Prep schools are easy to succeed at? what?

<p>So when I went to Hanover High (public school in NH where Dartmouth is), it seemed that a lot of the prep schools in the area were destinations of kids at Hanover with rich parents who were seriously struggling in school. It was very surprising. Some of the famous schools like Hotchkiss, Deerfield, Proctor, KUA, Holderness, etc were where these kids would go--and succeed. The only two schools that really attracted successful students, (enough to leave public school) were Andover and Exeter. It always struck me as a little surprising, so do any kids who went to private school and public school feel like giving me a little info on how much more/less difficult it was to get good grades after they made the transition?</p>

<p>Loads of kids from my school go to schools like AESDCH every year (Andover, Exeter, St. Paul's, Deerfield, Choate, and Hotchkiss) and their grades do slip, even after attending a private school in an affluent area. A few kids who got straight-As each quarter received Cs when they transitioned to Exeter, though I assumed they pulled their GPA up a little, as the beginning semester or quarter of your freshman year (or entering year) is bound to be the most difficult, workload-wise.</p>

<p>When I made the transition from private to public school. The marking scheme was totally different. It really easy for me to get over 90 in non-IB classes (i.e. Music, PE, Business Tech), compared to private school, where I actually have to work hard to get the 90.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.exeter.edu/documents/Profile_2006_final.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.exeter.edu/documents/Profile_2006_final.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>most kids get B's. a lot get A averges. very, very few get a C or lower (5.4%). (the classes aren't weighted)... idk, i had much more respect for the rigor before i saw this. i still think it's hard and you need to work your ass off, but idk..</p>

<p>i also thought that tabor was a rich kid haven until i saw their scale/chart, which was a bit more tough in terms of number of c's (more c's and less a's).</p>

<p>Yeah right! You will work like never before and I came from a super hard NYC private school.</p>

<p>I think you focus a bit much on the "ease" of grading. </p>

<p>I think you perhaps miss that these students probably achieve more to get the grades at these prep schools.</p>

<p>There are as many reasons for improvement as there are kids. Some kids struggle in the unstructured environment of public schools and benefit when their parents find a structured environment at a prep school. Some kids get lost in the largeness of the public school and perform better in a more personal, supportive atmosphere found at many prep schools. And yet others step it up under the more intense atmosphere at these top schools.</p>

<p>I don't think it is the schools making it easy, but rather the students achieving much more because they are in an environment better suited to them.</p>

<p>I had occasion to post on this a few years ago for St. Cl's is compared to a public high school the following grade distribution might be of interestto o.p.: 32% hh, 47 h, 16% hp 2% p. This roughly translates 32% 90+, 47% 80+, 16% 72+ which is not all that different from the distribution at a public high school. What is different is that the bottom end of the ability distribution simply is not at Saint Paul's. Therefore, for practical purposes the grade distribution means that you will likely have to work rather harder at St. Paul than at your local school but your grades should look about the same. </p>

<p>On a side note, I find it dispiriting that a discussion about the merits of a school should focus on grade distributions. What you go to prep school for is primarily about the life of the mind and friendship. Personally I think the subject standard at any of the high end preps are at or above AP in everything. These are not places for coddled slackers.</p>

<p>That is so interesting. Do you know the breakdown of what % get 100% HHs, 80%, etc.? Also curious to know if the distribution is the same for all forms.</p>

<p>not true..becoz the group of people u are comparing with are all preselected..unlike a group consisting mostly of average student</p>

<p>What is not true? From our experience with our (presumably equally able) children in the AP/IB stream of a rather good public system and their siblings at St. Paul's, the attained grades in senior year were about the same. The total educational experience of the Paulies however was incomparably superior and they certainly had to work a lot harder, took more courses and did a lot more music/sports. </p>

<p>I don't know what the grade distribution per grade is at St. Paul's. Since only the people who graduated summa cum laude had at least 80% HH in their final two years (and there typically are about 10 of these in any given year) I would assume that only 2 or 3 students have a clean slate of HH's in both their junior and senior year. I have never heard of anybody who had HH in everything all the way through forms III-VI</p>

<p>it was food for thought. i said that my opinion didn't change.</p>

<p>I am originally from NH, and am familiar with Hanover HS. Because of Hanover, NH is the location of Dartmouth College, it is an "education town", so to speak, and HHs is a very strong public HS. I am also familar with some of the boarding schools you mention... As far as the struggling kids going to boarding school...some kids that are struggling in the public school environment thrive in the prep school environment. Because you are living on campus the out of school distractions are not the same... also I found at prep school that it was more "cool" to do well academically than it was in many public school envionments. Also - there is a structure to many boarding schools... job program, familiy style meals, required sports and other extra curriculars, saturday classes, evening study hall... many people who struggle in a less structured environment, do very well when there is more structure and support. Different paths to success for different people. :)</p>

<p>Good points Kat. These kids could have been underachievers at their old school with high ability. Also, don't underestimate the small class size - nowhere to hide and you better not come unprepared when your class is 10-12 kids.</p>

<p>I honestly don't think you can compare GPAs of preps vs. publics. SPSstudent is right. The workload at top preps is far more than at the publics and teacher expectations much higher. Work judged to be an A at a tough public could easily be judged a B-/C at the top preps. In general, publics often teach to the "middle" where as top preps teach to the "highest" level expecting the student to be motivated enough to work harder. I know kids who transferred thinking they were top students but couldn't bear the workload or expectations and left.</p>

<p>Well, on top of the workload at a boarding school, the distractions also include the fact that you're around your peers 24/7(not to mention the required programs and such one finds themself at). However, teachers are available for daily student/teacher conferences more often than public school teachers, and students at prep schools tend to use the extra help more often than their public school peers.</p>