Us too, but for our area that meant (along with other factors) boarding school. There is almost no diversity in our public schools, or local privates for that matter.
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This is an interesting discussion, because our experience suggests that âhavingâ diversity doesnât always result in âexperiencingâ diversity. The larger individual groups get, the less likely they seem to truly engage with one another on more than a casual/as-required basis.
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Yes, I can see that happening. This was one reason why we did not opt for the public magnet option we had and chose the neighborhood HS (majority minority by Sâs senior year). Our kids also played on sports teams which were diverse. While I had no expectation that my kids would be close friends with kids who did not share similar academic, athletic or social interests, I do believe just observing first hand the challenges, priorities and viewpoints of others is instructive. While I am sure I could have pulled a few strings to get my kids âoffice jobsâ or shadowing experience over the summers, I had them working in a restaurant their summers in HS. My Sâs experience as a busboy actually was a positive conversation starter for his college summer internships.
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I really agree with @sgopal2 here - legacy has a very big impact, the figures I have seen for Harvard show around a 33% acceptance rate for legacies, and approximately one third of the freshman class are legacies.
If an applicant is exceedingly well qualified, then legacy boosts the odds even more.
Then combine legacy with early action, and the odds are likely even higher:
âWhile not much is known about the data for early admitted legacy students, the Crimson survey reported that a majority of freshmen (over 56 percent) said they were accepted during early action. This number was significantly higher for legacy students, 76 percent of whom said they were accepted early.â - The Crimson.
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For the OPâs named schools, here is some demographic information:
- Castelleja: 42% students of color (including 26% Asian), 21% receiving financial aid for the $54k tuition.
- Crystal Springs Uplands: 67% students of color (unspecified otherwise), 22% receiving financial aid for the $54k tuition.
- Gunn: 63% students of color (including 45% Asian), 74% with parents with masterâs degree or higher, 6% eligible for free or reduced price lunch.
The two private schools probably skew even higher in SES than the public school (which is in a generally high SES high parental education area). Race / ethnicity distribution does not seem that different, except for Castelleja having a probably noticeably higher percentage of White students (it is also an all-female school, which is probably the most obvious demographic difference). Majority minority schools are common in the region, because of the demographics of the region. However, different minorities may be present at different levels at various schools, usually in association with SES levels.
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As a prep school parent who is both an alum and former faculty member at NYU, this will be designated on kiddoâs application. Letâs see if it works - or does not help to nudge an acceptance along with strong stats & essay. I will let you know at the end of March if it helps. I have a gut feeling they really donât care. 
Legacy may be a big boost of admission. However, the OP wants to send his daughter to Gunn HS to get a leg up in admission probably because they send around 25 kids to Stanford each year. Most of those kids are children of faculty who live in the area. After those slots are taken, there is little place for other hooked categories such as legacies (assuming the OP went to Stanford which may very well not be the case, of course).
The large public HS provides a great HS experience for kids. They can bike to school with their friends, know their neighbors and have a large social network, star on the HS athletic teams or theater crew or orchestra which are unforgettable experiences. However, the quality of teaching is uneven. As parents, we had to be ready to work with the kid on math or physics (occasionally) if they drew the bad math or science teacher. Other people hired tutors. If the focus is on STEM, the kids donât learn how to write until the very upper classes (junior/senior year) and some never do.
Bad teaching may very well be the case in private schools, though. Canât comment as I donât have any first-hand experience. Both my kids graduated from a top public and were accepted to top-5 to 10 schools including Ivies. If I had the OPâs dilemma, I would send my kid to the public school.
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Whether a college considers legacy status can be gleaned from the Common Data Set in the admissions factors set forth in Section C7 (âAlumni/ae relationâ). Of course, for those schools that do consider this factor, the CDS does not give numbers or percentages.
I am not disagreeing with you, just wondering, is this your opinion, or is this based on data that you have seen? I have seen situations where faculty kid admissions slots do not detract from legacy admissions slots, so I am just curious how you came to this conclusion. Thanks in advance.
You will not find data on this. Letâs say that this is just my opinion.
@sgopal2 @UltimaCroix The one thing that the legacy admissions data doesnât tell us is the overlap with giving. My guess - nothing to back this up - is that the Venn diagram of âlegacy admitsâ and âmeaningful giving$â is pretty close to a circle.
Now, how one defines âmeaningfulâ then becomes the next question.
Anyway, just my sense.
