Going to prep school makes chances harder?!

<p>I should add that given the extreme difficulty of getting into these high schools, it seems that even a kid at the bottom of the class would probably have been at the top of an average high school.</p>

<p>That's why it's a good thing most prep schools don't outright rank.</p>

<p>I wish my parents were rich enough to send me to a fancy prep school. <em>sulk</em></p>

<p>The admissions officer always has your transcript in one hand, the school profile in the other.</p>

<p>Well I bet theres kids in the top 5% of Exeter that don't even have 2 or 3 AP classes. You'd defintely have an advantage over them, imo.</p>

<p>thomaschau: that's what financial aid is for xD and exeter is aiming at having need-blind admissions in the very-near future. Some other schools already are. Basically, if you want to go to a prep school and you're smart enough, there are always ways. Scholarships can help too.</p>

<p>lisa fillmore: yeah, I was definitely (don't mean to sound haugty and stuck up or anything) ranked #1 in public school but upon coming to Exeter, I found out I wasn't so smart after all. It's a bitter realization, but motivating at the same time.</p>

<p>You're pleanty smart if you're at Exeter. What my kids ended up learning by going to very competitive schools with amazing peers is that's it's important to develop your personal strenghts.</p>

<p>1st thing: we're a featured discussion! yay~</p>

<p>2nd: if you were in an elite prep school, is it better to be outstanding in one area, or a well-rounded, not necessarily amazing but still distinguished individual? Me, for example, if I were to truly focus on piano, I could become the best at Exeter. However, I would probably quit swimming and spend less time on studying. Would this be more helpful than if I remained the way I am now and am good but not great at so many things?</p>

<p>how do you calculate these percentages if the school doesn't rank? also, aren't some of the classes rigorous enough to be considered college level classes even if they're not specifically designated "AP". say you're taking Honors Russian level 5 or something instead of AP French or AP Spanish. </p>

<p>if you're in the top 5% at exeter and committed to your ECs, you are almost always guaranteed a spot at a top 10 college.</p>

<p>azngirl06:</p>

<p>I think you will find that the college counseling office at your school does a very good job at trying to find colleges that are a good fit for each student. They actually will have you develop a list of potential schools and help you determine which schools are the best options for you based on your individual strengths and background. Unfortunately, a lot of students don't listen to the counselors because they are getting pressure from home to apply to every ivy league (or top 10) school! Last year close to 100 kids (out of a class of 330) applied to Yale. Many of these kids applied knowing well in advance that Yale would be an extreme reach this year based on discussions with their college counselors. That said, Exeter is very good about counseling each student to find good reach and good match schools. Ultimately everyone gets accepted somewhere, and most are happy with the final choices, whether they are top 10 or not!</p>

<p>1sokkermom is right..the counseling office is pretty sweet. there are definitely people who are ****ed off at the end of it though.</p>

<p>if you're in the top5% !!! at Exeter, I'd bet that you are literally guaranteed at any school. To give you an idea, out of Andover's early cum laude (top 10%) last year, 27/32 went to Ivy League + Stanford + MIT, and the year before, 24/27. The other schools were Duke, Olin, Chicago, Berkeley, Georgetown, WUSTL, William and Mary, and UNC-Morehead Scholarship.</p>

<p>woah...who said i was in the top 5% of exeter? NEVERRRR. I'm not THAT paranoid yet. haha, top 20% ppl.</p>

<p>andover's early cum laude is only top 10%? exeter's is top 20%, early cum laude is top 5%. as of now, im barely making regular.</p>

<p>1sokkermom just confirmed my worst fear. Everyone at top schools applys to Harvard, Yale and Stanford. Damnnnnnnnnn/</p>

<p>i thought you said "Although I would probably rank in the top 5% if it were weighted (3 APs sophomore yr, 7 junior yr)". are you self-studying 2 APs this year, in addition to your 5-credit courseload?</p>

<p>Many preps schools are at the same level as public schools, but Phillips Exeter Academy is top notch aka the best of the best :)</p>

<p>angryschnauzer: oh sry about that. That's just a hypothesis and I would never really know because our school doesn't weight GPAs. Also, although Exeter doesn't rank, they send out a report at the end of each yr saying 10 and aboves is blah percent of the class and whatnot, thats how I approximated my rank. I'm also not self-studying two APs, that would be ridiculous for me!! I took Principles of Econ for Harvard Summer School.</p>

<p>Anthony249: thanks! haha, for school spirit sake, I would have to say that Exeter is the best. On the other hand, data shows that it's only one of the top schools</p>

<p>I wouldn't exactly say that "many" prep schools are at the same level of public schools. Exeter and many others are great schools, but even the average ones like the one I go to in socal beats the public I went to that is highly rated by miles! And our endowment in $14 million compared to Exeters about $400 million!</p>

<p>Part of what makes prep school education special is the opportunities. Even at an average one, your experience is what you want to make of it. There are less rigid rules, more choices. A wider range of classes, a smaller range of abilities (although there are still huge deviations between the best and the worst student). Even just being in an environment with motivated peers helps make your education worthwhile. That quality was something I found to be more lacking in public school.</p>

<p>Lissafilmore and Justice:</p>

<p>So you are saying that that school passes the 1600 and top scorer and takes top 20%, 1500 and lot of interesting ECS. Justice do you think it is similar experiince for you in Andover. How about in any other prep school?</p>

<p>Justice:
Do you think that anyone who is a weekly column writer writer for a school newspaper let us say example phillipian, does have a decent chance to become an associate writer or main writer in senior year. And what you say that it is very prestigious to be a writer of the weekly newspaper in prep school. Thanks</p>

<p>Has anyone heard of The Grier School. It is a private girl's boarding school.
It seems beautiful from the viewbook. Does anyone get into a good college from there?</p>

<p>i think that it helps since its probably a feeder school.</p>

<p>i wish i went to private school :(</p>