Are there colleges that favor kids from prep schools? My daughter is at a college revisit day and was commenting that a large number of kids there are from a prep school.
No, but there are colleges that prep school kids favor!
Certain prep schools tend to be feeders for colleges that have a good relationship with the school and know the type of students they have. So if Prep School A tends to send successful students, the college knows that and tends to want to accept more kids like that from that school. We are in So California, and there are several top prep schools here that consistently send groups of kids to top colleges.
While it is true that colleges are familiar with the top prep schools, attending them does NOT confer an admissions advantage. Feel free to ask any college admissions officer or prep school college counselor.
Kids from those prep schools are more likely to apply to top colleges (they can afford them, for starters) and are also more likely to have relatives who are alums. That’s why you see those colleges on the matriculation lists.
Prep schools do, however, help kids succeed once they arrive at college. Boarding students are used to living away from home, know how to manage their time well, are strong writers, and have a solid academic foundation.
While I don’t think it rises to the level of “feeder” schools or “pipelines”, and maybe it is just Naviance having the same effect on where people apply to it does everywhere else, but the various school’s matriculation lists show a higher number of competitive private colleges than in the general population. Where it gets interesting is not necessarily the top Ivy League schools, but in LACs that are down the “prestige” list a notch or two. Prep school college counselors know which schools provide a great fits for students, and once parents are disabused of the notion that only Ivy Leagues matter, are fantastic options. .
Think about it: You have a self-selected pool of applicants that are really super qualified and have shown a penchant for private schools. That in and of itself will drive matriculation numbers at “elite” schools. On top of it, it makes sense that stem-y colleges likes stem-y high schools, or small intimate colleges like small intimate high schools. And vice versa. But the bigger factor is that universities shoot for a diverse student body, so you can’t expect them to pick more than a handful of kids from a particular school any given year. And yes, legacies, urm, athletes, etc. influence matriculation. Any individual kid’s results will be a function of fit far more than the name of their high school.
It is just human nature (and part of the job) for a college counselor to encourage kids to apply to schools they know their students thrive at, and it is human nature that a college AO would be aware of high schools whose kids do well at their college. Prep school college counselors travel to colleges, and vice versa, for a reason. It doesn’t seem right to me to pretend that the college counseling departments aren’t a reason why people send their kids to college prep schools. Prep schools invest in robust college counseling departments because they give parents what they want – direction on what colleges are best for their kids, and preparation for getting their kids the best shot for admissions. Expect knowledgeable counselors to steer multiple kids to apply to favorite colleges they love for fit reasons. That might show up as slightly elevated admissions numbers for one college or another. Just don’t expect a pipeline effect.
Also, can’t say this enough – picking a high school based on the idea that it is a ticket to an elite college is a really bad idea. IMO, high school is a more formative period in life than college. If you have the luxury of picking high schools, pick a high school for what it will do for your child NOW, not on speculation on college admissions four years down the road. You may have a very different kid at the end of high school than you think you have.