<p>Yup, when my son got a couple of B's in elementary school (they actually gave letter grades!) with comments that he was not doing his best we called to discuss the report card with the teacher we were told over and over "but it's a good report card." We kept saying "but it's not his potential, he should not be getting B's.." They would reply "It's a good report card..."</p>
<p>We have a fun thing at our school where after the kids take a standardized test and get their scores, they and there parents are supposed to come up with a plan to improve the scores next time. (What are the teachers for, I wonder. And how would the parents be able to make this plan? Oh well.) The only problem was my D had gotten the top score. So what was our plan supposed to look like? No excuses, make a plan.</p>
<p>Next semester, they retake the test. D does actually slightly worse (gets one wrong or something.) The school automatically puts all kids with declining scores into remedial math. She needs to spend two days getting herself out of that, showing that in fact she is in a class two years ahead of the rest of her grade.</p>
<p>Maybe she would be happier watching TV, I really don't know.</p>
<p>I come with the perspective of a mother who has two kids at opposite ends of the spectrum (and what a learning experience it has been). My oldest has gone to a small private school for gifted kids since kindegarten, while my youngest has a learning disability, and is a special ed kid in the inclusion class at our local public school. The No Child Left Behind policy is fantastic for our little guy -- he gets so much support from the public school system and I couldn't be happier. In his classes, they expect the better students to help the challenged students -- so my son benefits. But this type of learning method really isn't fair to stong academic kids. That's not to say that some public schools aren't excellent, but in our district, the challenged students benefit most while students at the top of the spectrum get the least.</p>
<p>As to the original topic, I have always been amazed at the kids {and especially parents}at bs or top private day that were sure they would have been admitted to hyp if they had just stayed at a public.</p>
<p>PRDD
First you can Columbia add to that list. Second yes he is rounding the turn of the end of his Soph year.
As far as the numbers go, I was generous by saying only 3x as likely when the numbers say closer to 4x leaving a margin for error.
I only compared MDX to the PHS presented(by PD) assuming that any PHS that sends 10 kids to the Ivy's is a top PHS ,therefor narrowing the gap between the quality of education.
As far a the MDX students being in the top 5% at their local HS look at the comments by Linda S,Hsmomstef,Keylyme,and Grejuni.
Getting into an Ivy is far from a crap shoot.I guess it depends on who's rolling the dice.</p>
<p>"As to the original topic, I have always been amazed at the kids {and especially parents}at bs or top private day that were sure they would have been admitted to hyp if they had just stayed at a public."</p>
<p>For many of us who just finished going through the BS application process I think we have a pretty good ideas of how our child stacks up to other students in our school district. </p>
<p>And just to clarify -- I don't think my son 'would' get into an ivy, just that he has the same potential as other top students. It is a combination of the student's hard work over the high school years and how that work is presented in a college application that will determine whether that child actually gets an admit to HYPS.</p>
<p>I think just the opposite; my son could have stayed at his local school and been valedictorian and still not gained admittance to an Ivy (well maybe and that would just be because of his sport). Our local school really has a very poor profile.</p>
<p>keylyme. True. But if he had been valedictorian, a star trumpet player, an actor and involved with the local red cross and a deligate at their national leadership conferance, he would.</p>
<p>If he goes to Exeter and is valedictorian and does nothing else, his chances while better than at local HS, would not guarantee him entrance.</p>
<p>S.Martin - don't mean to hijack this thread, so it will be my last post, but are you saying that he's just finishing his sophmore year at Middlesex and has already been admitted to Harvard, Penn, Columbia, etc. I've heard of early decision - just not that early.:)</p>
<p>As for the competativeness of Ivies - I've been doing alumni interviewing for Penn for the last couple of years so I have some firsthand knowledge of the accomplishments of those kids applying (including many who are rejected) and I will tell you they are very impressive.</p>
<p>But if you've managed to get your kid into Harvard, Columbia, Penn, etc. as a sophmore you clearly know something I do not - so I suppose I'll have to defer to you.:)</p>
<p>Having just finished Dan Golden's book The Price of Admission, apparently it's going to take a minimum six-figure gift to get your child into an ivy league school. Arguably you'd be better off saving the tuition and spending it on the school. You can't deduct tuition but you can deduct the gift.</p>
<p>Say what? How can a sophmore have their pick of schools? Did he discover cold fusion? Win Olympic gold (which by the way doesn't always work)? At least be honest with us, S.Martin Up. To be a shoo-in, I'd say 7 figures, not six, for the donation, and some really fabulous story.</p>
<p>Superstar basketball player/lax/crew??? I didn't know Ivies offered admission that early, but the big univesities do take verbal commitments from sophomores if you are an amazing athlete.
