<p>bump......</p>
<p>A worse school could actually help your chances. If you stand out (academically) that makes you look more motivated. But, an elite boarding school has its advantages, too, like a reputation, good guidance counselors(usually), etc. It's really the mid-line "good" schools (basically, 1028 SAT, some awards, a good number of ECs, nothing prestigous but nothing detrimental) are the ones which you'd have to cross your fingers a bit tighter.</p>
<p>Yeah. Go to St. Paul's.</p>
<p>I must say, however, that any kid that is this obsessed is going to peak early and probably burn out.</p>
<p>Why do you care about going to harvard so much? What is it you're going to do once you leave?</p>
<p>Best of luck to you, but I sure hope you have more to look forward to than studying 5 hours every night.</p>
<p>Do you know about the academic ranking system at Ivy League universities? There are three components: your SAT score, your SAT Subject scores, and the Converted Rank Score, which is based on your class rank. Ivy League universities base approximately 75% of their decision on your academics. If you really want a good education, go to St. Paul's, or that other school in Canada that has the IB program (I'm in IB =D). However, be aware that going to a difficult school doesn't necessarily improve your chances of being admitted to Harvard. It's much harder to have a high class rank at a private boarding school than at a small public school, and you're expected to take the hardest courseload available to you--which translates to a LOT of AP/IB courses in your case due to the availability of courses at SPS or Ashbury. An average class rank will translate to a low CRS.</p>
<p>Your CRS will be higher if you attend the public school, since it will easier to be the top student. The admissions officers won't hold it against you if you don't take as many hard classes because there aren't many available to you.</p>
<p>In short, getting into Harvard will be easier at the small public school you're at now. SPS or Ashbury College will better prepare you for Harvard, though, if you're willing to work super hard to achieve a high class rank.</p>
<p>While your class rank will be better at a public school though, Ginny, there are also more spots available for kids from the well-established private schools. </p>
<p>I go to a good suburban public school, and it seems to be an unwritten rule that we get at most 2 kids into Harvard and Princeton per year ( Yale hates us, don't know what that's about) no matter how qualified the applicants seems. By contrast, Andover and Exeter can get 20 or more kids into the big three alone each year. So, while it is harder to do well at those schools, you don't have to have as good a RIC to get in, since adcoms recognize that the class is more competitive. By the way, I think a lot of the prestigiuos private schools have stopped ranking, so it goes by transcript, not by a number.</p>
<p><strong>Ivy League universities base approximately 75% of their decision on your academics</strong></p>
<p>not true, that. ivyleague applications more or less have stellar academics to show, so the differentiation factor would be the ECs and essays and other things.</p>