“http://apps.societyforscience.org/sts/70sts/finalists.asp]Society”>http://apps.societyforscience.org/sts/70sts/finalists.asp)</p>

<p>What became of the students from boarding schools?</p>

<p>Sung Won Cho (Groton School) MIT</p>

<p>Shubhro Saha (Choate Rosemary Hall) Princeton</p>

<p>Wenyu Cao (Andover) Princeton (note: “A winner in the 2009 USA Mathematical Olympiad, Wenyu also received a gold medal in the 2010 International Olympiad in Informatics.”)</p>

<p>Joshua Bocarsly (Lawrenceville) Princeton</p>

[Periwinkle]

<p>Semifinalists, 2011:</p>

<p>In Young Cho (Exeter) Harvard
Hannarae Annie Nam (Choate) MIT</p>

[SEWinter]

<p>As I said before, semifinalists are not winners. There are tens, if not hundreds of them. If they went to good colleges, that is because of their other accomplishments and BS feeder school connections. In one of the candidates you cite, he went to princeton as a Debate competitions winner (hook), not as Siemens or Intel semifinalist. Others may have other Math competitions winners etc., not as Siemens or Intel semifinalists.</p>

<p>@GMT, Take a note that all the people Periwinkle quoted are Asians.</p>

[Periwinkle]

<p>You’re claiming telepathic powers. Students at boarding schools can participate in national competitions, whether it be in the sciences, math, debate, etc. I don’t believe anyone can say, “well, it’s obviously debate which got him in, not the Intel science search.”</p>

<p>Bocarsly is not an Asian surname, as far as I know.</p>

<p>I haven’t the time to track down every Intel finalist or semifinalist’s college, but so far the pattern I’ve found is clear. All the BS finalists and semifinalists I Googled have attended HYPSM.</p>

[SEWinter]

<p>Try to track down all Intel winners, you’ll be busy for a while. :D</p>

[GMTplus7]

<p>@SEWinter,

As I said before, semifinalists are not winners. There are tens, if not hundreds of them. If they went to good colleges, that is because of their other accomplishments and BS feeder school connections.

</p>

<p>You are displaying extreme pettiness by denigrating any school for regularly producing Siemens/Intel finalists & semi-finalists but not producing a winner. That is like dissing a university that can coach its swimmers to qualify every year for the U.S. Olympic swim team and has produced silver & bronze medalists, but not a gold medalist.</p>

<p>Be assured that being a Siemens/Intel semifinalist is a HUGE hook for university admissions.</p>

[WillemS]

<p>I would really like to know what experiences you have had with boarding schools that make you so hostile towards them, SEWinter. Have you attended one, been a parent of a student at one, are in the application process…? If you’ve had a bad experience, I would love to know. Like I’ve said before, I LOVE my BS experience so far, not because of what college it might get me into, but because the experience in itself is so incredible. I cannot even imagine being back in my public school system (Which was a good one on PS terms, and in a wealthy community) because the opportunities, teachers, and experience cannot even compare to the resources, teaching skills, facilities and more that BS has to offer.</p>

[SEWinter]

<p>Aww NE folk are so fond of BS, they don’t even know what they are missing at their PS.</p>

[girlgeekmom]

<p>Yes, SEW, many of them do indeed know what they are missing. That’s why they chose to attend/send their children to boarding school. In the NE or other parts of the country.</p>

[GMTplus7]

<p>

Aww NE folk are so fond of BS, they don’t even know what they are missing at their PS.

</p>

<p>Not all PS are excellent. Same can be said that not all BS are excellent.</p>

<p>A critical mass of New England BS students are not from New England, including our family.</p>