<p>I totally agree with eklektist. </p>
<p>It also depends on what you plan on majoring in. If you want to go into finance, one would probably choose NYU over Yale, making the ivy matriculation rates lower. I think schools should start making acceptance lists, to replace matriculation lists.</p>
<p>It's important to keep in mind that there are a huge number of ivy legacies at top prep schools and a fair number of wealthy development candidates. There are also many recruited athletes. All of those thing must be considered when looking at just who gets in to top colleges.</p>
<p>Just go to the school that feels right for you. Don't base your decision solely on college matriculation.</p>
<p>17 out of 18 of your cross-admits chose Yale over Harvard? I just gotta know, what high school are you talking about, Ekleklist? That's an incredible stat.</p>
<p>Admittedly this anecdote is ancient history, but consider the following: In 1973, 400 (give or take a few) high school seniors were admitted to both Harvard and Yale. 360 went to Harvard, 25 went to Yale and the rest went elsewhere. (Yes, I'm relying on memory, but some things you just don't forget.) And it was said that many of the few who chose Yale over Harvard did so because they got more money from Yale (that $5,000-per-year tuition/room/board was a real killer...).</p>
<p>re: "Why are you guys so concerned with the matriculation? It's getting ridiculous."</p>
<p>The college matriculation list is THE final exam for all competitive high schools.
You better believe it's important. Ridiculous? I think not.</p>
<p>Also something that nobody's really mentioned so far:</p>
<p>At the boarding prep schools, most of the ivy acceptances are due to donations and legacy.</p>
<p>How do you think Bush got into Yale? He reportedly averaged C's at Andover. His daddy made a call. That's how it works at "elite boarding schools." All they have to do is donate a library or two, and their kid is in. Simple as that. </p>
<p>So don't look at a school just because it's matriculation rate is good. It may not really mean much.</p>
<p>Thankyou, all these points are informative and valid.</p>
<p>After thought.........I have been reading the prep threads for the past two year and half, and contributing for the last year and half. It always seemed that people judged the prep schools by the ivy numbers. My posts speak for themselves, I have never advocated the "ivies" as the measuring stick. Many of you who have been on these threads for awhile can attest to the fact that many of the prospective students will invariably look to the ivy matrics when judging the prep schools.
Many of you have valid points, I especially agree with suze' point.</p>
<p>case in point please see jonathon recent post. The value of the school is based on the ivies. I will say this Harker is a top school in the same class as the best</p>
<p>With all due respect, this statement is baloney. It was true once upon a time, but no longer.</p>
<p>I know this topic is worked over ad nauseum on CC, but many people still don't get it: legacy status ain't what it used to be at Yale and similar colleges. Bush the younger was admitted to Yale in the 1960's. Yale's admission process today bears very little relation to what was going on in the 1960's, or in the 1980's, or even in the 1990's. So you're an Old Blue, and your high school senior has marginal -- or even very good -- qualifications, and you want her legacy status at Yale to really mean something? Then you had better be writing large checks annually -- and by "large" I mean six figures, not four, or even five. Yes, a few prep school legacies have that kind of dough behind their candidacies, but "most": definitely not. "Most" of those prep/legacy admits get in because they are terrific candidates, quite apart from who their daddy may be.</p>
<p>Thunder,</p>
<p>I could not agree more. Times have changed. My only quibble is with the amount of money it takes to buy your way in. Six figures is nice, but given the size of endowments today, I think it may take seven figures to get your marginal kid in.</p>
<p>If "most" were legacies and development cases, it would be hard to explain the facts that 2/3 of undergrads at Harvard get financial aid, and 50% get scholarships from Harvard. </p>
<p>It is not a perfect meritocracy, and Bill Gates kids might not face the same scrutiny as the average upper middle class applicant, but there just are not that many people with enough money for Harvard to notice. The Ivy kids I know are getting in on merit.</p>
<p>By the way, although athletics counts, remember this is the only conference with elaborate rules demanding a minimum, and quite high, level of academic performance to be eligible.</p>
<p>It was interesting to see how many Harker students go back east for college. I would have expected more of a west coast tilt.</p>
