<p>We live in a small town in Indiana w/limited hih school choices and have decided to send our kids to a super elite prep school in Indianapolis ($17,000 per/yr tuition). Great academics,track record and opportunities,etc</p>
<p>Do you think that my kids will have to achieve much more than a kid from public schools systems to impress college admissions people? </p>
<p>Is there a discrimination against kids who go to these private schools?</p>
<p>Want to know how to plan for college</p>
<p>Colleges don't hold it against students but there is the expectation that they will take advantage of this rare opportunity, whichever way that chooses to manifest itself. </p>
<p>Keep in mind that an elite prep school is no golden ticket to an ''elite'' college.</p>
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super elite prep school in Indianapolis
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<p>use your money and apply to a boarding school where the adjectives you use will become meaningful. Indianapolis has NO super elite prep school period. The most math you will find is AB/BC Calc. Are you looking for college admit stats? What type of college is your goal?</p>
<p>OK the adjective "super" can be omitted---its not Andover or Exeter
Lets say, it is one of the better private schools in Indiana. And whatever they do not provide we will do at Indiana Academy etc..
I grew up and went to a prep school in Greenwich,CT and believe me when I say that this school is elite. </p>
<p>They are currently going to a small catholic school that has no high school. Hence the change of school</p>
<p>I am not pushing for Ivies, but would be nice
Where can I find colleg admit stats?</p>
<p>You have already made your value judgement. Any reputable Prep will gladly publish or provide you with their stats. Yearly and 5 year averages. Good Luck.</p>
<p>southasianmom, please stop saying "we" as in </p>
<p>"whatever they do not provide we will do at Indiana Academy etc.."</p>
<p>why don't you let your kids decide what they want to do?</p>
<p>oxymoron on that last post. hahaha Just kidding. I mean it screams out.</p>
<p>yes here is my experience:</p>
<p>i went to an elite prep school that cost 20+K per year. a LOT of kids who had mediocre test scores and mediocre grades/effort got into some really tough schools. i have friends of mine who got into every ivy and every top college out there, and in some cases ive been VERY surprised. it's because colleges presume that it's much harder to get a 3.5 GPA at this school, and it's much harder to get into leadership positions. just because you had this ******** school education, you get a huge leg-up in the process. they look at you in a much more favorable light. i know a kid who was student body president, pretty OK test scores, not a killer courseload, not too many ECs, got drunk and partied ALL the time and was the campus ladies man...goes to princeton now. on paper, a grad of XXX prep school will look better than his public school or lesser private school counterpart.</p>
<p>OK,Ok relax.........WOI</p>
<p>I'm a physician and don't want my kids to be Drs (for many reasons). but it is something my D wants to do, I just want to point them in the right direction
My son wants to be a soccer player-------that's fine w/me</p>
<p>Point in the right direction is very different than the best preparation. Maybe that is what you meant? Have you son look at Culver for soccer if you want your kids close to home.</p>
<p>*Indiana ARML *
<a href="http://www.rose-hulman.edu/%7Erickert/ARML/Indhist/%5B/url%5D">http://www.rose-hulman.edu/~rickert/ARML/Indhist/</a></p>
<p>samom, I think you've rightly identified a seachange in college admissions. The automatic admit route from "elite" prep school to "elite" college has been complicated by the shift to more the egalitarian, diversity driven approach.</p>
<p>So in answer to your questions:"Do you think that my kids will have to achieve much more than a kid from public schools systems to impress college admissions people?" Yes, expectations are higher for kids with economic advantage and educational privilege.</p>
<p>"Is there a discrimination against kids who go to these private schools?" Not necessarily as generally speaking (not knowing anything about the school in question) top private high schools send a lot students to top private colleges. The discrimination may come in the form of fewer available spots as colleges seek to recruit more kids from less advantaged backgrounds.</p>
<p>The decision of whether or not to send your kids to this school should really depend on the quality of education that they will receive compared to other options. Again generally speaking, prep schools that send their grads to selective schools usually have savvy and involved counselors, usually better connected and less overworked than those available at large public schools.</p>
<p>I can't speak to elite privates in Indiana, but I can speak to elite privates on the east coast,; while the acceptance rate for elite colleges is somewhat better from these schools than from Joe Public High School, there is NO slam dunk.</p>
<p>I have seen exceptionally well qualified students, high scores, great ECs, legacies, who attend such elite prep schools, and were not accepted to any elite colleges. I know one going to BU next year, when he was sure he was going to Harvard or Yale. It shocked the heck out of everyone, including his college counselors at elite prep, but it happens, and more than a bit. I can think of more than a handful of such cases, and these kids were not marginally qualified.</p>
<p>My boss described this year's admissions results at her son's elite prep school as follows:
The kids who everyone thought were going to Princeton ended up at Penn.
