Prep School to Ivy League

Applying to College
1

This is my first post on the college admissions community. I currently go to a first tier prep school where about one quarter of its student body head to Ivy League schools. I understand that a large percentage of these students are legacies and recruits which I am not a part of. I have a few questions about the next fews years in prep school and how to prepare for college admissions. Thank you in advance for making this process more clear.

  1. Does going to prep school hurt the chances of getting into top tiered colleges?
  2. Any tips to excel academically in a highly competitive boarding prep school?
  3. What level of involvement should I have for extracurriculars that I have passion in?
2

Talk to your very experienced GC. It’s part of what you pay for at a prep school.

3

A first tier prep school will certainly help you get into top ranked colleges.

4

If I may suggest this: you should perhaps get an understanding of how unique your situation is. You’re in a school with probably the one percent of the one percent – and you seem to not even realize it.

You say 1/4 of your school ends up at one of the eight Ivies. You realize that your school alone probably sends more kids than most states in the USA, right? I’m not trying to be harsh but you have a gift – please understand it for what it is. Good luck w/your college pursuit.

5

No prep school – not even Andover or Exeter – serves as feeder institution to the Ivy League.

I understand why some people may regard this statement as counter-intuitive. After all, if students have been admitted to Andover or Exeter, shouldn’t they also get accepted to Harvard and Yale?

The answer, unfortunately, is no.

The reasons why, in my view, principally boil down to two factors. First, being admitted to a top college is much tougher than getting accepted to an elite prep school since the college applicant pool is considerably larger and better qualified, on a relative basis, than the prep school applicant pool is.

The second factor involves class rank. Take the example of John and Jane, two “unhooked” students with equally outstanding test scores, essays, recommendations, etc. John is the valedictorian of a public high school while Jane is just as academically gifted but graduates in the top 50 percent of her class at Andover.

In a fair world, college admission officers might treat John and Jane equally because Jane competed against top students from throughout the world at Andover whereas John did not. In the real world, however, John’s stellar class rank makes him a more desirable candidate than Jane.

Hence, John gets accepted to a top-ten college whereas Jane attends a top-50 university instead. John is justifiably elated, but Jane is sorely disappointed. Had she remained at her public high, she might have graduated at the top of her class and ended up at her dream college.

You might ask, “Don’t a disproportionately high percentage of top students from elite prep schools matriculate to the Ivy League?” They do, but the student who graduates at the 30th percentile of his Exeter class might have matriculated to Columbia instead of Cornell had he graduated in the top 1 percent of his public high school.

As a general rule, therefore, attending prep school hurts more people than it helps in the college admission process. That’s why people should primarily value prep school as a good in itself, not as an instrumental means to achieve Ivy League admission.

6

There is no prep school I am aware of that sends 25% of its grads to those 8 schools.

7

He might mean accepted to rather than attending, since some might actually have chosen places like Stanford or Chicago or highly tanked LACs. I just took a quick look at the latest from D’s high school [private but not a fancy prep school] and 18% of the seniors actually matriculated at Ivies, which I thought was rather astounding. Add in a few who chose another top school, and the 25% figure does not seem impossible/implausible to me.

8

According to this article, some schools have more than 30%.

https://www.thestreet.com/story/13325695/1/top-us-private-schools-with-the-most-graduates-getting-into-ivy-league-universities.html

9

@coolweather: That’s acceptance, as opposed to “head’[ing] to” (in OP’s parlance), but still very helpful. For comparison purposes, D’s school was well over 25% in acceptances on that list, so I’m willing to accept his/her 25% figure. Perhaps we can turn to the other questions that were asked.

10

I think it’s probably unknown and unknowable whether it hurts your chances at an ivy league school. 25% to the Ivies is extraordinary. Search on the previous threads on this topic and you’ll see repeated claims that a lot of your fellow students will be hooked in some way(development admit, legacy, urm, athlete, celebrity/political connections). Maybe some other posters have a better sense of how common that really is, but I’m sure it inflates that 25% number some. You might consider a wider net for colleges. Unless you want to work in a super-competitive field, such as private equity or ibanking, almost any of the top 20-30 schools can provide a fine education and lead to an excellent career.

11

My graduating class was 29% matriculating, so I’m inclined to believe it.

Anyway, back to the question. @“Erin’s Dad” is absolutely correct. The College Counseling office at your school is first rate; they should be your go-to source, although you are still a bit early in your HS career to inundate them with a thousand questions. For my viewpoint on specific questions.

No, but on the flip side, it does not help solely because you go to school there. What any prep school will do is give you the skills needed to present yourself as a viable applicant.

For starters, accept the fact that you will not get a 4.0, in all likelihood. 95% of the graduates at your school graduate with less than a perfect GPA, and that’s fine. Believe it or not, 50% of the class will be in the bottom half. :slight_smile:

Secondly, you need to learn time management quickly. The school will not set you up to fail, but they will not coddle you either. Use your unstructured time, both at night, and during the day, wisely. Stay off the phone, put away the games, etc.

