<p>How much would attending one of those schools help my standing with colleges?</p>
<p>private schools are generally not worth the price tag if you dont have money to burn.</p>
<p>what are the best public schools in massachusetts</p>
<p>My school in CT is pretty good. I wouldn't say THE BEST, but its pretty good. </p>
<p>Its public, not magnet or anything - anyone in the town can go, and only kids from the town (and children of teachers, but thats like 5 people) can go. We routinely send kids to great colleges but we don't have the record of some of the schools mentioned above (23 ivies (~7%), plus a few to stanford, juilliard, mit, caltech, swarthmore, and so on and so forth, this year). I don't know what our avg. SAT scores are, but I'm sure they're decent, but again, not the best in the country by far. </p>
<p>Thats not neccessarily why we are awesome though. We have a great sports program, we've won a theatre award for best school show in new england several times in the past few years, and we just won a thing for best school newspaper in the state. So we excell at lots of different things.</p>
<p>I love my school, if you can't tell :-D</p>
<p>Someone asked about the value of attending a private high school. That really depends on what is available locally. Because of my oldest son's math interest, I have looked (a little) at Phillips Exeter Academy, which has a very conspicuously strong math program, certainly stronger than any high school in my whole state. The way we can get similar advanced coursework for my son involves taking an accelerated course for high schoolers at our local university, and probably eventual dual-enrollment at that university in the high school years. For people who don't even have that at hand locally, and whose children also have the strong interest in math, it might be worthwhile to apply to Exeter. The nationally famous private schools have (barely adequate) financial aid for families that can't afford to pay list price, and they do appear to offer a rigorous education. The whole boarding school experience, growing up in teen years without family nearby, is something my wife experienced (in another country) and is one reason why we don't rush to sign up our children for boarding schools. But the privately operated boarding schools do appear to offer good value for some families who come from far away to attend them.</p>
<p>with reference to colleges though, the leg up that is given by a private school is not usually worth its price.</p>
<p>Anonymou5, you are very much entitled to your opinion, but many generations of very successful people seriously disagree with you. On what basis do you, as a high school student, make this claim?</p>
<p>the fact that i was able to go where I wanted from my public high school, and someone with the same goals as me who went to lawrenceville (after the same middle school) was accepted and rejected by the same top schools.</p>
<p>the students make the school, not the other way around. private schools seem better because they only accept better students who would likely do just as well coming from public school anyway.</p>
<p>the best public school in mass is Boston Latin.</p>
<p>Anon- there are a lot of variables in college admissions, and you really don't know all the factors that played into the Lawrenceville kid's college admission process.
There are a lot of reasons why families choose private schools. I think there are plusses and minuses to both private and public. Here in our home city the public schools are quite bad. The top kids do go to good colleges, but the overall learning experience is poor. The spots in private schools are highly coveted. Yes, then you get a lot of wealthy kids and the problems which go along with that.<br>
My S wound up going to boarding school for a number of reasons unique to him. The first one we chose was not a good fit and set him back a little. Now he is at a wonderful school which offers him things that no public school could offer, both academically and athletically. The sense of community and the opportunitiess he has been given are amazing. The financial cost to our family is high, and it is hard for H and me to have missed so much of his high school experience. When we chose schools for our kids we chose with the view of picking an academic, social and (athletic or art) match. We never thought about whether it would help with college admissions. If the high school is a right match for the student, the rest takes care of itself.</p>
<p>Hilary6 I've seen different schools come out tops on different lists. Two of them are Lexington HS and Weston HS. There may be more -
andi</p>
<p>Anon,</p>
<p>You seem to forget that the students and parents represented on CC is not a representative cross-section of all those wandering the halls of hs's across our country.</p>
<p>I know more than a few students attending public hs's who believed their good GPA's and good SAT's would gain them entrance to schools like Brown or Berkeley. With one GC for every 850 students at their hs's, there was no one to tell them otherwise, and as the eldest child in their families where the parents are not CC regulars, no one at home knew to tell them otherwise. These students find themselves rejected, rejected, and rejected. Good, even excellent students, dreaming of the adventure of going away to school, now settling in to the idea of the local community college.</p>
<p>Conversely, the small graduating class at S's private school has the benefit of an amazing GC who knows the ropes, works closely with teachers and is passionately dedicated to finding the perfect college match for each student. This GC also has a talent for encouraging students to make the most of their junior and senior years and of helping parents to peel away the dream layer and accept the reality of the choices before them in the current college marketplace with a minimum of trauma. Students with less impressive resumes than those from the public hs's are happily matched with their perfect college.</p>
<p>I would have happily paid the private school tuition this year for that service alone.</p>
