I posted this in another thread a few days ago but didn’t get very many responses.
I’m in a big dilemma right now. I go to a great private school and I have solid grades. 3.7 GPA (school does not boost honors/AP, instead they just give 3 points of difference in the numerical grading system; ex. 87 is A- instead of B+) and I’m in the 20% of my class of 70. (all super brainiacs of course). No SAT’s yet but PSAT was 91st percentile overall against the class a year ahead of me with 96th percentile for reading and writing.
I took one AP this year, music theory. I’m doing well in the class: A- first semester, A second semster.
The dilemma is that I’m taking all regular classes except one AP this year and one honors and one AP next year. I couldn’t get into anything else because the enrollment is so elite. (Senior year I will have probably 3 AP’s.)
The thing is, I know I’m smart enough that I could go to the local public high school and enlist in ALL honors and AP classes and get a 4.0 GPA because I know people who go there and the material is so much easier that I could go and breeze through and get perfect grades in hard classes.That seems like it would be SO much more attractive on a college resume than a total of 5-6 honors/AP from my school now.
The problem is that I would lose all my theater credibility (leadership positions, etc.) and I’m planning on studying theater in college. (Hopefully in a GOOD school!) It would be like starting all over again as a junior.
The registration for next year has been so upsetting to me.
I know I can pull a 3.9 GPA, I’m doing it right now (4th quarter)…but I feel like I’m not going to get into any of my dream schools (CMU, Mich, Brown, UCLA and other less elite schools) because I don’t have enough honors/AP classes.
I feel so trapped. I feel like I’m not going to get into any good colleges where I am, but if I quit now I’ll lose all theater reputation and as a result not get in anywhere for theater.
<p>First of all, college admissions officers will understand that your school is more challenging than most and will see your GPA/rank as relative. I would say that it's better to have a B+ at a tough college prep school than an A at a big, less-challenging public school. Alot better in fact.</p>
<p>Secondly, if you plan on applying to the Drama Schools at Carnegie or Michigan, guess what, they won't really mind a 3.9 GPA! It's all about your audition. Good grades are a plus and yours will get you into the university just fine if the drama schools want you.</p>
<p>if ur looking to CMU and UMich theatre...those APs and SATs and all that academic stuff really...does not matter =P</p>
<p>How many aps does your school offer in total. At my Ds college prep school, they only offer about 10,and she will have taken 5. So its all relative. She can't take more than that becuase the school doesn't allow more than three aps a year. So colleges will understand. Can you take AP exam by self studying?</p>
<p>Somewhere between 10 and 15 AP's. By the time I graduate, I will have taken 5: Music Theory, Art History, US Gov, English Lit, and Biology. </p>
<p>I want to self prepare for 3 more tests: macro and micro economics and psychology. So I will have taken 5 AP classes, one honors class, and taken 8 AP exams.</p>
<p>So you don't think the lack of honors/AP is going to be a big deal in admissions?</p>
<p>Talk to your GC. If your folks are shelling out the money for a prep school, your GC or CC will have a pretty good idea of where you will rate at least as far as the academics ago.</p>
<p>I might do that.</p>
<p>I just don't know what to say, "if you don't tell me I can get into Carnegie Mellon than I'm dragging my a## out of here!"? lol</p>
<p>I went to a private high school like yourself where we were not allowed to take APs until junior year and were graded extremely harshly (no one ever got a 4.0 in fact.. EVER). Many people took APs their senior year (about 5 AP on average) but to many colleges this was too late.. the universities did not seem to recongize how hard our school was! So I really wish that I transfered to a public high school. That would have been a lot more helpful admission wise. But private school does prepare you well for college. College classes won't seem hard to you but then again if you're concerned about getting into a top notch school..then I would strongly suggest transferring to a public!!</p>
<p>What program do you want to get into at Carnegie?</p>
<p>If you leave a prestigious private school for a public school, chances are the admissions committee is going to want to know why. You'd better have a better reason than "well I was hoping to dupe you folks into thinking I was smarter". As for how many APs and whatnot, it's all about the context of what was offered at your school. Most public schools don't offer more APs (my school offers US history, Chem, Bio, Physics, English, Calc and the languages). At most you can end up with like six APs by the end of your senior year, and most people less (I ended up with four).</p>
<p>Production management (the stage management part of PTM).</p>
<p>Do you by chance know how many people apply for this? I know they probably get more techies than sm's. And according to the CMU website there's only around 20 PTM folks, and I'm guessing only 8 or so are prod. management.</p>
<p>Flaveus - this was a concern someone else at school pointed out to me. </p>
<p>I'll probably stay where I am, but I just feel like I have no hope of getting in anywhere. Everyone says that "difficulty of curriculum" is so important...I just hope they know that a regular class at my school is about the same difficulty as an AP class at a public school. Especially in English, foreign language, history and the arts.</p>
