<p>Does your high school's statistics matter when applying to colleges? I currently attend a small, private high school with really good SAT, AP, GPA averages, but I'm thinking about going to a public school with not the best SAT, AP, GPA averages because I think I'll be happier there. I've been in this dilemma since summer of freshman year (going to be a junior now); I even wrote a thread about this situation. Won't colleges like it more if you went to a really smart school and got all A's rather than you going to a dumb school and getting all A's? Help a sister out please. I have until the end of the week to make my decision! </p>
<p>which high school does matter. To get all A’s in a top private school is worth more than all A’s in a lesser challenging HS. Top private school consul have the edge over lesser school. They can make a real difference with their relationships with the top admissions directors. Honestly there is no easy fast track but you get out of what you put into it.<br>
Good Luck. </p>
<p>Yes and No.</p>
<p>Yes, because it is more impressive to make A’s at a good private than A’s at a typical public high school. No, because many public high schools are excellent too. </p>
<p>Also, colleges do know which schools are more demanding that others.</p>
<p>However, this really only comes into play if you want to attend competitive colleges. In other words, if you want to attend Harvard or Stanford, it could matter a lot. If you want to attend Ohio State or University of Colorado, it will make very little difference.</p>
<p>The important part that you left out of your post, but that I read in previous posts is that YOU don’t have a good GPA. Yes, the school matters, but what YOU do in context of your school matters a lot more. Going to a great school is not going to carry you if you don’t achieve there.<br>
Do you want to spend the next 2 years unhappy so that you can have a certain school name on your transcript? Perhaps your performance will improve at a school where you are happier? Based on the limited information you have provided, and especially since you have been unhappy since freshman year, I think you should make the move. It would be a lot more complicated if you were a top performer at your school, but since that is not the case I say move on.</p>
<p>By the way, if you really want a school like Harvard or Stanford, I recommend two things:
- Do a serious evaluation of your possibilities of getting in even under the best circumstances.
- Determine why this is important to you (or is it just important to your parents?).</p>
<p>Nobody who struggles in high school is likely to even come close to Harvard or Stanford. Everybody there is super talented, not simply “hard working.”</p>
<p>If you simply want a good job, then the Ivy League is not for you. The elite schools are for people who have elite ambitions. Besides that, plenty of elites have attended ordinary colleges. The Ivy League type schools do help high achievers toward their goals, but you can achieve almost anything by starting almost anywhere.</p>
<ul>
<li>College dropouts: Steven Jobs and Bill Gates.</li>
<li>Warren Buffet started out at Ivy League (Wharton School at U.Penn) but transferred back to University of Nebraska where he graduated.</li>
</ul>
<p>Lesson: You do not become successful by conforming to other people’s expectations.</p>
<p>Jobs and Gates dropped out of decent/ivy schools fwiw (Reed, Harvard respectively). It’s more important to be a qualified applicant for these schools than actually getting in. </p>
<p>@foolish
Very true, but still bolsters my point. The university itself matters a whole lot less than the student’s ability and the student’s goals. Students who work hard to conform themselves to elite schools probably still aren’t going to get in.</p>
<p>Too many young people see Ivy League schools too much as some kind of golden key which will unlock any door.</p>
<p>Worse yet, it amazes me how many bright – but not brilliant – students apply to only Ivy quality schools but get shut out. I saw it twice this year, right here on CC. It was painful. Both of those students considered taking a “gap year” because of this. Luckily, a little scrambling, plus acceptance of ego bruises, allowed them to find a college for this year.</p>
<p>Nobody’s life is diminished by not attending an elite college. Work hard? Yes, but be yourself.</p>
<p>The characteristics of your school are taken into account (using the school report sent by your guidance counselor), but they don’t penalize you for going to any certain kind of school because most people don’t have a choice in where they go to school. </p>
<p>Just saying, those people who are college dropouts are exceptional. There is a reason why there is a much larger number of successful people who have gone to decent/top-tier colleges than of those who have dropped out; also, they dropped out for particular reasons and not necessarily just because they were underperforming or incapable.</p>
<p>@planner03 Yeah I completely get what you’re saying, and those are basically my thoughts as well. I think that if I went to a school a little less judgmental, I’d actually join “nerdy” clubs and just do better overall. I’m scared though because I was talking to a friend who goes to the school I want to transfer to, and her sister (not the brightest) took all AP classes her junior year and got all A’s… I don’t want colleges to think I transferred to this school because it’s way easier.
