Is Exeter too hard? Also for Andover

Prep School Admissions
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<p>“5. Fact: Given average Naviance numbers quoted by TomTheCat graduates from Andover with less than a five are at a significant disadvantage if not applying early”</p>

<p>Exsrch, that’s EXACTLY THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT I PROVED! Those are AVERAGES - that means 50% of accepted applicants to the schools had lower averages than that! Plus, I quoted numbers for WILLIAMS and JOHNS HOPKINS that show you don’t need a 5 average to get into an insanely good college! All you seem to care about are the Ivies. Get over them! Kids with below 5 averages are NOT at a significant disadvantage! Christ. Your hypothesis has been proven wrong - reformulate it instead of twisting others’ words to fit your old one! I DON’T mean to get testy with you, but you continue to prove you know NOTHING about college admissions or about Andover. Pay less attention to numbers and go and talk to Andover’s college counseling, if you must… You’re being incredibly stubborn and unreasonable.</p>

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<p>@TomTheCat, That is a very bad assumption as you have to believe the numbers are indeed spread evenly around the average. The standard deviation is critical as is the distribution - binomial? or? To simplistically assume that the averages imply half below and half above would simply be wrong. </p>

<p>Good luck TomTheCat as you’ll find out the outcome for yourself when you graduate. Hope you’ll prove me wrong but not likely. It would be better you raise your average to put yourself in a more secure place no matter what school you aspire to matriculate at.</p>

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<p>Exsrch, I never told you my average. Nor do you know me at all. For all you know, I have a 5.7 and a 2300 SAT score as well as two Varsity sports, two club board memberships, and a legacy at an Ivy. You’d do well not to lower yourself to the level of a child on these boards, because the chances are that there will be a child here who can argue as well as or better than you and quote numbers that you can’t refute or twist to your advantage. If you want to act like an authoritative parent towards kids who could actually use your advice, go visit some XBox 360 forums.</p>

<p>Good luck to you and your waitlisted kid.</p>

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<p>no you didn’t tell me your average but you posted that you had 3 fours and 2 fives giving you a 4.4 right?</p>

<p>Plus if you’ll read all of my post I have stayed on the facts and their implications. It appears you’re just not hearing my agreement and it offends you. If you feel like you need future career advice let me know as I can probably help you - I’ll leave that in your court.</p>

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<p>Nope, that’s a 4.5. Andover rounds to the nearest .5. And… That was my first term as a new upper at a new school in a new country. Back off, bud.</p>

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<p>Mm, nice use of the edit feature there…</p>

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<p>Thanks. BTW I’ll take that as a no for future help. Cheers mate.</p>

<p>Edit: I still meant no offense just sticking to the facts. But this comment won’t heal the pain you suppose I inflicted on you. That is ok because it isn’t that big of a deal right? right.</p>

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<p>I’m 17. I’m not looking for a career. Nor do I expect to still be using CC when I’m of career-seeking age. Thanks anyway.</p>

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<p>Bud, this is an internet forum… You caused no pain</p>

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<p>glad to hear</p>

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<p>exsrch, it seems that you are concerned that some A/E students (i.e. those who don’t go to ivies, or those who don’t end up in one of the top 25 or top 50 universities) are losing out by attending A/E. Let me tell you - if you are lucky enough to get in, and you work hard and try to take advantage what the schools have to offer, no matter where you end up you don’t lose, just like students in a public school who overcome the obstacles and go the extra miles beyond what’s readily available to them won’t lose. You lose at the starting point when you assume that A/E is the ticket to a top college even if you end up in the bottom of the class.</p>

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<p>That is my point exactly. If you read my earlier post you see that point.</p>

<p>Edit: with the cautionary tale if you want both great experience and great matriculation you need to further develop abilities to compete for a 5 or higher which puts odds on your side IF your aspirations are to use high school to prep for college.</p>

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<p>5? Boy, you are living in a simpler world! It’s fun chatting with you.</p>

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<p>Sometimes I think we lose perspective on the long-term importance of the college we attended. After your first job, with a few exceptions, such as some of the very exclusive/snobby law firms, your future employers will want to know where you went to college, but your performance on the job is MUCH more important. Particularly as I got into my 30’s/40’s, I didn’t even know where many of my colleagues went to college. Having a degree mattered–where you got it mattered a little, but not much.</p>

<p>And, speaking as someone who lives on the North Shore of Chicago, a generally affluent area, I’d match many of our public high schools against prep schools. CEOs of Fortune 100 companies send their kids to the local public high schools because the schools are so good. Unlike CA, Illinois has lower state taxes, but higher property taxes, which mostly go to the schools. The high schools on the north shore of Chicago spend $5,000 or more per student than Beverly Hills High (based on informal research I did a couple of years ago). Prep schools may be an advantage getting into college for people whose local high schools are weak, but in many places, the local high schools are outstanding. Even the outstanding high schools may not have 100% of their graduates going to 4-year colleges, but that’s because they have to take all local students, whether college material or not. But, for the students who are top-college material, the courses offered and the academic difficulty rival prep schools. I’m not criticizing prep schools–not all all. But, depending on where a student lives, the local high school may offer an equal or better opportunity. It’s not necessarily choosing “second-best” to go to a local high school.</p>

