<p>Generally, is it easier to get good gpa's/grades at public schools than private schools?
And from where do most boarding schools select their students from, private or public?</p>
<p>Question 1: I'd guess private -- as a rule with numerous exceptions -- but the question asks us to generalize.</p>
<p>Question 2: Um...both?</p>
<p>Boardingschoolsp:</p>
<p>Question 2. Look at the available materials from the schools you are interested in to find the answer. For example, the Exeter website states that 54% of their students come from public schools; 46% from private. Taft's website states 39% from private and 51% from public.</p>
<p>To answer the first question would be too wide a generalization for anyone to make. You really can't say. The range of private schools varies so greatly, as does the range of public schools, anything would be a total guess.
I think most kids tend to come from public, but it can be pretty close.</p>
<p>If we're looking at where most students come from...then I'd be surprised if most kids in boarding schools didn't come from public schools...for many reasons, but highest among them is the sheer weight of numbers.</p>
<p>As a percentage of the general population, there are far more kids in public schools than private schools. And I suspect that while the gap narrows, there are far more public school applicants than private school applicants.</p>
<p>If you consider that many kids in private school are continuing through in high school in either the same school or the private high school they typically feed into, many private school students simply aren't at the same critical decision point that many public school students are. Again, there are numerous exceptions to this, but the law of inertia is just one of those added factors that (I think) make a higher number (not %) of public school families take a hard look at boarding schools.</p>
<p>Question #1, however, is just fraught with all sorts of perils for anyone who attempts to give a definitive answer. There are magnet schools in the public system...and special needs private schools...and there are students who take challenging courses in either environment...and those who go for the creampuff courses in either environment...and schools, of either ilk, that have a philosophy of moving students up, others that nurture and coddle, and still others that are very rigid about maintaining a bell curve for grade distribution. And that's not even a beginning to an answer. That's a white flag of surrender.</p>
<p>I'd think that it'd be harder to get good grades at private schools because the classes would be more difficult, but it depends what type of private school you're talking about.</p>
<p>If you mean some mediocre religiously-affiliated school, then I think it would be pretty much equal in difficulty as a public school.</p>
<p>If you mean a school like Andover, then it would definitely be harder to get good grades.</p>
<h1>2. i believe that therea are more applicants from private then public b/c kids who go to private have the means to pay for school and boarding school probobly wont be a problem for them, howver on the other hand, public scholls kids MAY not have the money to pay for it and my just not apply even thoght they may be an exceptional student. again, just my opinion</h1>
<p>"I'd think that it'd be harder to get good grades at private schools because the classes would be more difficult, but it depends what type of private school you're talking about.</p>
<p>If you mean some mediocre religiously-affiliated school, then I think it would be pretty much equal in difficulty as a public school."</p>
<p>I think it's going to depend on alot of factors and you really can't answer this question as there are far too many exceptions. In the state I live some of our public schools offer as strong or better an education than privates because of the tax base. (mircosoft land) </p>
<p>I think it's going to depend on where you live and what you're looking for. Nationally this question can't be answered too accurately.</p>
<p>Expectations from private school and public school are drastically different with higher standards with almost everyone is trying hard. This might be generalization as mentioned above, but it's true.</p>
<p>boarding school*
not all private schools</p>
<p>um eell just because someone goes to a public school doesn't mean that they can't afford private/boarding school. It may simply mean that they don't think its worth it to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on an education when one is offered for free.</p>
<p>I think the are more kids from publics at most good BSs. As for the whole public v. private, there are lots of crummy privates, not just parochial schools which aren't really considered private (hello California!) and a lot of great publics (MA, NY's Westchester, CT, MW).</p>
<p>I can confirm several of the opinions expressed above from personal experience. Growing up I went to a parochial schools through high school that were not particularly strong (although I ultimately ended up with a law degree from Columbia so couldn't have been that bad I guess). My daughter currently goes to our local public school in Westchester County NY and it is a much stronger school than many private schools. We could afford to send her to private school (we are not applying for any FA for boarding school) but have not feel the need. The sky high property taxes we pay though to support the local public school could be viewed as equivalent of paying private school tuition (luckily I have three kids so it is a bargain when I spread the costs over all three). We are considering boarding school for her now although the academics are only part of the reason for boarding school (athletics, personality fit for her, general experience, maturity, etc.).</p>