@NROTCgrad I want to go to Berkeley. I know that’s a good school, but is it considered “elite”? Or are elite schools only HYPSM? Do you think Berkeley would look down upon me switching to a public school?</p>
<p>Berkeley is nearly elite, especially for out of state students. I know a very talented guy from New Jersey who was rejected by Berkeley but accepted at U.Chicago (which does count as elite).</p>
<p>So, if you are out of state, I would treat Berkeley as elite. If you are in state, remember that all of the U.California schools are excellent (except maybe Merced, at this point) and many of the Cal State schools are pretty good too. If I were a California resident, I would look at UCLA, Davis, San Diego, and Irvine too. All are outstanding.</p>
<p>@halcyonheather I don’t fully understand. That sounds so contradictory. They take into account the school stats, but they don’t hold it against you? Why even send in the stats if they don’t even use them? Can I just get a straight answer? Will my chances of getting into a college (if we have to be specific… say Berkeley) be lowered if I attended this public school that has lower stats than my current private school? </p>
<p>@NROTCgrad I live in CA. Are you saying this because some schools (elite ones) would look down upon my switching whereas schools like UCLA, Berkeley, Davis wouldn’t care? </p>
<p>Also, if it’s any help, I don’t go to a TOP private school. I just go to a good one in my city. </p>
<p>
They evaluate your application in the context of your circumstances. You’re expected to take advantage of the opportunities your school provides for you (with regard to advanced classes and extracurriculars). If you live in the middle of nowhere and have to go to a school that doesn’t really offer anything, colleges won’t expect you to have accomplished as much as someone who had more options. People don’t usually get to choose where they go to school, so in theory a kid from a bad high school has just as much of a chance of getting into a selective college as a kid from a good high school, and vice versa. But these kids will have had different life experiences, and they’re not going to be evaluated by the exact same standards. (I’m guessing that kids from better schools have an advantage in practice, because they’re more likely to have knowledgeable adults guiding them through the college process. But the colleges themselves usually say they make an effort to evaluate applicants holistically, taking into account their background and what kind of opportunities they had.)</p>
<p>I’d just like to say @halcyonheather is like the only one who knows what they are talking about here. Go to the Stats threads and see your falacies, thread posters</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>No.</p>
<p>Here is a summary of my thoughts:</p>
<ol>
<li>Berkeley will NOT know why you switched. They won’t. Perhaps it was a financial decision, as far as they know. Switching, in itself, means nothing to them.</li>
<li>They WILL know how the public school compares academically with the private school, and yes they will factor that in when they look at your GPA.</li>
<li>If you are not in the top 10% of your class, your chances of getting into Berkeley are slim, no matter where you went to school.</li>
<li>You will probably make better grades at a school where you are happy.</li>
<li>You will probably get more involved where you are happy.</li>
<li>If you are not at least “kind of sort of, a little bit” amazing, you won’t get into Berkeley.</li>
<li>You are way more likely to be amazing if you are happy.</li>
</ol>
<p>UCLA is almost as hard to get into as Berkeley. </p>
<p>Davis, Irvine, and UCSD are little easier but not easy either. Apply to at least six or seven colleges. Pick at least one that you are certain will accept you, that you know you will be okay with (not hate it), and that you can afford.</p>
<p>@halcyonheather I’m sorry if I keep asking (stupid) questions, but in short/general you’re saying that it won’t matter what school I choose as long as I make use of all the opportunities there? </p>
<p>Thanks for all your guys’ input, by the way! I really appreciate it. I’m reallllly leaning towards the public school but was just worried that that would be looked down upon. </p>