<p>We are just moving to a new city, and have to chose a high school for my D who is a rising sophomore. There are 3 selective schools in this city that are in the top 100 public high school ranked by US News, one is top 20, one is top 50 and one is top 80. In the top 20 school, severaI APs are offered even in year 9; I am just wondering if the school ranking that important if the goal is ivy? in the top 20 school, it will be much more difficult to get to the top of the class; and if u have to choose the most challenging courses, the pressure is so much higher. So is it better that we just choose a top 80?
so how do people choose a proper high school for a proper college application?</p>
<p>It honestly comes down to your daughter. When you have a top tier high school, you have tons of really smart, motivated kids who are all competing to get into top colleges. Some people like that competition and it motivates them to work harder themselves. Some people burn out on it and end up slacking off or not giving their all because they think “what’s the point, I’ll never be that good.” </p>
<p>At a high school that competitive, class rank doesn’t mean much and many of them don’t even make it public to colleges. As long as you have a good GPA, colleges will recognize the school you’re coming from is more competitive than most and judge accordingly. I ended up in the bottom half of my class but still went to a good Ivy. </p>
<p>If you don’t think your daughter can maintain a good GPA at the absolute best school, then it may be better to send her to another school where standards are lower. I know parents who moved their kids to horrible schools so that they could have perfect GPAs and they got into HYP, etc. </p>
<p>However, I really think that attending the most competitive school possible helped me develop as a person. I got to surround myself with the most incredible kids, like Olympic athletes and national chess champions, the type of people that I wouldn’t have met anywhere else. I met people from all over the country and had my horizons broadened. There are so many experiences that an “elite” high school can provide that a merely “exceptional” one cannot. I cannot overstate how much going there changed who I am and I really do recommend it for your daughter.</p>
<p>The US News rankings should be taken with a grain of salt. I’ll give you an example. Elizabeth High in NJ is rated 10th in the state. Princeton High doesn’t even get recognized. Elizabeth has over 80% economically disadvantaged kid and Princeton is something like 7%. What the rankings mean is that Elizabeth does better with what they have to work with.</p>
<p>thank you two for the advices, they are very helpful. So I donnot have to care too much about the ranking. As I am new in this country, what is the most important factor in choosing a prep high school? thank you for your help!</p>
<p>roma05, the rankings are hard to guage sometimes. There can be times when they are on. But I would probably drive by the school and see the neighborhood. Also, I would talk to neighbors and they can give you the inside info. </p>
<p>Here is another website. Daily Beast. Since I brought up Elizabeth, take a look at NJ. Elizabeth is shown as #320. Pasack in Montvale is #345. Now look at the difference in the average SAT and average AP grade. Big differences. One of the criteria is how many AP/IB/AICE tests a kid take. They take more tests at Elizabeth but score far lower.</p>
<p>[America’s</a> Best High Schools - Newsweek and The Daily Beast](<a href=“http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2013/05/06/america-s-best-high-schools.html]America’s”>http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2013/05/06/america-s-best-high-schools.html)</p>
<p>geo1113, thank you so much for your help, now I got the point, Thank you!</p>
<p>You might also want to post this question in the Parents Forum. You might get some more responses/discussion over there.</p>
<p>[Parents</a> Forum - College Confidential](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/]Parents”>Parents Forum - College Confidential Forums)</p>