<p>Just started looking into the college process & am struck by how important GPA and taking honors/AP courses are. To get into any "good" school you need at least a 3.7 GPA uw and some honors courses. So from a college admissions point of view aren't you better off going to a relatively easy HS and aceing it rather than attending a deeply competitive HS but being an average/poor student? Where do the bottom 25% Stuyvesant or top NYC private students end up? Why go to these schools if you can go to regular HS, do so much better & get into entirely different league of college?</p>
<p>My child is a sophomore at a difficult NYC private school, works hard for a 3.2 GPA & is not eligible for AP/honors classes. No easy As at this school, would guess my child is in middle of class on GPA though other students will have honors classes. Prior to this my child went to a respected public middle school, took their advanced courses & had GPA of 3.9 without much work. From an admissions point of view, shouldn't my child transfer to the public HS that follows old MS? Then, junior & senior year would be filled with honors classes and a hugely different GPA & my child could be a reasonable candidate for colleges not even in running for now.</p>
<p>rank will put your son into the context of his/her school.</p>
<p>and if your son goes to an easier hs just for college… well… college admissions will know that your son went to an easy school… and that’s not a good thing (not necessarily hinting that it’s a bad thing either… who knows)</p>
<p>Stop by the college counseling office at the current high school and ask about where graduates in this GPA band from the school typically get admitted. They may use Naviance, and it can be helpful to review the scattergrams.</p>
<p>You should be able to get an idea from your school where their past 3.2 students ended up going. Be aware that even a 4.0 from a public school by no means guarantee you admission into the top 20-30 or more universities. Another thing to consider is that college admissions officers are surprisingly well aware of quality of nearly every single high school all across the country. I do think this is a legit dilemma, so good luck.</p>
<p>rank will still put my child at slightly below middle of current private school class. if transfers to easier old public school, would be at very top of class (based on past performance)</p>
<p>In truth, I’m not yet actively considering moving my child just for GPA but I am horrified to see that my child who chose an academically demanding school to get a better education is being badly penalized. I can’t wrap my head around the idea that my child in one setting would be a good candidate for many LAC like Bowdoin, Reed, Pomona but in the more demanding school is having to look at a much lower catagory of schools. From a college perspective, why should anyone chose a difficult HS & lower their admission chances? Maybe the Exeters, Andovers, Stuys have enough name recognition that you’ll get considered from them but what about the less nationally known demanding privates? You’ll bet a better HS education, possibly at the cost of a better college education!</p>
<p>Thanks for above thoughts. Will stop by college counselor’s office & see what they say. Must be something I haven’t figured out–otherwise wouldn’t difficult high schools have hard time recruiting all but the students who were sure they’d be in top 5%? Wouldn’t the ambitious, good but not genius students decide to go where they could more easily excell?</p>
<p>In most parts of the country, the choice is not between a multitude of demanding private schools, less demanding private schools, demanding selective honors public schools, average public schools, and not remotely demanding public schools. In other places the choice is often public school or Roman Catholic Parochial school, or even just public school or home school. Where I live, unless your child applies for one of the few magnet programs, there is no choice whatsoever when it comes to public school - you attend the one that serves your neighborhood.</p>
<p>My concerns as a parent would be:
Limitations on access for honors/AP/IB coursework. Our public school district practices open enrollment in those courses. If the kid wants to take it, he/she can. Then it is up to the student to keep up in the course. Teachers don’t water anything down.
Moving a kid from one social set to another. If you know the parents, and the kid knows the kids, and you know who is/isn’t likely to leave the liquor cabinet unlocked when there is a party, you may want to just leave well enough alone.</p>
<p>AGoodPath, my S is in the same shoes. He attends a very rigorous school; the average SSAT score for admitted students is 92 percentile. He got all As till 8th grade before he came to this HS. As a rising junior, his GPA is very low, B. All teachers know that he is very diligent, responsible, and hard working; however he is afraid that his GPA will present him otherwise in college application process. A couple of his friends are leaving for a public school for the same reason. </p>
<p>Did you find any positive comments from the school?</p>