Don't jinx yourself/your child smartin, a lot can happen in the next year or two.
What I meant by "crap shoot" is the sheer number of super-qualified candidates that these schools have to turn away.</p>
<p>I do agree that if you to a bs where everyone is trying to get into an Ivy, it can be more competitive than your local public (again, depends on the quality of the local public). In our area, it is difficult to be the "star" anything as we are rural and lack the kinds of resources that kids really need to excel in any particular area (unless, like me, you are willing to drive your children over an hour each way to do their activity at a club, rather than just school, level). However, if you go to a good bs where not so many try for the Ivies, I do believe your chances increase substantially.</p>
<p>I began investigating prep schools after coming to the conclusion that admission to competitive colleges is now inscrutable. Our local high school does not have the admissions record at competitive colleges it should, given its demographics. I do think that it has earned its record, however, when I look at its course catalog, and speak to parents of current high school students. The state exams have become the proof of academic excellence, even though more than 90% of students pass them on the first try. </p>
<p>Bright students are pushed into extracurriculars, as that is perceived as the area in which they can make themselves stand out. As I have interviewed for my alma mater, I believe this is a misconception. The academic rigor of the high school, and the applicant's academic performance is most important, at least if the applicant is caucasian, from affluent parents, and attends a "good" suburban school. Standardized test scores are also important, but for a middle class applicant, the committee will assume that all relevant coaching has been purchased.</p>
<p>There are no honors classes in the humanities. The administration claims heterogeneous grouping in this area allows students to mix. Of course, this also decreases the relative value of humanities grades, so a verbal child's class rank will be depressed, knocking him out of contention for the top schools, which do look at class rank. </p>
<p>I also have the impression that students are encouraged to fit themselves into cliques. Indeed, the day's schedule doesn't permit a student to be musical and athletic, or artistic and dramatic, let alone athletic and dramatic. I suspect that this is intentional, as it works too perfectly. </p>
<p>I would like my children to be challenged academically, and to have the chance to try out new things, without being pigeonholed into obsessively refining the skills they had at 8. In effect, I'm not worrying about college admissions, as I think that the very ways in which our local high school tries to groom students for the college admissions race are unhealthy.</p>
<p>Another thing to remember, as has been said, (but maybe not enough) is that skills such as writing are not necessarily properly taught, even in some of the so called top public schools, let alone at more of the run of the mill schools. The writing course required for freshmen at many colleges is a rude awakening to many honor students, valedictorians included. Someone could have been the tops at his or her PS, and everyone was so impressed, etc.., But, the private and boarding schools may have done the better job. Good writing skills are important for success in most fields, and it is hard to play catch up.</p>
<p>Lack of a focused writing curriculum and writing skills in general is among the core reasons why my D is going to BS next year rather than staying 3 more years at our local public high school.</p>
<p>My son was shocked at how many kids at his Ivy are terrible writers, despite very high SAT scores. One thing my kids got from their lifetime of private schooling is that they are both incredible writers. It has served them both extremely well. At WildChild's final boarding school, a young man was doing a PG year (to prepare for D1 football and/or basketball). He graduated from an elite day prep school in the Southwest. The boarding school had to do a lot of remedial work with the kid on his writing. That surprised me.</p>
<p>I must agree about the writing skills issue. I was a top student at good suburban high school, excellent SATs, etc. Then, my freshmen English class at an Ivy, a big wake-up call! I realized that while I may have been smart enough, my good public high school had not emphasized writing anywhere near the level that it should have.</p>
<p>Prdd </p>
<p>My only reason for responding to this thread was to dismiss the notion that attending BS reduces your chances of going to an Ivy I firmly believe the my S would not have the opportunities to attend any of the Ivy's if it where not for attendance at his BS.
I stand by my statements, they are true. I do not wish to embellish on this out of respect for my sons privacy.</p>
<p>My son would not be at his Ivy if he had not attended his boarding school.</p>