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Meaningful is a big number. More than 6 digits, often. But Meaningful service over time can also help.
Merely holding a degree and mailing in a check for a few hundred dollars a year wonât cut it.
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For random reasons I now know a bunch of development folks at an array of schools (weird network - you meet one, you meet others). Iâve been surprised at how big a range âmeaningfulâ is according to them. And, when youâre not an alum, Iâve found they can be surprisingly honest about this stuff. I was quite surprised, for some schools, just how low a number matters.
Also, totally agree re: regular service. That would definitely factor into my Venn diagram 
I could not agree more.
Meaningful from a legacy doesnât necessarily have to be gigantic. Unis like to see legacy support over a long period of time, with regular contributions. I have seen legacy disappointments from those who gave virtually nothing since graduation, then all of a sudden cut a $5k cheque 3 months before application. From what I have seen and heard from admin and those leading alumni associations, a long-term record of 4 digit contributions can be very well regarded by some elite Unis.
I am talking about âboostingâ oneâs odds. If one wants really high odds, @gardenstategal may be right about what meaningful is. Itâs called âpulling a Kushnerâ.
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Yeah thatâs an obvious ploy right there!
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Agreed, @DroidsLookingFor , that the range is big. But this is what Stanford tells its alums, so is specific to the OPâs interest. Thatâs to change oddsâŠ
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I actually asked this once to a Development person that I knew. He told me that anything over $1M USD would trigger a special tag being added to an applicantâs file. Less than $1M but over $100K would not get any added benefit, but the development people would be nicer to you. Anything under $100K they donât even bother assigning development resources to. Obviously, the level influence of Development staff varies from one university to another.
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I agree with you here. There are very little public data that Iâve seen regarding legacy admissions and its influence on donation rates.
But letâs be real here. The universities obviously are calculating this. If there was no benefit from admitting legacy kids (ie no additional cash-flow), then they wouldnât be doing it. Legacy admissions practices would be halted over-night. The fact that it has persisted for so long makes me wonder how big the ROI is on legacy. It must be pretty darn good. Especially at places like Harvard. They donât need the money but their legacy admit rates are so high.
Agreeing with everything written about best fit HS. Made sacrifices to send all three kids to private day (boarding schools). Once child went to large state university with scholarship in music, second got a full-ride for theater at private university and third is in process of applying to college. My belief is that all three could have gotten into the colleges they are at (or applying to) even if they had attended our local public school howeverâŠwho they are as young adult was definitely formed by their high school. All three agree they wouldnât have done it any different and were so thankful for the opportunity to experience quality private high schools with diverse student bodies and engaged faculty.
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Update on frustration (sorry if I already shared this). Also, I apologize in advance to anyone who might be offended by the inherent privilege of this story - yes, my kiddo attends a boarding schoolâŠ. 
So kiddo had an informational (in person) interview at a well known university (not in the NE). Itâs competitive - with a 15% admit rate last year. Stated mean SAT 1520. Almost there on that front. OK - so the guy droned on about how this school only accepts the âmostâ academically competitive, talented, angelic, driven, blah, blah, blahâŠ.students who are in the top 1%-2% of their class. Cue the record stopping sound now. 
AO: âSo, GolfKiddo, I am happy to hear that you are interested in our esteemed university. What is your class ranking?
GK: â Sir, our school does not provide class rankingsâ
AO: âWell, then, are you in the top 1% - 2% of your class?
GK: â Sir, I am not quite sure but I do have all Aâs - except for one B+ (Mr 89 strikes again) Freshman year. Also, only 2 students had an Average above 95 last yearâŠI know I am within the top 10%â 
AO: âThatâs unfortunate - we are not looking for the top 10%, but the top 1%-2% of applicants from their school.
GK: âBut, I go to (insert name of Boarding School here) where it is was highly competitive to be accepted and where I am with very competitive students from around the worldâ
AO: â I am sorry, but I do not know this school. I am being honest with you, but I donât think you will have a shot at ED and maybe if you have something compelling to write about and a strong letter from your advisor, it might be worth your effort to apply RDâ
So right now, golfkiddo and I are wondering if it might have been better to have stayed home for school - especially with COVID factors . The students at the local public school and local private school had easier course loads, higher grades, and lots of support from parents. Like many of you, I had a kid who had a rigorous academic schedule, weeks of isolation in the dorm room, and very few opportunities to experience the traditions that make BS so special. Just ventingâŠ.looking for validation from anyone else out there who has run into this.