Prep Schools Slipping?

Prep School Admissions
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<p>The line that "you'll have a better chance at an Ivy if you stay home and go to your local public school" strikes me as a safe thing for a c.c. to say - there's no possible way to test that statement yet it works to deflate the expectations of the student and parents. And does anyone know if the admissions offices at elite b.s. are using the line, or does it only come out of the college counseling office (when it's too late to act on the 'advice').</p>

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<p>Does anyone know how the elite public High Schools are doing in terms of their ivy matriculation? Because I hear schools like Stuyvesant/Dalton/Thomas Jefferson High/etc. also have very good college matriculations. Is there ivy percentage also going down?</p>

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<p>This is probably repetetive of what others said, but I don't know; I didn't read any of them, lol. I don't think prep school STANDARDS are slipping, or that they're accepting dumber kids. In fact, I think it's better, because only a few decades ago, many were accepted on account on their money and legacy. Furthermore, college is getting more competetive than ever. The schools that used to be feeder schools for Ivies are no longer. Ivies are looking for diversity. No wonder prep school Ivy acceptance rates are slipping.</p>

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<p>I think we all can agree that what has not slipped is the education you recieve at bs. No matter where you end up, imo you will have a very nice foundation to work with</p>

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<p>Dalton is private (fyi), and it does quite well in terms of college admission for its seniors. The elite publics generally do not publish their matriculation information to prospective students, parents, etc., so it's kind of difficult to tell. Increasingly though, Facebook (the website for college students) is a good place to get some indication of where students are going after they graduate. But, in general, the great thing about the elite publics (Thomas Jefferson High, Governor's, Bronx Science, Brooklyn Tech, Townsend Harris, Whitney High SChool, Illinois Math and Science Academy, Lowell High School, North Carolina Math and Science, Hunter College High School, Scarsdale High School, etc.) is that they are FREE and the quality of education is much better than the typical public school (but doesn't really compare to a place like Milton Academy or St. Paul's School). However, the students are a competitive, accomplished, and talented bunch, and that's what makes them so strong. The difference between the elite publics and boarding schools is that elite publics tend not to really evaluate the whole person in admissions but rather typically rely often on test scores ONLY so that impacts what kind of students the elite publics get (I think it negative way). Regardless though, if you do well at an elite public or a top private school you will have many great college options.</p>

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<p>i'd just like to add that the class of 2002 was a bit different than other classes in choosing between harvard/yale. for 2002, 18 were accepted to yale (if my numbers are correct), and 17 matriculated. some of those 18 must have also gotten into harvard, but turned it down.</p>

<p>the reason why the yale/harvard numbers have changed from 2002 to 2006 is because an alarming number of students chose yale over harvard.</p>

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<p>you also have to remember that 2006 was the peak of the baby boom classes so more students were going to high school, finishing, and going to college. I think another thing is that less students are choosing to apply to ivy league schools. some are applying to amazing liberal arts colleges are just as happy. heck ... some aren't even choosing the top ECs. A lot of prep school counselors aren't as focused on the name brand of the college. In fact, our cc uses the phrase "college is a match to be made not a prize to be won" It's a good philosphy. I don't think prep schools are slipping just because they sent 2 less kids to harvard this year than 4 years ago. I think it actually shows that the school's are giving a more fulfilling life education because more kids are ivies aren't the only answer.
make sense?</p>

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<p>I'm pretty sure that it's actually 2010 that will be the largest graduating class in the United States (for a while), but does anyone have a link to federal government statistics on this? And since both prep schools and Ivy League colleges have applicants from all over the world, it's not only United States demographic trends, but worldwide trends, that influence which graduation year will be the most competitive for getting into college. </p>

<p>But I fully agree that it's more important to get into a fitting college than into the most desired college.</p>

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<p>You can view the pdf file that gives stats on high school graduates. It looks like the peak year is 2009 with 2010 a close second. <a href="http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2002030%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2002030&lt;/a> I don't know where to get international projections.</p>

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<p>Thanks, Burb Parent, for reminding me that the key government document series about such issues is the Projections of Education Statistics series. It's noteworthy that private school graduation trends are not in lock-step with public school graduation trends.</p>

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<p>hmmm.. .really I though it was hs 2006 and college 2010 was where it peaked then it kind of leveled out until hs 2009 college 2013. oh well besides the number of graduates. I still think that most of my most has a point. srry about that</p>

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<p><<but, in="" general,="" the="" great="" thing="" about="" elite="" publics="" (thomas="" jefferson="" high,="" governor's,="" bronx="" science,="" brooklyn="" tech,="" townsend="" harris,="" whitney="" high="" school,="" illinois="" math="" and="" science="" academy,="" lowell="" north="" carolina="" hunter="" college="" scarsdale="" etc.)="" is="" that="" they="" are="" free="" quality="" of="" education="" much="" better="" than="" typical="" public="" school="" (but="" doesn't="" really="" compare="" to="" a="" place="" like="" milton="" academy="" or="" st.="" paul's="" school).="">></but,></p>

<p>I disagree with that. I went to Exeter and two of my kids go to TJHSST and the difference between the quality of education between them is pretty minor. I have a close friend from my class whose kids go to Hunter and he feels the same way. The Harkness system was great but it ain't worth $38 grand a year. (Exeter does have an amazing new science building, and a wonderful physical plant generally, and I wish my kids had access to something like it. So I've stopped giving money to PEA, which obviously doesn't need it, and am giving my dollars to TJ instead.)</p>

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<p>
[quote]
I went to Exeter and two of my kids go to TJHSST and the difference between the quality of education between them is pretty minor.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>With all due respect, Thomas Jefferson hardly qualifies as your typical "public" school - it's one of the TOP publics (heck top high schools - period) in the US.</p>

<p>*[EDIT: Here are some quick and fast highlights from Wiki:</p>

<p>TJHSST has fielded more National Merit Semifinalists than any other high school in America for most of the 1990s and 2000s. From 2000 to 2005, it fielded more USAMO qualifiers than any other high school in America and has a distinguished history of U.S. Physics Olympiad Team members and medal winners.</p>

<p>TJHSST was recently ranked as the top public high school in the nation by PrepReview. TJHSST also has the highest average SAT score among American high schools. Each year, over a quarter of its graduating class accepts admission to the University of Virginia. Other graduates attend Ivy League schools and high-ranking public schools across the nation.</p>

<p>For schools with more than 1,000 students, TJHSST was cited as having the highest-performing AP Calculus BC, AP Chemistry, AP French Language, AP French Literature, AP Government and Politics: U.S., and AP U.S. History courses among all schools worldwide in its size range. No school had a greater proportion of its student body succeed in these subjects.*</p>

<p>If your S or D is lucky enough to go to a HS of that caliber - it's hard to make a compelling case for switching to a prep school (esp. if money is an issue).</p>

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<p>Ivygrad -</p>

<p>You are right, of course. I was objecting only to the notion that Milton Academy offers a better education than TJ. I went to PEA from a small town in Kentucky, and I'm very glad my parents found a way to send me to boarding school.</p>