pre-prep private school admission advantage

Prep School Admissions
21

<p>I agree with creative1. So many kids from rural areas go through their little public schools thinking that they are indeed big fish, without realizing just how small their pond is. When the geographic diversity hook comes into play (along with their other merits) and they get into a competitive college, they are often utterly unprepared for what they face. </p>

<p>I also think that admissions is more difficult for these kids because they don't have access to the kinds of enrichment opportunities that philanthropic organizations make available in large cities. Simply put, kids in rural areas - no matter how brilliant they are -have a much harder time finding places to shine.</p>

22

<p>Has anyone read the book about Prep for Prep? I was thinking of buying it...</p>

23

<p>This is taken from the Choate student newspaper article about this year's admissions:</p>

<p>Another interesting trend is the increase in students applying from private schools. So far, 57% of applicants are from private schools and 43% from public. Mr. Diffley said that the applicant pool “feels like it’s creeping more toward private”: previous years have seen a public-to-private school ratio of about 53:47 percent.</p>

24

<p>When my kids applied to private schools from our public schools, they were definitely at a logistical disadvantage. Locally, many of the prep schools tend to accept kids more readily from the private "feeder" schools rather than taking a chance on public school kids. One local (very well known) prep never accepts kids from our public schools...after all, there are only so many day student slots. We were very naive first time around.</p>

25

<p>This is 2008 matriculation of my son's school, a typical junior boarding school with a lot of international students in MA:</p>

<p>8th grade graduates (36, the rest chose to stay for 9th):</p>

<p>back to public school or own country (6), local private day school (1),
Bancroft, Groton(3), Lawrence Academy(3),St. George's, Dana Hall(2), Lawrenceville(2), NHM, St. Mark's(4), Middlesex, SPS, Noble and Greenough, Belmont Hill, Taft, Kimball Union, DA.</p>

<p>9th grade graduates (52)</p>

<p>back to public school or own country (~6), </p>

<p>Bancroft, Groton, Lawrence Academy, St. George's(2), Lawrenceville(4), St. Mark's, SPS(2), DA(2), Westminter, Choate (2), Concoard Academy, Miss Porter's, Exeter, Andover, Loomis, Episcopal HS, Milton, Kent, Suffield (3).......etc.</p>

26

<p>My daughter is in a private middle school and we are paying much more than we can afford. One reason (of many) that I am looking at BS for her is the increased amount of financial aid available. So, I have often thought of sending her to public school for these three years so that we struggle less with finances. However, I do not believe she would be ready for BS at all without a rigorous private school "intro." My partner went straight from a BIA reservation school (incredibly lacking) to a private prep school and felt academically so very far behind. She spent her entire BS career, practically, playing catch up. It greatly affected her self esteem. I want my daughter to enter 9th grade confident and prepared. I just cannot see that coming from any of the public schools in our area.</p>