<p>So, there's probably a thread on this already, but I was wondering how prep school grades compare to public school grades? Since prep schools set such a high standard, would, say, a B- from Andover be an A+ at Public school? More importantly, how do college admissions officers view a string of B's and C's (from Andover) compared to a string of A's and A+'s from public school? I'm sure admissions teams are aware of the rigour at prep schools, but would they consider it in terms of making a decision?</p>
<p>I’m no expert, but I’d say it all depends. There are some Public Schools that are very good and rank within schools in the prep school world (I may be wrong). Public just means free of tuition. Some still have admissions process so you can’t just enroll, for example, Stuyvesant High School, here in NYC (and all the specialized hs for that matter)</p>
<p>At a lot of public universities, they primarily look at the numbers. They recalculate your GPA with the SAT/ACT scores. I remember there were two high school seniors at a private day school (good relationship with Harvard, notorious among top schools for their low grades that are assigned) who applied to UMich and Harvard, UMich as their fist choice. They were rejected from UMich but accepted at Harvard, and so they went to Harvard.</p>
<p>Not all schools will give the private school credentials, so there is only one answer: get good grades!</p>
<p>I would like to think that colleges will take into account how different schools weigh grades differently. I know at my school we like to consider a B and A at most public schools, but I’m not sure that colleges know that. I think if the school has a close relation with the college then they must have some kind of knowledge of the weighing difference, but that might not always be the case.</p>
<p>Hmm I see. A lot of boarding school grads choose private colleges, so does it matter if the state school knows the grading system/academic rigor of the BS?</p>
<p>You cannot lump all boarding schools together, and the same goes for public schools. Not all boarding schools are held in high academic regard. And some public schools have matriculation rates to top colleges that rival the best privates.</p>
<p>But to use your example of Andover, an Andover student with B’s will likely get into his/her first choice, whereas a straight A student from our local public school [relatively affluent area] would likely be rejected by any top 25 university. There’s a lot of variables, but that’s the general reality. An Andover/Exeter/Deerfield/SPS/etc. student has already undergone a vetting process to even gain entrance to those schools, and the colleges are aware of that.</p>
<p>At every college we’ve visited so far, the AO told us ‘…we know where the good high schools are…’. That’s part of their job.</p>
<p>Generalizing on this topic is not useful. To better understand how an AO will evaluate your high school transcript, start by looking at the high school profile produced by your high school’s guidance office.
The profile will list GPA deciles, AP classes offered, graduation requirements and recent matriculation results.</p>