@CateCAParent As a parent of one student who attended her local public school and another student who is finishing up his senior year at an elite New England boarding school, I personally disagree with your assessment that the school name does not help the average student with their college placements. Yes, a lot of students do not get into an Ivy, but the overwhelming majority get into an elite college, which is a lot more than can be said for most high-stats students at average public schools. Per an article written for the student paper at my sonâs elite NE boarding school, half of students received an offer from a university with a sub-10% acceptance rate and 80% of students received an offer from a university with a sub-20% acceptance rate. D has a friend at Amherst who attended another elite boarding school and had Davidson as her counselor-designated safety school. If you attend an average public high school, no matter how high your stats are, Davidson cannot be considered a âlikelyâ school. My son, along with everyone else at his boarding school, had all his essays carefully reviewed by his college counselor (who also helped all students revise their essays). That does not happen at average public schools (like the one my daughter attended), where each counselor is assigned to 300+ students. Also, counselors at average public schools are not able to call elite college admissions officers to help their students get off of college waitlists.
Also, with regard to âPeople find it impossible to be true, though, buying into the lore that all it takes is a phone call and little Buffy is in at Harvard. That stuff doesnât happen anymoreâ: while that stuff does not generally happen, one of Sâs friends who got waitlisted at all his âlikelyâ schools and did not have a single acceptance just got accepted off the waitlist to his top choice university (Top 10 National University on U.S. News and World Report) after his counselor made a call there.
I believe you that the call happened and the admit happened. I donât pretend to know the ins and outs of each office. But I am confident in the advice of âdonât think that phone call is going to happen for you, and plan accordinglyâ. I have it on good authority that communications between the elite high schools and the AOs is much more restrained than it used to be. Does it never happen? Never say never (and I know I said never - I wasnât meaning literally never). I am not that naive.
As for public high school admissions v elite private - I agree admissions are more condensed from the elite privates. But disagree that it is the name of the school per se. My point is that the boarding schools have collected the students the elite colleges are admitting - talented marginalized minorities, spikey kids, stemmy girls, athletes, etc. Plenty of elite prep school kids are still getting in, but I would be willing to bet that the backgrounds of the admits today are very different than 5-10 years ago.
The unhooked average excellent prep school kidsâ odds have gone down. The kids getting admitted are getting admitted on their own merits (and with the help of a skilled college counselor at their disposal for strategy and packaging). It is easier to find the talent when they have been gathered in one place for you to sift through. They are finding the talent in public schools, too, but they have to work harder to find them. My impression is that AOs are willing to do that work more than they used to.
It is like fishing in a stocked lake compared to fishing in the ocean. You cast a net in both, it is more likely come up full in the stocked lake, but there are more fish in the ocean.
Selingoâs book describes feeder high schools (both private and competitive public).
Admissions officers have personal relationships with school counselors st those schools and so they have high confidence that recommended students will do well at their schools. So smart students from those schools have an advantage.
The AOs can rely on someone elseâs evaluation to get a sure thing. The top 5% at those schools might well all get into Top 20 schools; the same is not true of the top 10 students from a random, unknown high school in an average suburb in Nowhere, USA. Those students are almost certainly just as capable and talented. After all, they crawled to the top with little assistance/guidance, in many cases. But they can struggle to break through.
I would offer it is much more of a difference than that. The top 30-50% get in to top 20-30 schools, depending on the private school! It is quite different from public but folks need to remember the schools with this advantage are test-in; median SATs are 1300-1450, depending on the school. Many have school profiles that are publicly available. However, TO and the increase in apps along with what seems to be priority shifts of colleges, have led to the bigger /more elite privates in our area seeing less top10 admits as well as less in-state flagship admits. The average SAT and gpa for instate flagship admission has moved up significantly in the past 3 yrs, which is concerning to parents for sure. Naviance indicates the avg SAT to get in is higher than the instate average, and it used to be on par, 5-6 yrs ago. It is hard to justify the cost of private school when the college admission benefits are dwindling, especially when that relates to the sought-after flagships.
" It is hard to justify the cost of private school when the college admission benefits are dwindling, especially when that relates to the sought-after flagships"
People choose these schools for the experience they offer over the 4 years, not for a better shot at elite colleges.
Many do (and that is how it should be). But there are a subset of parents who view elite BS as a pathway to the Ivy League and act accordingly. I have a friend who is a CC at one of those schools and the part of her job she likes the least is dealing with parents during the college process - especially when she has to tell them their kiddo isnât likely to get into a top 20 school.
I hate reading about backroom dealing like this. While elite BS students are exceptionally well prepared for college, it seems unfair that they should also benefit from back channel access to AOâs that can get them into schools while other worthy students are left twisting in the wind. It just smacks of pay to play.
Private school counselors can also do their part to help by spreading out the class applications so not too many are applying to the same school, and pushing one particular applicant when necessary. That can result in better outcomes for the class as a whole. I was not upset when our counselor informed a HYPSM in January that my kid had already been admitted to another HYPSM and would very likely attend that one. It opened the spot up for others and probably got some good will from that college for doing so.
College counseling at private schools is usually excellent and it is part of what people are paying for. I have no issue with any of that - and these are typically great kids, well prepared and smart - kids who will do well at elite schools. At the same time, the idea that someone can pick up the phone and ensure admission for a kid from a private school doesnât sit right with me - there are lots of outstanding students who donât get into their elite school of choice, what about them? This isnât a personal issue - my kiddo didnât apply to any T50 schools and hasnât been impacted by the craziness going on with students looking at those schools â I just find it troublesome when I read about so many outstanding kids who have been disappointed, but donât have anyone who can advocate personally for them.
Holistic admissions offers many advantages to the well-connected or wealthy. The emphasis on extracurriculars, the crafted essays and letters of recommendation-all favor those who are already privileged with parental resources and connections. College counseling efforts are just one more aspect of that.
At some private schools, teachers receive extensive training in how to best write rec letters. College counselors visit universities, even those abroad, to meet and discuss how to best submit their schoolâs applications. Admissions officers visit the high school parent night and conduct mock application reviews, explaining their rationale. It is not surprising that such students are disproportionately accepted.
All of these examples happen at the well resourced public high schools too, including my kidsâ.
Itâs definitely another area that reflects the inequities in the systemâŠsome HS students donât even have access to a college counselor/GC, and often if they do itâs the social emotional counselor doing double duty, a person who may not know anything about college admissions.
