Does the type of high school (poor, suburban, private) matter in admissions?

<p>Suppose there are 3 ranked #1s from each of these types</p>

<p>The poor low-income public school.</p>

<p>The suburban middle-class public school</p>

<p>And the rich prep/private school.</p>

<p>Adjusting their extracurriculurs accordingly to the level of their school (Rich has more, poor has less), how do these 3 kids fare in the admissions process if they were all the best in their school?</p>

<p>It depends.</p>

<p>How good is good?</p>

<p>Is the #1 from the low income public school have great potential? Maybe yes, maybe no. If the answer is no, this person won’t be taken over either of the other two. Plenty of vals from lower tier schools who aren’t viable applicants to very selective college programs.</p>

<p>With the kid from the prep school, it’s likely he/she is very advantaged and academically sound – and will get into a solid school regardless.</p>

<p>If they’ve all taken advantage of the most opportunities their respective schools have to offer then they each fare the same, in that regard. </p>

<p>Obviously, the bar is set higher if the school has more opportunities, but that doesn’t always necessarily mean the student attending the ‘poor’ school gets a boost. If, for example, the private school doesn’t offer APs but both public schools do, then highly selective colleges expect the public school students to have challenged themselves with APs.</p>

<p>The only areas where students attending the poor school get a bit of leeway would be SAT scores and EC’s–but even then, not by much. Private school students get a bit of leeway on class rank–but again, not by much.</p>

<p>I would guess that college AdComs would be LEAST impressed by the #1 ranked kid from a the suburban middle-class public school.</p>

<p>As for the other 2 types of schools:
Colleges often have outreach programs to actively recruit top students from poor low-income public schools. Colleges probably have the impression that the top students from the rich prep/private school walk-on-water.</p>

<p>So generally colleges accept kids from the upper high schools?</p>

<p>But don’t they also give leeway to kids who are financially handicapped?</p>

<p>This is a really loaded question. I’ll do my best to address one point, and I am sure others will also help chime in.</p>

<p>The income level of the students applying to schools (that is what you really are asking, right? Does it matter if I am poor, middle class, or wealthy?) “shouldn’t” matter in the eyes of an admissions officer. Especially if the intellectual ability and future potential of the student are clearly marked.</p>

<p>If the poor student from the poor school has less extracurriculars, is that time replaced with work? If so, that counts. If not, why not?</p>

<p>As you should know, the admissions process should take a lot of factors into consideration. The amount of factors depends on the school. But academic ability, test scores, letters of rec, clearly marked goals and proof of future potential are positive regardless of financial situation.</p>

<p>Wealthier students tend to have it easier because the things they are able to do (better, higher paid teachers, tutors, extra currics because of no work requirements, summer enrichment programs, trainers, healthier foods, educated parents) lend themselves towards college acceptance. </p>

<p>But the smartest kid at the poorest school is still made an example of as a scholarship winner and accepted student.</p>

<p>If you are the valed or salud at a poor school, that speaks to your character, work ethic, and drive more than anything else, because you excelled despite the social stigma that comes from academic intelligence.</p>

<p>I don’t think that answers your question, because it is a hard question to answer, but I hope I introduced a way of thinking.</p>

<p>One problem - at least with small poor schools, such as those in many rural areas - is that even bright and motivated kids from those schools simply don’t get the opportunities that kids from wealthy suburban districts do. In the area where we live, there are half a dozen small high schools, in the 100 to 250 student range. None of them offer any AP courses at all; and only a couple of the larger ones have honors courses, and those have only a few.</p>

<p>And the problem extends downward into the middle school and elementary school ranks. None of these districts can afford a gifted students program of any kind, so the brightest kids are in classes that of necessity must be paced to the average or below-average student. </p>

<p>My D was #1 in her class (of 31 kids) as a freshman. She then transferred to a residential high school, where the majority of the students are from much larger and wealthier schools in the Chicago 'burbs. Her level of preparation was far below the average of her classmates. She worked hard and struggled and succeeded in spite of it (and got an enormous amount of support from the school’s staff), and I’m immensely proud of her for it - but she would have had a much easier time had she had the preparation that most of her classmates had.</p>

<p>The implications for kids applying to selective colleges should be obvious. A kid who has been at the very top of his or her class at a small, poor school is going to be thrown in with kids who have had many more advantages, and the danger is that they will be overwhelmed. If I were an adcom, I’d certainly have to ask the question: can this kid, who’s never had a really challenging course, succeed here?</p>

<p>Well-known good public high schools and private prep schools develop solid relationships with colleges. The kids from these schools are a known quantity. GCs and adComs in these schools may even do some kind of bargaining dance. No doubt, kids from this type of school have an admissions advantage.</p>

<p>There’s definitely an advantage because of the vast resources that most private schools have to offer.</p>

<p>I still do not understand how to quote someone’s post on this particular board. I’ve listed it below and I totally agree. This is exactly where I live, and one reason why I chose to homeschool. An honors kid is whining that she had to read 40 pages of a novel IN ONE WEEK. My children have to read at least that in one night on top of intensive reading for their history, science, etc. Many, any kids from our high school leave to go to university and cannot handle it. They have never been challenged… I don’t know what the solution is, but over 50 percent of our graduates have to take remedial classes at the local cc.</p>

<p>One problem - at least with small poor schools, such as those in many rural areas - is that even bright and motivated kids from those schools simply don’t get the opportunities that kids from wealthy suburban districts do. In the area where we live, there are half a dozen small high schools, in the 100 to 250 student range. None of them offer any AP courses at all; and only a couple of the larger ones have honors courses, and those have only a few.</p>

<p>And the problem extends downward into the middle school and elementary school ranks. None of these districts can afford a gifted students program of any kind, so the brightest kids are in classes that of necessity must be paced to the average or below-average student. </p>

<p>My D was #1 in her class (of 31 kids) as a freshman. She then transferred to a residential high school, where the majority of the students are from much larger and wealthier schools in the Chicago 'burbs. Her level of preparation was far below the average of her classmates. She worked hard and struggled and succeeded in spite of it (and got an enormous amount of support from the school’s staff), and I’m immensely proud of her for it - but she would have had a much easier time had she had the preparation that most of her classmates had.</p>

<p>The implications for kids applying to selective colleges should be obvious. A kid who has been at the very top of his or her class at a small, poor school is going to be thrown in with kids who have had many more advantages, and the danger is that they will be overwhelmed. If I were an adcom, I’d certainly have to ask the question: can this kid, who’s never had a really challenging course, succeed here?</p>