<p>i don’t mean to generalise, but it’s been my experience, at least in my county with good magnet programs and a plethora of private prep schools, that the bright, wealthy kids go to prep schools, but the really, really smart ones (regardless of income) end up at the magnets.</p>
<p>i’ve also heard stories of some corrupt dealings in prep school admissions, but w/e.</p>
<p>Doworkson:</p>
<p>The IB program isn’t just completely focused on academics, it has the CAS component: creativity, action, service, which require 150 hours of community service. Many IBers I know go above and beyond that into the 500s and 600s, and most are well rounded in other aspects in addition to schoolwork. IBers are just as driven as prep school students except without the (huge!)monetary cost and the artificially stimulated seclusion.</p>
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<p>That basically sums it up, haha</p>
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<p>Or, if you don’t have helicopter parents, you already do all of that for yourself.</p>
<p>Some prep schools may offer financial aid, but you’re kidding me if you really think that living in a bubble of academic excellence and wealth (fort the most part) is actually some true representation of society. Try telling me that taken as an average, the student body at Exeter or Andover has the socioeconomic diversity of an urban public school in even a mid sized city.</p>
<p>Only a small percentage of the students, I infer (though i could be wrong) have the financial aid that qualifies them for being admitted to such schools. As amazinness has said, only those who have incomes less than 75000 get full rides. But what percentage of those lower to lower middle class kids can apply themselves to get such benefits? Only a very small margin, I would assume. And if the school gave out scholarships to maintain true “diversity” it would probably bankrupt itself. Stereotypes of the east coast private schools exist for a reason.
Onto your criticism of IB. Ib schools only cover regional areas, or at least mine does, and they draw many exceptional students, REGARDLESS of socioeconomic status, to that school.
Even if the IB school is in a wealthy area, a student from a comparatively poorer area can transfer in, without worrying about cost.
If prep schools have the best of everything, what good does it do to the students? They aren’t institutions at universities for groundbreaking scientific reasearch. High Schools aren’t meant to exist so you can feel superior to everyone else by owning the best of everything, but rather a place to learn and to grow, and Ib perfectly embodies that goal, by allowing a group of students truly interested in academics and the nature of knowledge to develop mentally as well as socially.</p>
<p>Thanks for all ur replies!!!
i’m international btw
in my part of the world, ib schools are in any case boarding schools…with under 10% students on fin aid
So, just comparing academics, which prepares students better for college?</p>
<p>If they were to take every single one of the most driven, naturally intelligent students from all over the US (and maybe even the world?!) regardless of their socioeconomic situation, then the school will undoubtly provide more than they can handle.
But this is obviously not the case, for its impossible to select the inherently subjective factors of intelligence and drive, so therefore the prep schools go on to the next best thing: “quality” of education and standardized test scores, even from such a premature stage of middle school. But this prematurity of the applicants also guarantees something else that makes it fundamentally different than college admissions (which I find a lot more fair): the level of predisposition and familial factors. If the kid was from a well-to-do family, then they would naturally get much better educational chances, leading to much better admission rates for the rich elite.</p>
<p>Lol some of these posts are laughable that it almost comes across as jealousy. It’s basically implying that prep school students live in a sheltered world and have nothing but wealth. And this theory that rich people have better educational experiences thus leading to higher admission rates for the rich sounds pretty vague to me. Lets put this straight- yes a prep boarding school is a pretty secluded ‘bubble’ on it’s own and yes there are more wealthy people than at your average public school but most of them are by no means, rich snobs who are there to be spoiled with world class facilities and have the ‘look at me i go to exeter/hotchkiss’ tag on. Prep school teaches you to be citizens of the world and to care for your communities. The graduates they produce are not only more academically able than their peers, they come out with a real intrinsic sense of social justice and understanding of the world. From what i’ve heard, you can’t even tell that the guy in your english class is the grandson of some billionaire. If you go into the school with an arrogant mentality you’d get put in line straight away. </p>
<p>A prep school can’t take ‘every single qualified intelligent person’ in the world just like a school with IB can’t. They seek qualified students from all over the world and usually, only the students that are up in that caliber seeks admission into these schools. Not because their parents are rich and force them to go. I hardly doubt that just because a school has the IB program that you’ll get a better overall experience than at a prep school. A public high school near my area has an IB program but the percentage of students doing it is extremely low and anyone who enroll can get in. At a prep school you go through a rigorous admission process which is highly selective and the school accepts not only qualified students but students who seem like a good fit to the school. That in itself brings together a group of people who are talented, motivated, and are there because they want to be there regardless of their socioeconomic background. If the school really wants you, they will do what it takes to get you there.</p>
<p>No jealousy here. I’m just saying that despite the diversity at these schools, they tend to be homogeneous in other ways. But if OP would have to go to a boarding school for IB anyway, then I’d tell them to take the prep school.</p>
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<p>Homogeneous? Every school has homogeneous aspects. Public school more than private. And can we please get this straight, private school students are NOT rich snobs. I go to a private school (I also went to a public school before) on the east coast, sure there are plenty of rich people, but they aren’t snobs. Actually, in private school, I see the most amazing people there. These people are people that take large amounts of hard courses, play 3 varsity sports, does community service in Africa, Equador, ect., leaders of clubs at the school, perform in the musicial, and throw house parties.</p>
<p>In short, if you want to prepare for college, go to a private school. If you’re souly relying on academics and the standard community service hours, go to an IB program.</p>
<p>IB is NOT more difficult… It’s some college level stuff spread out over two years. AP is more focused and a more realistic curriculum ex. what youd be doing in college</p>