<p>I've always wondered which is better? Average Public school with a 3.8-4.0
60-69 D
70-79 C
80-89 B
90-100 A and much easier simpler classes... Or</p>
<p>Prestigous Nationally recognized Private school where
70-77 D
78-85 C
86-93 B
94-100 A </p>
<p>Much harder classes and also much less room for error which makes for a lower GPA around 3.0-3.3 </p>
<p>Say the Public school gets SAT's of 1600-1900 and ACT of 20-26</p>
<p>Private school gets SAT's of 1900-2200 and ACT of 28-34 </p>
<p>Which one would the college take based on these stats and no EC's for the example</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s useful to compare two hypothetical average schools.
A student choosing between their public school and private school options has to balance not only the academic opportunities at each school, but also the quality of the athletic/EC opportunities that they plan on pursuing.
If you are debating between two schools for yourself, you can also look at the matriculation lists.</p>
<p>No, Im currently attending the private school and have mediocare grades… It doesnt matter what school you go to if your looking at EC cause you can join clubs and sports at both… I looking strictly at the academic side</p>
<p>Colleges that practice holistic admissions are generally familiar with the relative “toughness” of schools. If your school is particularly tough, they will weigh this in consideration to the kid who is valedictorian at a mediocre HS where she’s coasted through with a 4.0 for four years. Good luck to you.</p>
<p>What college? A private college with holistic review or a formulaic state school?</p>
<p>Let’s take Harvard. They would expect a kid at the average public to be very top of class. They might forgive a slightly lower SAT score if there were reduced opportunities/income.</p>
<p>They would be willing to go deeper into the class of an elite private school. They would expect very high scores because of the enhanced opportunities/high income of most students there.</p>
<p>It’s largely a formula school, a higher than average SAT can make up for a lower GPA.</p>
<p>The UCs are not known for differentiating rigor of schools. In this case the private school kid would be hurt. The vast majority of UC students come from public schools.</p>
<p>Why UCSB? It’s a school in financial crisis that costs as much as many private colleges for an OOS student and has a very low 4 year graduation rate which is probably headed lower because of extreme budget cuts. Costs are expected to rise 30% this year.</p>
<p>I would not pay for my kids to go there OOS.</p>
<p>It depends on the college but yes, most good ones do look at the rigor of your high school program and take that into account. I happen to work at a top private school and I can tell you we get kids admitted into top colleges with GPAs that if I posted them here, people would say admission is not possible. I mean, we have even had some students in the bottom 40% of the class get accepted into the Ivies. We have no student approaching a 4.0 GPA and yes, all of the regular classes are more rigorous than many public schools AP classes. This past year for example, nearly 50%% of our students were accepted into a most competitive college (per Barrons). Compare that to the pretty high quality public school a mile away who had about 10% of their students accepted into a most competitive college .</p>
<p>I do not want to disparage public schools as there are some that are excellent at what they do. However, I would be willing to wager that the college admissions process is much more in depth, higher quality and personalized at the private school you are currently at. This will ultimately lead to success in getting students admitted to their top choice schools.</p>
<p>UCSB has been my dream school for years they have the Major and Minor I want, Beautiful Location which is a huge factor, the attitude of the campus, laid back, study hard, party harder, is exactly what im looking for… I live in Missouri and I have 0 interest in staying here, California has always had a special place in my heart for me…</p>
<p>berryberry, thank you that is exactly the kind of answer I was looking for, alot of people dont seem to understand the rigor and cirriculum these upper-tier private schools have which makes for lower grades… I have gone to both good public schools an great private schools so I understand and can speak for both sides.</p>
<p>Don’t worry about those people. I am chuckling inside at this because prestigious private schools have a long, storied history of getting even their mediocre graduates into fantastic undergraduate institutions after graduation - particularly because these schools have a long history of rigorous academics AND the schools know they have hundreds of years of success with these ‘feeder’ schools. You don’t think a student with a 3.4 and a 2200 from Andover is more likely to get into Yale than a student with a 3.6 and a 1900 from your generic public high school? Of course they are.</p>
<p>Thank you, see I currently attend the Prestigious Private College-Prep school but only have like a 3.2 gpa and I dont want colleges to look at my gpa and then look at some public school kids gpa who has an 4.0 because A is for Attendence, and then take that kid… What do you think my chances of getting into UC Santa Barbara, its a good school but not an Ivy league school… I got bout a 3.2-3.3 gpa, varsity soccer and basketball, and 250+ hours of community service and in like 2 clubs… Also im outta state, St. Louis Missouri</p>
<p>stl…my older son graduated from a new england boarding school with a 3.1/2 gpa and a couple of honors classes and 1 AP. He got into Lehigh and Villanova…he didn’t shoot any higher than that, but for a caucasian, unhooked, New England kid, I think that proves that the colleges do respect the rigor of these schools. My younger son currently has a 3.3 gpa and they are telling him to look at the Ivies (he does have an athletic hook). I do know a couple of kids from this school who went to USC with low 3 gpa’s as well (one was my older son’s roommate). Also unhooked. So even the UC’s (is USC a UC?) must recognize these schools in their gpa recalculations.</p>
<p>Thats good to here, good luck with your younger son looking at Ivies… And No the UC’s are public schools but not state schools and USC is a Private Institution…</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Go to your college guidance office and ask them your chances right now for UCSB based on your current stats. if they are like our office, they should be able to give you a good feel right now</p></li>
<li><p>Take a look at where students from you school matriculated to last year</p></li>
<li><p>While I am in the east and thus not familiar with UCSB, our average GPA was 3.3. So lets assume you are close to that. Here are some places where our students in the BOTTOM half of our class were accepted:</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Bucknell
Carnegie Mellon
Case Western
George Washington
Kenyon
Lafayette
US Naval Academy
Allegheny
American Univ
Babson
boston Univ
Elon
Fordham
Gettysburg
Marquette
Univ of Maryland
Miami
Rochester
Wheaton</p>
<p>Before you get your heart set on a UC, you might want to do a little reading about what the California budget crisis is doing to the UC system. It ain’t pretty. Restricted freshman enrollment, larger classes, some classes cut altogether, reduced student services, furloughed professors, talk of closing some campuses. For the foreseeable future, it will be harder to get into the UCs, and if you do you’ll pay more for a lower-quality education than in the past. Did I mention the 44% tuition hike?</p>
<p>Very strong, well above their average, SAT scores can help balance a lower GPA at a UC. Their average UC weighted GPA has been 4.0. Could be higher now given reduced class size. Average SAT is about 1870.</p>