<p>So -- remember that the School of Drama at Carnegie is a drama conservatory (most would say the best in the country, as a matter of fact). Acceptance to the program is weighted 80% interview/audition/portfolio and 20% transcript, etc. This info comes from the UGAdmissions Dept. So really - you can stop worrying. Yes, you need to have good grades. But have a 3.9 as opposed to a 4.0 when applying to the School of Drama at Carnegie is NOT going to keep you out. Having a 4.0 and a bad interview with a sub-par portfolio WILL keep you out.</p>
<p>Hey...I go to a REALLY competitive high school as well, where EVERYBODY takes 981232354 APs an maintain the UW 4.0 (BTW...I "only" have like a 3.7UW) (Out of my graduating class, we have 4 kids attending Stanford, 1 to Yale, Penn, Princeton, Duke, MIT, Brown, Middlebury, etc etc etc....) We only have 80 kids in my class, so I am NOT in the top 20%....I have been accepted to USC with a Presidential Scholarship, Engineering Merit Scholarship and a Merit Research Award along with acceptances to Hopkins and Vanderbilt...Clearly these schools did not compare me to the rest of my graduating class and recognized the fact that I attend a very "prestigious" high school....I believe that you will find the same true for you as you begin to apply to colleges next year...</p>
<p>Good Luck!</p>
<p>This is one of those questions where there is no right or wrong answer. However, I think it's important to consider more than just whether you'll be able to get into college, you also need to consider which school will prepare you best for doing well IN college. </p>
<p>My son recently struggled with just this decision. We arranged for him to spend the day at the school he was thinking of transferring to (private to public) and he knew by the end of the day that he would die of boredom there, even though he might get straight A's without cracking a book. So, I'd advise you to do the same as my son did - have your parents call the public school and ask if you can shadow a student or friend for a day to see what it is like and how challenging the classes will be for you. </p>
<p>Finally, CubsRule brings up another important point: how do colleges view the local public? Where does the school send its graduates? How many students from there go on to 4 year schools and which schools?
What relationships does the guidance office have with schools you might be interested in? My daughter has found that as she visits colleges, many (even in other parts of the country) recognize the name of her private high school and usually say that they know that a 3.7 GPA from there is nothing to sneeze at. While that may not ultimately get her into any of those schools, it's another little tipping point that may help somewhat.</p>
<p>dont transfer...youd be shooting yourself in the foot.</p>
<p>I transferred from a very hard private school to a local public HS. The kids in our school weren't that brilliant but the grades that the teachers gave were horrendous (everyone got at least one C for their first semester and one kid got straight A's for the second). and the worst part is, our school doesn't even rank!!!</p>
<p>now that I'm in a public HS? I'm lovin` it :D The teachers are nice, the kids are dumb, thus I stand out, thus better rec, thus better college!? jk. </p>
<p>Anyways, as long as you are sure that you are able to keep your focus and not get swayed away by the academic atmosphere of the public HS, I recommend your transfer. I used to spend 3 hours daily on school homework but now I can just easily finish them off in the school. And because no one around seems to care about their grades, I tend to lose my focus and slack off. I sometimes miss the competitive academic atmosphere my previous school had. </p>
<p>Additionally, I was able to find it much easier to have leadership positions in clubs/activities. Since no one really cared that much, all of the officer positions were open. And by doing additional work that others didn't do, I felt much more involved and committed to these activties. In my previous school, we were limited to the number of leadership positions and due to academics, there weren't a great number of clubs either. I thought this was another merit of going to a easy public HS.</p>
<p>However, if your school ranks, provides a decent variety of clubs/activities, and allows intense involvement not limiting the number of leadership positions, just stay at your school. My previous school was just dumb but your school sounds pretty smart. What grade are you in by the way?</p>
<p>I don't think whether or not a school ranks should be a factor, it doesn't really matter. My school, a competitive prep school, does not rank and yet we still have 3 students going to Princeton, 2 to Yale, 3 to WUSTL, 1 to Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Caltech, Cornell....Yet none of these students had a ranking...</p>
<p>Institutions with competitive, selective admissions will know what your (private) school offers and should keep your program in context.</p>
<p>I think carolyn's point needs to be repeated. You may get better grades at a less challenging school, but you will graduate less prepared for college.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies everyone.</p>
<p>I think I'll probably stay where I am. We're having all our special assemblies this week and next week for NHS, Cum Laude, French Spanish Latin honor societies, etc. and I'm not in any of them :( Sometimes this school makes the majority of students feel so dumb...</p>