Third, if you find yourself struggle, ask for help from your teacher and counselor; that’s what they are there for.

I don’t understand your question, and I don’t want to misinterpret it. If you have a passion for an EC, dive in. Be aware that you can show leadership without having a leadership position. So president of a slew of clubs, by itself, is not really that impressive.

For now, though, focus on your studies and your EC’s. Do not focus on college, and certainly do not focus on solely the Ivy League. You will go to a good college. Good luck.

12

Thank you all for your help @skieurope @roethlisburger @AboutTheSame @T26E4 @“Erin’s Dad”

13

Wow, I stand corrected. There is usually a disconnect between admit and matriculation numbers (for example Harvard-Westlake has a 30% admit and 18% Ivy matriculate rate). When this topic gets discussed in the media I always wonder if they are doing the common thing of mixing all elites into the “Ivy” moniker, therefore raising the numbers.

14

As to OPs questions I have some first hand experience with this.

  1. No. But you get a lot of experience that will help you excel in college. I think that a top high school education actually makes a difference in later grad/professional school admission and performance more than college.
  2. I emphatically second the above advice to wean yourself as much as possible from your iPhone during the school day and when studying. Constantly jolting your attention away from the subject hurts your learning, engagement, abstract thought, and retention. Between classes don’t be like most students and drift into another world of games. Get your notes out and start preparing yourself for the matter at hand.
  3. Do ECs that truly interest you. Don’t just be student council VP because it will “look good.” Some adcoms yawn at these ready-made activities and pay more attention to what you do that makes you who you are.
15

I too would say to talk to your GC to see what the kids who did get into the Ivies have done for EC’s. Observe the juniors and seniors and see what they do. The whole point of going to an expensive private prep school is to get into a top tier school - the Ivies. It sounds like your in a great position for entrance into the Ivies. Good luck.

16

Hello - there is lots of evidence to suggest that going to a top prep school can actually hurt your chances of admission to an elite university (google Espenshade paper for more details). However if you graduate in the top 1-2% of your prep school class, you will be in excellent shape to go almost anywhere.

The structure of these prep schools are setup to help students excel and matriculate at top colleges. Just go have a visit with your college counselling office. Or better yet, speak to some current seniors and see what they recommend.

17

“The whole point of going to an expensive private prep school is to get into a top tier school - the Ivies.”

No, not really or at least it shouldn’t be. The quality of the private school education and fostering a love of learning and critical thinking skills in a supportive atmosphere with more diversity and better arts programs than our public school is the reason we chose that route.

18

I’m with @doschicos on this one. If you think this is the whole point of sending a kid to prep school, then I hate to break it to you - it’s not. HS’s do not, in general, get a kid admitted to a top-tier college. The kid gets himself/herself admitted. As I mentioned upthread, a prep school will give the applicant the tools, but the school will not do all the work.

But hey, if any parent wants to spend 200K+ to send a kid to a prep school and try to disprove my statement, be my guest. :slight_smile:

19

It would be helpful if you linked to, or at least gave the title of the paper you’re referencing.

20

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you New York’s Trinity School, where over the past five years 39% of the graduates have matriculated at an Ivy League institution: http://www.trinityschoolnyc.org/page/Our-Program/College-Counseling/Trinity-School-Matriculation. If I add Stanford and MIT, the number rises to 42%. Several other prep schools in Manhattan are comparable, e.g., Brearley, Chapin, Collegiate, Dalton and Horace Mann.

Here’s the issue, though: I would bet that at least half of those Ivy-League-matriculating kids were legacies at the schools where they ended up, and that a substantial majority of those legacies are the children of wealthy parents with high-paying Manhattan jobs, who have been very generous to their alma mater and remain well-connected there. And who, because they’re family-oriented and responsible as well as wealthy, have provided their children with the support, enrichment and coaching that enables them to put together a compelling college application. I have no doubt that most of these kids are very smart, motivated and capable - that they belong at the schools they got into and will excel there, as well as later in life - but they were born on third base. These aren’t legacies that are the children of middle-class professionals from suburbia, they’re America’s rising ruling class, and they and their parents know how to play this game.

If you go to one of these prep schools, you’re going to get a terrific education, with great teachers, small classes, broad academic offerings (think ancient Greek) and sports opportunities (like squash), and you’ll be very well prepared to excel in college. With experienced and plugged-in guidance counselors to help you through the process, you’ll be in pole position to get into a top-20 school. Ironically, though, each college will compare you to your classmates who are legacies there and, if they’re rich, connected legacies, they’ll have an advantage over you, all things equal. There are only so many kids a college will accept from any one school, so although you’re going to have a very good chance to get into a top-20 school and excel there, it may be harder than you thought to crack the tippy-tops.