<p>When you look at the college book at a prep school, look at stats of the kids who are getting into the top colleges, screen them for legacy, development,URM, athletics, celebrity hooks. That can give you a truer picture of how much the school has to do with the acceptance. I am a bit disturbed at our school's record with some of the elite state university early acceptance record. A number of kids who may have gotten in with better grades, were deferred or rejected with great stats, even legacy status applying early. I have a feeling that some of those admissions office put little weight on the school profile and the difficulty of the curriculum of these kids in assessing the grades.</p>
<p>Congratulations, Rooster08. But the key word here is "underperforming." You shone like a brilliant star in your h.s., & good for you. But you compare yourself (I think I remember -- not looking at your post right now) only to private schools. The students I feel the most for, are those in highly performing PUBLIC schools. Usually the average GPA there is about 3.6, & you can't touch a high class rank unless you're a mega-achiever with a million APs. You may think, Well, that sounds like an elite private school. Wrong. Or actually, it does sound like, & in that respect <em>is</em> like an elite school. But here's the diff.</p>
<p>A high-achieving public school has the dual disadvantages of fierce competition + lack of resources & the built-in "impersonality" of a larger school. One has to fend for oneself, largely. It's so much harder to stand out because of the low probability of getting really known, by anyone (unless you're Class Prez & thus get known by administration, etc.) The lone GC at our nearby well-endowed public school has precious little contact with the 1400 students there. I'm in a high-achieving class at a prestigious, small private school, but nevertheless I'm confident in my teacher recs because they've had a chance to get to know me extremely well. In a small school of any kind, students often take classes from the same teacher between 2 and 4 years. (Small faculty, small classes) That's wonderful for recs: teachers know shades of difference between one student & the next, nearly-the-same student.<br>
The GC sees us everyone in Sr. Class once a week, everyone in Jr. class once/week. That's for the formal meetings. Separately she touches base with each of us almost daily regarding our apps, our college choices,etc. And she e-mails us and our parents at least once a week with info, updates, personal reminders.
Lastly, I've been told in several quarters that the Ivies are better acquainted with my school, & schools like them (vs. a large public school), because they know (a) the reputation of the school, and (b) the difficulty of the classes. They know the student body is highly performing, so a high rank is a big deal, but even a 10% rank is excellent.
I have a friend at the nearby great h.s. I mentioned. Not only did she get almost no personal attention from the GC, but her own placement counselor (not sure if it's the same as the GC) was out for 6 months at a critical time in my friend's sophomore yr. The position was not even temporarily filled, nor did anyone else in the school assume the responsibilities. It was Jr. Yr. registration time, so my friend ended up getting into no AP classes during that all-imp. Jr. Yr. She will be graduating with 2 or 3 AP classes, & only in Sr.Yr. She's already been rejected ED by one college which should be a match for her. (She also got lousy advice about sufficient safety choices, i.m.o.)</p>
<p>I'm extremely happy for you that it worked out, & I'm sure you deserved it. But I'm so grateful that I'm in a private school. Also, since I have a quiet personality (in person!), my small school has helped me come out of myself & take on a few leadership roles that I would never have done, or been encouraged to do in a large crowd of people. (I am not aggressive.)</p>
<p>I think some of this is what Mr.B was saying, too.</p>
<p>I am making no predictions for my college acceptances. I would be so lucky to get into one Ivy, but if I don't, I know that I will get into a near-Ivy, & most importantly, I know that I have maximized my chances for Ivy admission by my 4 yrs. in this school.</p>
<p>yea i think that it's way better to go to private school than public if you're given that opportunity i had the same circumstances as the original poster... i think private school is great... and i hope it helps get me into college</p>
<p>o ya and 7 AP's in a year? that's cool i wish my school did that... they have a limit of like 5... i really could do 7 as well.. what about other people?</p>
<p>walks out with head down...</p>
<p><em>singing</em></p>
<p>I wish I went to Prep school... <em>sigh</em></p>
<p>Why, bluthunder? You determine your future. Not any school.</p>
<p>There are some at S's prep school who are wishing as are their parents that they went to public school as it may well have made a difference. It depends on the kid. Sometimes those in depth recs have things in them that you may not want. In a big public school, the GC often only knows your academic info and whatever you want to give her on your brag sheet. Heck, he may even take a sample letter from you. Not so at the private schools where every can know everything about you even the not so good things. And there is less grade inflation, no weighting ...it can be a disadvantage.</p>