<p>Boarding schools have changed. Read the MSN article on Taft. Ivy League acceptances based on donations are rare at prep schools today. The best prep schools are far more socioeconomically diverse than most kids who don't really know much about prep schools expect, particularly the larger ones like Exeter and Andover.</p>
<p>If you are going to post numbers, you need a LINK. If there is no LINK, we have no way of varifying that those numbers are real/correct.</p>
<p>Broader course selction is for college, not high school. So smaller schools like Middlesex are actually better (in my opinion) at giving you the tools necessary to tackle a wider variety of subject matter later.</p>
<p>I actually went to an "elite" boarding school and am currently attending an Ivy. I know many Andover students. I'm not saying that all Andover students aren't "intellectually mature". It's just that because the schools are so large there will be students who slip through the cracks more easily than at a place like Groton or Middlesex. Sorry if you were offended in any way. Andover is still a good school.</p>
<p>I would be careful about any generalizations posted on this forum. Davida1's comment about students at Andover and Exeter being intellectually immature is really ignorant and lacking in thought. </p>
<p>"Ignorant" implies that I am unfamiliar with the schools that I am discussing and nothing could be further from the truth. And it's not like I was trying to develop some sort of revolutionary theories with regard to education so your characterization of me being "lacking in thought" just doesn't really apply here. I am simply stating facts and some observations from someone that is knowledgeable about issues related to prep schools.</p>
<p>Unless he has personally met every graduate of these schools, I don't see how he can comment on this. </p>
<p>You have proved my point. A true measure of a school is its graduates - each individual student. So, if someone meets a recent graduate or two from Andover and they simply don't posses some critically important qualities, it reflects poorly on the entire institution. Smaller schools obviously are more selective or scrupulous with the students they admit, so the chances of meeting an incompetent Groton or Thacher alum is just more rare. That's all. I have nothing against your daughter and I'm glad she has had a positive experience at Andover.</p>
<p>I personally know about 10 people who would not have gotten in had their parents not made a phone call. </p>
<p>It does exist. </p>
<p>I personally can't get in to college like that (I wouldn't want to anyway, even if I could) but I just want to let everyone know: though it might be less prevalent today, it's still around.</p>
<p>There is no way to verify that this is true without names and institutions, or at least some more specifics that would lend credibility to this comment. Admission by phone call is extremely rare at Ivy League schools and while money/family background/legacy status and possiblity of huge donations is taken into to consideration sometimes at elite schools, the phone call thing almost never happens. You need more details. When was the phone call made? Perhaps it is possible for getting off the waitlist but admissions officers don't react favourably to these sorts of bribes/demands made by parents or relatives.</p>
<p>in response to a previous post, my sister went to andover. i don't know why, but a large number of students of her graduating class chose yale over harvard.</p>
<p>i also have to agree that sometimes other colleges are better than ivies. for example, uchicago is considered to be a better school that most ivies (even hyp, in certain fields). also, if you were to focus on a music major, you would probably choose juilliard, and not an ivy. again -- it depends on your interests.</p>
<p>this is somewhat off topic, but is anyone excited about going to school next year? i've already set aside two large suitcases, and i've packed an extra-long twin bedset (even though i don't leave until september). i can't wait to get my new laptop, either... :-)</p>
<p>I think your confusing undergraduate education and graduate education. The University of Chicago has a great reputation because of the graduate faculty (the Chicago School of academics in the social sciences/humanities in particular), who don't really interact with undergraduates very much and often don't teach undergraduates. The University of Chicago accepts a considerably large proportion of students who apply as well (and please don't give me the self-selective argument because it is weak). HYP and the rest of the Ivies are clearly better than Chicago in terms of the quality of undergraduates and the academic program/social atmosphere/career prospects.</p>