<p>How can you tell how cometitive a given highschool is? How do you know how many kids from that school are applying to an ivy? How many got accepted, etc. These are probably novice questions; thanks for any help.</p>
<p>Many high schools subscribe to a service called Naviance. That will give you graphs showing which kids applied where, what their grades and SATs are, and where they got in. (No kid is identified by name, however.) Or the high school may just have a list that's posted online.</p>
<p>At least in our county for the public schools that information is rarely published in any form. School reputations tend to be based on average SAT scores and their scores on the State Report Cards. If you call each school up individually you might be able to get answers to those questions. They are more likely to tell you how many got accepted than how many applied.</p>
<p>That said, this sort of information isn't everything. I think our school is pretty darn good even though it doesn't look as a good as some others on paper. We have a much bigger variety of income levels than some of the schools in wealthier districts. So while our average scores are lower the academically strong kids in the school are doing just fine. They get 4s and 5s on AP tests. (And they offer 24 AP courses.) The "top" kids got into the schools that CC lists as "top schools". There are programs for science research, some college level courses accredited by SUNY and a thriving arts program that gives you a special designation on your diploma.</p>
<p>Our high school has Naviance, and it's very interesting, but they don't make it available to the public. You'd have to find someone at the school who was willing to share their password.</p>
<p>You can contact the college admissions staff at the HS and ask for a copy of the school summary which is sent with transcripts. You might want to speak to a counselor if it's appropriate. Also, check the April or May issues of the school paper; many schools list the college destinations for their seniors.</p>
<p>High school counselors have statistics from previous years if you ask them. Also some of the previous year's college choices are posted online. I know my D school does this and tons of other school as well.</p>
<p>It sounds as if you're looking at private schools if you are able to consider how competitive a school is. If you do talk to a college advisor, I would ask him what his goals are as a college advisor for his students. Listen for phrases like "best fit" and "for the student" instead of a singular focus on prestige.</p>