<p>So we've all seen the chance threads that say:
"I go to a school ranked top 100...200...300 by US NEWS" or something like that, but I doubt that colleges could honestly care less how your school is ranked nationally. Don't they base their decision off how competitive you are in your school? </p>
<p>Now, for my real question. Does boarding school make your app look better? I can think of a million reasons as to why a boarding school student would be more prepared for college than the average public high schooler. I think that attending a competitive boarding school would definitely look more appealing than attending a competitive "ranked" public high school. </p>
<p>I appreciate the articles you sent me, but it really doesn’t answer my question. I already attend a boarding school, and I can clearly see the difference in maturity and preparation of a boarding student and of a public high schooler. Like what the articles says, adults take responsibility for themselves; boarding school students are forced to take responsibility of their own actions, time, etc. for themselves without being “babied” by their parents. </p>
<p>What do the college admissions think when they see “Attended boarding school for 4 years”?</p>
<p>Unless it was a top 25 boarding school like Exeter, Andover, Choate, Dalton, Deerfield, or Groton, or other top schools many people have heard of, then it doesn’t matter. ( Although, I am pretty biased, I was denied from Exeter lol I needed to much FA)</p>
<p>I’m not too sure it if it’s a huge advantage unless the school is top 25, as NuclearPakistan1 pointed out. The two boarding schools in my area do worse at top universities than my private non-residentual day school. They may just treat a boarding school as a regular private school if it’s not natioanlly renowned.</p>
<p>You ask in the OP about boarding school vs. public. I think you’re asking about private - boarding and day school - vs. public. If you are asking that I think it makes a difference, a really big difference. In favor of the privates.</p>
<p>Kids from private schools have a lot more money. Families will give bigger donations, alumni will give bigger donations, scholarships won’t be grabbed. Families value education. It’s worth it to take a chance on a marginal applicant.</p>
<p>OTOH, private is not for everyone, and boarding school is certainly not for everyone. But I don’t think that’s what you’re asking about.</p>
<p>Well I go to one of the… top 40-50 schools? I was recruited there for hockey.</p>
<p>Does the maturity factor or anything about living on your own make you stand out in college admissions vs. public high school or private day school students who live with their parents?</p>
<p>There are advantages and disadvantage in attending an elite high school, day or boarding.</p>
<p>Clearly kids who do are incredibly well prepared and colleges know this. They are surrounded by peers who have all taken a test to get in and the school can focus on a narrow range of abilities. The education is usually excellent and the counseling is often superb.</p>
<p>Yet there are unique disadvantages. These high IQ, affluent kids have parents of the same description, so many are top college legacies. You will be competing with these kids first in applying to colleges. Most elite schools also have lots of top URM students and recruitable athletes. When there are that many hooked applicants it makes it very tough at very top colleges for those without a hook. There can also be a disadvantage in applying to top state schools which may not adjust their GPA demand for your school’s rigor.</p>
<p>That said, once you get past the top 15 or so colleges, I think an elite high schools gives you a major advantage.</p>
<p>If you do well at a boarding school then it will definitely look good, but if you don’t do so hot, it probably will not help you in admissions much.</p>
<p>OP sounds elitist; just because most of the intelligent people at public high schools didn’t want to fork over thousands of dollars for that type of education doesn’t mean that we should be given a disadvantage in college admissions.</p>
<p>Attending a boarding school, or living in the most elite public school districts, is typically a reflection on your parents’ success and social class, not your own achievements.</p>
<p>Public school kids defense: I’m a kid from one of those top 100 public schools you seem to look down upon. I probably get a lot less adult attention than you do. My friends are the same way. A lot of these top public schools are actually from affluent, highly educated neighborhoods where both parents work and arent really around to breathe over your shoulder for homework or to check your grades; my parents only find out about my grades when the report cards show up in the mail.
Also, you may know how to make it through high school without parental intervention, but in terms of maturity I wouldnt say the kids from my huge public school are so far behind; they have to compete for teacher’s attention for teacher recs and such for teachers who have literally more than a hundred kids, have to compete for club leadership positions and sports teams and to even make it on the newspaper staff- this year, there were a couple hundred applications for 12 seats on the staff- around here, people send their kids to the private school because it’s easier.
So you can hope that colleges will see something extra in the boarding school kid, but they probably won’t, because each kid really is fighting a hard battle in it’s own way.
All you can really do is do stand out in your own personal situation and it will show, but dont count on your school to make it any easier.</p>
<p>There are kids who cannot afford to go to a private school or, as in my case, the closest private school is 4 hours away from where they live. What colleges look at is how competitive you were at your school (hence class rank),but correct me if i’m wrong. So if you don’t go to a private school then you are not doomed for life. And to the OP, there are a handful of public school kids who don’t have everything “spoon-fed” to them.</p>
<p>Note that at many private schools there is significant financial aid. Top boarding and day schools often have 30% plus on aid. Like top colleges, they want top students and athletes from all walks of life. These days private school does not mean you’re rich. The are many public schools across the US that have student bodies as wealthy as most private schools.</p>
<p>Yes, I can confirm that some quite academically elite privately operated high schools have students from low-income families. It all depends on the school’s commitment to economic diversity and its sources of funding for scholarships.</p>
<p>If you’re valedictorian at Exeter, Groton, or Eton (England. This school is what makes you say “whoa”. It was established in the fifteenth century by Henry VI, or something like that. It’s more expensive than George Washington University.) then you’re definitely set for life!</p>
<p>BS have several factors that CAN be advantageous in the college admissions process IF you:</p>
<p>-take a rigorous program at a top BS, yes adcoms look favorably upon that
-realize that BS often have top notch college counseling offices, solely responsible for placing their students in the best colleges they can (public school guidance counselors generally fall short of this, although they would love to help more, they are bogged down with creating schedules, etc. whereas BS has separate departments for all this. Their college counseling offices are just that - COLLEGE COUNSELING.
-BS pride themselves on their "matriculation lists, data, etc., and often have “relationships” with adcoms at colleges
-BS college counseling offices begin working on college match, reach and safety, standardized scores, EC’s, etc. as soon as you arrive…hence, by the time college admissions process is underway, you have a stellar essay, credentials and yes, recommendations from the College Counseling office. Public schools generally try to fine tune your college essay in the fall of your senior year, and guidance counselors can send a personal rec, but generally with hundreds of kids they may not know intimately…well…
-Remember most are paying to attend a BS, hence it is a business, whereas public school’s job is to produce productive graduates (BS does not have summer school for those who fail - they are simply placed on academic probation and then dismissed if they do not bring up their grades…another monumental difference…)
-Finally, if you are a hard working public school student taking a rigorous courseload, get recommendations from those who will present you well and are in the top 10% or so of your class, you can probably compete with most BS students…</p>
<p>“Note that at many private schools there is significant financial aid. Top boarding and day schools often have 30% plus on aid. Like top colleges, they want top students and athletes from all walks of life. These days private school does not mean you’re rich.”</p>
<p>Yes. But it means you had parents who were open enough to the concept of sending their child to a private boarding school, which describes very few mainstream parents. Colleges know enough not to penalize Joe Public School because his parents simply didn’t know enough or think about sending him anyplace but Public HS.</p>