<p>Two anecdotes that may mean nothing:</p>

<p>–The CEO (he might have retired by now) of the large, prestigious consulting firm where I used to work went to the University of Wisconsin.</p>

<p>–I have met exactly two Harvard business school grads, and I can’t say I found them any more talented or interesting than any of the other very intelligent people I worked with.</p>

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<p>That’s interesting, otheretc. I believe that not all high schoolers should go to a prep school, and that some are better served in public school or a private day school, but it still surprises me that you could match “many” public schools in your areas with prep schools (by that you mean Exeter or Andover?). Out of curiosity really - care to name a few of the many and let me compare? Trust me I won’t compare college placement records.</p>

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<p>Sup noobs.</p>

<p>I’m sorry, that was rude.</p>

<p>Good evening, ladies and gents.</p>

<p>This thread is pretty bananacrazy. I think it needs my two-cents. Here it goes:</p>

<p>I go to Andover. Yes, it is hard. Yes, I am surrounded by kids who basically dedicate their high school lives to getting into Harvard-Princeton-Yale-blah-blah-blah. Yes, some kids may seem successful and have great grades, but are miserable on the inside, and will regret missing so many social opportunities in the prime of their young lives in order to get into a slightly better college. I bet the same goes for Exeter. Except maybe worse. Probably because we beat them in sports.</p>

<p>Regardless, high school can be hard, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the experience. Don’t take yourself too seriously. That’s where too many people falter. Fortunately, I can step things up when necessary. I’m in my Junior year, and I admit, I’ve screwed around more than I should have this year. Strangely, my grades have been very high in the last two terms. I know that I could have done better, but I’m satisfied. I may have messed around and possibly not done as well as I could have, but I had tons of fun, got lots of sleep, and basically never worried. That’s probably why I feel good at my school. I hardly ever worry. I don’t take myself too seriously. I try hard in class, I usually do my homework, but I almost never approach either of these with the obsession and I-better-succeed-or-I-wont-get-into-college attitude. Right now my average is about a 91-92. I’m satisfied with it. The thing about Andover and Exeter is that a 92 average is… well, average. Sure, it’ll put you in the top half of your class, but pretty soon you’ll see the top third and top quarter jumping up to 95 and 96 averages. And, of course, extracurriculars play an important role. I am a tri-varsity athlete, and sometimes it ****es me off because half of the kids in my grade have a ton of free time after class to study because they don’t have sports… or at least serious sports. At this moment, as a runner, I’m a solid member of the varsity team yet not quite good enough to be recruited. Right now, I don’t plan on using running as a means of getting into college. I will train and work my ass off this summer to secure my varsity position (Our cross country team might be the best in our school’s history next year) and improve as a runner. If I work hard enough, college running might be an option.</p>

<p>At the end of the day, you need to balance being serious and enjoying yourself. Work hard, but don’t work so hard that you’re miserable. This is academically speaking, of course. When it comes to athletics, sometimes you need to work so hard that it hurts. In my case, I need to run hard and fast enough that pain become an afterthought and my legs and core strengthen.</p>

<p>College is college. I’m not going to apply to Harvard, Princeton, or Yale. More than half of my class of 300 students apply to these schools, so, purely statistically speaking, I’m competing under ridiculous conditions. Right now I’m interested in Duke, which is a great school and a realistic decision for me as a prospective undergraduate. College is college. In this modern age, Student Y can get straight A+'s at high school and go to Harvard. Student Z can get some A’s and B’s and go to Duke, or Cornell, or Dickinson, or Bucknell. In the end, Student Y and Z will probably go to the same grad school, and perform at the same level. They’ll apply for the same job. Will the four years of missed social opportunities for Student Y pay off and give him or her that much of an advantage?</p>

<p>At that, I bid you goodnight.</p>

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<p>Thanks for that bit of sanity, CBatch.</p>

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<p>Great post, CBatch. If you don’t mind, could you PM me with some of your times? I’m a runner as well, and I’d like to know what is considered to be a “solid” runner in prep schools such as Andover.</p>

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<p>The top times for the boys tend to be between about 16:15 and 17:30. For the girls, the top times tend to be between 20:00 and 21:30.</p>

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<p>Mainer is spot on. This 2009 season our boys ran in the mid 16’s to low 17’s for 5k times. Every single one of us is returning as a senior next year. Right now, I’m hoping that we’ll have two or three guys under 16:00. Another two or three in the mid to high 16s and one or two in the low 17s. If so, our team will be unstoppable. It’s kind of unfair, actually.</p>