<p>Everyone talks about "fit" for college but it's important for high school, too, if one is in a position to choose. We moved our son to a different high school for his junior year knowing that it might hurt his college chances. But it was the right move for him at the time and he flourished so beautifully that his achievements far surpassed everyone's expectations, and he was accepted into schools that he wouldn't have dreamed of applying to before he transferred. If one is only concerned about Harvard and Yale then perhaps strategizing is the way to go. But putting a student in the best possible place for high school seems to me most likely to lead to the best possible placement for college.</p>
<p>^that's true, but I am speaking from a position of regret so I am naturally biased.</p>
<p>How do you judge the quality of the private school vs the public? If the private is something like Durham Academy in terms of its college placement, then the switch could really be beneficial. If the public high school is something like Chapel Hill, then the switch does not make much sense because the school is already known as being very strong and the 3/529 rank would have great impact on a college application. </p>
<p>One big problem with making the switch is that her opportunities for leadership positions will be very few at the private school as kids at the private school have been positioning themselves for those spots for 1-2 years. Is she in a position for any leadership roles at the public school? For applicants to top schools like HY, this has relevance. If your child is just going to be a straight high GPA and high SAT applicant, then I doubt she gets in from either the public or the private school.</p>
<p>Mallomar, what happened to you? I know in this situation, the private school has just about the same AP course offering as the public school. She will be taking 6 AP classes either way. I know that the private school AP classes will be more rigorous. I am actually worried that she'll never see the light of day again because she will be studying so much in the private school.</p>
<p>I think her leadership opportunities will be more difficult at the private school. My daughter will be establishing herself in her Junior year at the private school.</p>
<p>Debjef:</p>
<p>I think it would be easier because:
1) Most clubs and positions at the private school probably won't exist when compared to the positions and clubs from a large private school. Thus, your D can create some clubs at a smaller school
2) Students are more likely to know each other in a smaller class size, improving name recognition if your D decides to go for that student government position</p>
<p>The most important is point one. I don't think leadership positions should have anything to do with just being in a club but they should be given to people who have actually shown initiative and leadership. The best way to do it is to form a club or activity rather than just wait for a club that's already there and piggyback on it.</p>
<p>Also, 6 APs aren't too bad even though I think that kids shouldn't' be taking more than 3 or 4 anyways. I have 6 this year, one is U.S. Government and Comparative Politics which is rolled into one course so that isn't too bad. But if you're serious about your D taking leadership positions and showing passion in her ECs, then she shouldn't be bogged down with tons of homework every night.</p>
<p>Mallomar:</p>
<p>Most of the time, you will not have the same teachers as you go from 9th grade courses to 12th grade courses. Colleges also look for recommendations from teachers that are as recent as possible. No college will think that a person has stayed the same from 9th grade.</p>
<p>Also, smaller class sizes may make it easier for a student to know a teacher and for the teacher to notice the student. When a teacher has 40 kids in the class, it's hard to find alone time with a teacher or even get their attention. When you've got a class size of 20, you won't be competing with as many people for the teacher's time. Even if the class sizes are equal (not highly likely) the teachers at the public school will still be dealing with higher volume of faces and names. </p>
<p>This also applies to administrators and principal's, unless your daughter is the kind of person who frequently brings top honors to a school or gets in serious trouble a lot, the principal won't be seeing much of the kid. When I was in a large public school, I didn't' see the principal at all. But at my private school, he and I frequently talk and I see him every morning greeting the students. Even today, he yelled at all the seniors and juniors because of some alcohol problems over spring break with a few kids. I just didn't see that kind of caring and involvement at my public school.</p>
<p>I also didn't even have to talk to my college counselor until junior year, and even here, the same arguments apply. Publics schools are taxed and counselors have to deal with a ton of kids. Most counselors don't know your kid personally but either ask your teachers or ask you and your parents to tell them about yourself.</p>
<p>karot,</p>
<p>i disagree with you from personal experience. A high ranking and competitive student has a better chance getting into an ivy like Harvard coming from a public school than coming from a private or prep school. In the last few years, H and Y have been prioritizing the "economically disadvantaged" to the detriment of sometimes academically stronger students who give the appearance of coming from wealthier backgrounds, professional parents, etc. Our daughter's GC made it very clear to us that the only thing in her application that she had against her, was her professional parents. ( we almost had a fit ) ...but she was right. I guess these years they are trying to build a different mosaic...</p>
<p>My rec is..do not switch. Even private counselors sometimes recommend for families to move to another state or city ( so just imagine hs ) while trying to optimize ivy chnaces.</p>
<p>I think your daughter needs to do what you and she thinks will provide her with the best educational experience - now. Trying to second guess unpredictable future Ivy league admissions just doesn't make sense. This year public schools may have an edge, next year it could be something else. The best thing is to be the most you can be and if one school doesn't want you, there are other fine schools that will. At some point it needs to be about the best educational experience not about how to strategize to get into an Ivy.</p>
<p>That said, we happen to live in a blue collar community with a middle of the road public high school. There were a couple of times when my D said she wanted to change schools but we didn't really have the money for private school so I gave it some time to see if she really wanted change. She ended up deciding to stay where she was. It turned out to be a mixed experience but she never stopped working hard and excelling in school, and her school really had a lot of faith in her and gave her many leadership opportunities. This year she was admitted to Harvard. Maybe she was the beneficiary of a trend to pay more attention to public schools. But her stats were stellar and based on the stats I see here she was in no way less qualified or less deserving than someone from a private school. And I think because her high school experience was hardly perfect she will really appreciate the amazing opportunity that she now has.</p>
<p>Are you in an area where there are magnet schools?</p>
<p>In my opinion, AP classes aren't the same everywhere. You should see the work the kids in the public school in my town do that supposively "AP" level...nothing like our work at the private Catholic school I go to.</p>
<p>I have also seen the opposite. My daughter's AP classes in a public magnet school are much more rigorous than her cousin's AP classes were at a private Catholic school in Virginia.</p>
<p>serchingon:</p>
<p>You are correct that Ivy League schools will find those who have managed to achieve an equal amount or even greater amount while in a disadvantaged environment. I have even explained the reasons for this in a previous post. However, the problem with your argument is that not everyone who attends a private school is privileged. I attend a private catholic school here in Utah and I will tell you that less than 5% of the kids here have parents who are very well off. Most are in the middle-class to upper middle class and over 37% of the students who attend this school require some form of financial aid. These parents aren't sending their kids to a pricey private school because they like spending money but because they believe that a private school education is much more valuable. Similarly, most of the kids who apply to colleges don't have lawyers, doctors or business men as parents. My friend's mom drives carriages, another's dad sells real estate. My dad is a Phd who's struggling to get funding. Colleges know this and they won't assume to your detriment just because you attend a private school.</p>