<p>biffgnar hit it on the head with publics. If you live where property taxes are pretty high for schools and levies pass, you'll find good to great public schools. The community pays via taxes for a stronger school system. Likewise where you find communities that have low property taxes and fail levies, public schools usually aren't strong. </p>
<p>As the song goes "money changes everything...." If you live a community with a healthy (large) tax for schools, it will reflect in those schools.</p>
<p>omg!!!!! biffgnar!!!!! i live cross the bridge!!!!!! i go to wetchester often for the westchester mall and the chesseckae factory!!!!!!!! what a coincidence.</p>
<p>opiefrommayberry: that is most likely true.the higher the property tax its usually a better public school systerm but thats not always true. trust me, when we were moving we were goin to move to alpine,NJ. its considered as top 15 most expensive zip codes to live in in the US. but unfortunatly the scholl sucks so i cant live there =(. but usually its true. the more expensive the houses in the area the better the school disctrict.</p>
<p>I'll agree with the part about being well-funded being critical to having a decent public school. Without the money, students achieve despite their limited opportunities.</p>
<p>Money does help, but doesn't guarantee the best outcomes either individually or across the board. I remember while living in the Detroit area seeing stats published on standardized test scores and per-pupil spending and one of the top 3 districts spending-wise was just about average for the state. They had a great commercial property tax base (per pupil), but had socio-economic issues in their student population that schooling money couldn't overcome.</p>
<p>As to private schools producing better students, that too is a generality with plenty of exceptions. Where we live, more people with money enroll their children in private (both religious and other) schools, as the publics have very poor funding and are very over-crowded. Are their students better prepared because they went to those schools? Perhaps. These schools do have better facilities and less crowding. I think more of it has to do with the family support behind the student.</p>
<p>Ultimately it takes both school spending (either public or private) and family support to ensure the success of a student.</p>
<p>"that is most likely true.the higher the property tax its usually a better public school systerm but thats not always true. "</p>
<p>There is always an exception. However, more often than not, it's usually correct.</p>
<p>There was an interesting article the other day about kids who fail our state's mandated NCLB exams. It questioned if it was the instruction or just the lack of concern by some children. By lack of concern, it mentioned kids who are basically unprepared to even attempt to learn because it has no meaning to them. The desire isn't there. </p>
<p>It's kind of the old lead a horse to water saying.</p>
<p>The school system isn't going to matter if the student doesn't care. </p>
<p>Which is harder? A good student overcoming a weak teacher or a good teacher changing a weak student?</p>
<p>You cannot overlook the quality of teaching in any school, public or private. Public schools have compensated for decreases in state and federal funding by hiring higher numbers of teachers fresh out of college. This practice saves districts big bucks and is a risky but, what is the effect on the quality of instruction regardless of the type of student body? Don't get me wrong, I am certain that there are great teachers coming out of the gate with good teaching skills. But, like any occupation, experience matters, a lot.</p>
<p>Interesting thread. My family moved from Westchester to Mass. a few years
ago. My d was in a specialized private school in Westchester through
5th grade, then went to a public middle school in Mass. However, the
public schools all over Mass. are under huge budget strain and there have
been significant cuts to all manner of academic and other programs at all
levels. Our taxes are still much lower in Mass. than in Westchester, but they are
rising pretty fast without benefit of the STAR program like in NY. My d
returned to private school for her high school years. I have no idea
where the public school system in Mass. will end up, but a combination
of relatively high property taxes and declining schools is not a model
I feel very good about,
while seeing first-hand the stark differences in school system
performance that have developed in Westchester over time. Where would you
rather buy a house - Chappaqua or Port Chester? There is no longer
much "in between" anywhere in Westchester. I think the same thing
is happening in parts of Mass., and in 5-10 years Mass. will have caught up -
"have" and "have-not" public school systems galore. Caveat emptor.</p>
<p>Schools are service providers. It's no surprise therefor that 65 to 70% of a districts budget goes to salaries and benefits. Given this, I think the quality and experience of the faculty has the greatest effect on student achievement. Districts that can afford to pay for experienced teachers usually have higher student achievement.</p>