The kids who everyone thought were going to Penn ended up at Wash U.
The kids who everyone thought were going to Wash U. ended up at GW.
The kids who everyone thought were going to GW ended up at U Maryland and Suny Binghamton.</p>
<p>Your results may vary, but I'd look at the demographic charts before concluding that an elite prep school will give a leg up in admissions 4 years from now. Lots and lots of 18 year olds chasing the same number of seats at the same 10 or 15 schools.</p>
<p>On the other hand, if you see a substantially better educationally environment- more academic challenges or support for a kid who needs it, it's worth considering for that... but I wouldn't bet on the college admissions %^&*-shoot down the road.</p>
<p>That was a funny description. Don't forget to include the legacy and development opportunities that exist at elite schools. The top schools also search out First Generation and other specific talents. The competition is there.</p>
<p>any thoughts on the benefit of attending an elite private school vs a lesser known private day school? i just withdrew my 5th grader from a small private day school (17K year) near annapolis to place him in a respected local public school ( blue ribbon is that means anything) so he could take advantage of courses in organization skills and note taking that weren't covered in his private school. of course i have second thoughts since he is leaving all his friends . his math teacher at his 17K school told us that doors are closed to him as far as getting into the accelerated courses in math (he missed the IOWA cut off by 1 point) whereas the public school tells us he can be placed in whatever math class we want him to be in as long as we provide support. i was not sure if i should make the 2 hour round trip drive to baltimore for a ' name ' school or try this public school so i'm giving the public a try for a year and we'll see.</p>
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his math teacher at his 17K school told us that doors are closed to him as far as getting into the accelerated courses in math (he missed the IOWA cut off by 1 point)
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Are you saying accelerated courses at the private? How interesting. What math is he taking now? Does the private participate in MathCounts?
<a href="http://mathcounts.org/%5B/url%5D">http://mathcounts.org/</a>
Has he had any math enrichment?
<a href="http://www.mathcounts.org/webarticles/articlefiles/2006_winners_team_individual.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.mathcounts.org/webarticles/articlefiles/2006_winners_team_individual.pdf</a></p>
<p>omg BLOSSOM you made me smile with that post.</p>
<p>Here's the thing-- I went to a top private school in NYC. My college friends casually ask me where all my friends go to school, and I feel as if I'm rattling off the US News top 10. I don't think I was friends with the brightest kids in each NYC day school, but all my friends seem to have done v. well for themselves (even if in many situations, things happened EXACTLY the way Blossom described. App materials of one of my best friends got misplaced, sent late, etc. everyone, including her counselor thought she was going to Penn. She goes to Wash U-- and that's only because she got off the waitlist when she WAS going to GWU!). I don't know if for a lot of us it was the idea of status schools/status lifestyle, or if we realized our schools had connections and resources that were ours for the taking, or if we just genuinely worked hard... I don't regret my decision to go to HS where I did, it didn't get me into my top choice school, but I'm really happy where I am.</p>
<p>hmm
assuming he takes 6 classes at the private- and one of them is math- then you are paying almost $3,000 a class, seems like it shouldnt be that difficult to scrape up an appropriate plan for students and to use teacher evaluation and student interest as well as an arbitrary cut off for who is placed into classes.</p>
<p>Now I am not thrilled ( or actually barely pleased) with the math curriculum in *our *school district, but it sounds like the public school is much more interested about keeping you as a customer</p>
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but I'm really happy where I am.
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<p>Nice that you added that. I am happy for you. I have seen kids or their parents wedded to the one school for me.........with sad outcomes. Not happy and didn't get into that ONE school.</p>
<p>I don't believe colleges discriminate against the private schooled kid.
If anything, they are in a better position because they have 1) better counseling
2) more rigorous courses which in turn make them better prepared overall and 3) an environment that encourages achievement. They may expect a little more, but you kid will probably rise to the challenge and have more to offer.</p>