<p>MomofWildChild- You're right. I am speaking in reference to a resident of a fairly wealthy NJ suburb. The difference between MY public school and Lawrenceville, in my opinion, is not worth the cost. But perhaps the difference between an inner-city public school, or poor public schools in the south makes the cost of a private school worth it.</p>
<p>yeah i think the best mass. publics are
weston
boston latin
wellesley
newton
wayland
lexington</p>
<p>(not necessarily in that order and there are probably more)</p>
<p>I wholeheartedly disagree with you, An0nym0u5. My own experience at one of the "nicer" private schools has provided me lots of opportunities and resources I wouldn't have been able to obtain at a public school (though, like I said earlier, there are good public schools). No class has more than 18 kids, allowing more personal attention. There is not such thing as "busy work"; we truly learn. Courses are purely academic (except for art classes, of course). You won't find any shop or home-ec classes--only college prep courses. Teachers always have "an open door"( symbolically, and literally) and get to know their students on a deeper level. School is also one of the original and most active participants in the AP program. </p>
<p>The college counseling department is more than adequately staffed (4 counselors for a 150 student class), allowing students to have undivided attention from the counselors. Our counselors also establish very good relationships with colleges, providing more personal contact. Furthermore, they have been in the counseling field for years and are very very good at what they do. My class's matriculation list is very impressive</p>
<p>School requires its students to participate in 2 team sports a year. It might seem that this is restrictive, but it forces us to be well rounded. Because of the school's small size, students who would not be able to make a team at a public school are able to participate. Students who are truly gifted in their respective sport can participate on a higher level and thus excel. The school is known for winning many championships and producing outstanding, yet rounded students. Unlike some schools, our top athletes are also some of our top students. </p>
<p>I wouldn't trade my private education for anything. I went to a public school for a while. The difference is like night and day.</p>
<p>Furthermore, people should understand that most prep schools are not ONLY for people with the money to afford it. While most families can afford the high price tag, the school does offer aid and scholarships, just as colleges do.</p>
<p>My public school is very similar (minus the sports requirements). We've got 6 counselors for a class of 300, and no class with more than 24. No shop or home-ec classes, closest one to that is cooking (which competitive students obviously don't take).</p>
<p>I wouldn't trade my public school education for anything.</p>
<p>Except a professional football career, or a ton of money, or a perfect girlfriend, or to be elected President.</p>
<p>24 kids in a class is too much, at least for me. I had between 22 and 32 kids in a class at the public school I went to, and I didn't learn a thing. No more than 18 in a section, averege about 15, and as low as about 8 at my current school. I just like the reallyy small setting, which is hard to get at a public school. We've also got great facilities (that can rival many LAC's), lots of connections (I've gotten to interview both Justice Clarence Thomas and sportscaster Joe Buck in a small setting (about 5 people)), and a very strong alumni network. Also, unlike a public shcool, my school can choose who attends, and can ask students to leave. So, we have a pretty good group of people. But like I said, there are good public shcools. In St. Louis, my school is the best you can get, but there may be public schools in other areas that could rival my shcool. </p>
<p>Obviosuly, you are happy with your HS, and that's what counts. I just see value in a private education (not big on anything public/government run, guess my republicanism shows). I suppose if STL public shcools didn't suck so much (though there are some commendable schools) I might think differently.</p>
<p>Well, as I said, I'm in a public non-magnet school, and last year, my classes ranged from 5 to 18 people. We have maybe 10 counselors (I'm not really sure, but my grade has 360 people, and I've never had a problem when I've needed to see mine). </p>
<p>An0nym0us, I disagree that not offering classes like home-ec makes a good school. Since my school is public, there are some students who aren't that competitive, don't take many AP classes, etc. My school doesn't have many, but we have boat building and culinary, and personally, I'm glad my school offers something for everyone, even though I've never taken either class. (though many people at my school take culinary, including some extremely smart people who are going to great colleges next year.)</p>
<p>Boston Latin School is pretty good. This year, they had</p>
<p>3 MIT
2 Yale
6 Columbia
2 Princeton
2 Brown
3 Dartmouth
26 Harvard (no, not a typo)</p>
<p>My friends go there; it's the oldest high school in the country.</p>
<p>I know people from the top boarding schools like Andover, Exeter,
Groton.... and top private schools like Haverford, Episcopal.... and
I also know a lot of kids who are in public school and have done some
combo of the above. Its not where you go but what you make of it.
Best possible scenario is to go to a top private school and make the
most of the small classes, great teachers, counselors, resources and
community. If you go to a top private school and don't apply yourself
or take advantage of what you have there it is a waste of money. It
truley is what you put into it in the end. Better to be a motivated
well adjusted kid at a large public school than a lazy obnoxious one at
a private one. Best though is to have the opportunity to attend a
great private school and really make the most of your opportunities.
You can't put a price tag on what a private school can offer because
it is more about what you will take or get than what they give. If it
works it is priceless! I would apply the same idea to colleges.
I know lots of pathetic top ivy grads going nowhere and so many
noname college grads who are at the top of the top. Motivation goes
a long way!</p>