<p>There tends to be a lot of people on here who attend such colleges as Phillips Exeter, Deerfield, and other elite prep schools. I myself attend a good public school, nothing fancy, but overall a very good school. I look at your guys schools online and it seems to impress me in the overall look of the school. What are your views on attending these top notch private schools? Would you go there again?</p>
<p>i almost went to exeter, i got in, and then at the last minute decided i couldnt leave my friends here. i am SO HAPPY that i didnt leave my public HS. i LOVE it, i am getting a good education, i am being challenged, and realistically, my parents can pay that much for my education when i'm in college, not hs. not to bash anyone who goes to any of those schools- it just was not the right thing for me personally.</p>
<p>I'm envious because they go to a world-renowned institution and I go to some no-name (although I love it) school. I am comforted by the fact that I will probably attend a college that is at least equal, if not better, than most who attend those fancy schmancy private schools.</p>
<p>I always thought that smart kids who would do well wherever should go to worse schools. Say two kids both have a 1500, 3.9 GPA, and similar inteligence. The one going to the worse school has a chance to be valedictorian, has a better chance at becoming class president or a captain, and will probably do better in the admission process b/c he does not have to compete with many other students from his own school. The kid going to the better school will be ranked in the 5-10% range, will have a slimmer chance at becoming class president or captain since more students "walk on water" at his school, and there may be a slew of better qualified applicants appyling from his school to the same college. </p>
<p>It bothers me when people talk about what a high percentage of students at prep schools and magnets attend great colleges. I'm sure 90% of these kids expected to go ivy when they were freshman. If 50% of TJ students go ivy, maybe like 75% would have gotten in had they went to schools with less all-stars.</p>
<p>Nbach, don't be too envious. There's really no such thing as a world-renowned high school (except for maybe Eton?). Not even Exeter and Andover can lay claim to that. And if you're in a good public HS, you'll probably end up getting just as fine an education as many of those boarding school kids and not have to go broke doing it...</p>
<p>emperor, my only counterargument would be that I went to Exeter for the education, not to get into college. Regardless of where I ended up "ranking" (although Exeter does not rank) among my fellow students <em>and</em> regardless of where I attend college, that top-notch education and experience can never be taken from me.</p>
<p>Hey there cswim06......you comment regarding world renowned HS doesn't fit with the number of International Applicants and Matriculants at both Exeter and Andover.....perhaps your knowledge is limited???</p>
<p>Well, I'm not aware of the number of international applicants. I'm sure there are guidance counselors around the globe who are well aware of the top US boarding schools. But dollars to donuts uttering the name Exeter or Andover to 10 random passersby in Paris or London or Montreal (or most American cities and towns outside of the northeast for that matter) will result in 9 blank stares and perhaps one nod of recognition.</p>
<p>Well I guess that squares with asking 10 randoms to name the schools in the Ivy League......probably get about the same results.</p>
<p>oh come on, everybody knows they are princeton, yale, MIT, Stanford, harvard, UC Berkeley, Duke, and Rutgers....;)</p>
<p>I have met very few people who do not recognize the Exeter name, but that has been mostly in the Northeast, NYC, and DC.</p>
<p>I've read somewhere that some of the top private HS like exeter, andover, deerfield, etc. get like, 33% of their graduating classes into the ivies each year, is this true?</p>
<p>yes typically</p>
<p>I attended both types (elite private and not so elite semi-public) and I must say the experience in both cases was excellent.</p>
<p>I went to a private day school (25-30% to ivies each year) and I loved it. I don't think I really had another option though, since the majority of the public schools here are so bad. I really liked that the classes were small, teachers were so accessible, you can talk to them after class all the time, and the material was challenging. </p>
<p>Now, I disagree emperor550 on a few points.
a) Shouldn't the point of education be to learn and be challenged, etc. What good is a #1 rank at a easy school if you don't learn anything?
b) It's not necessarily easier to be captain, since public schools are usually much larger than privates. I, for one, would never have had the opportunitiy to participate in sports if I had gone to a public.
c) The same GPA from an average public school will not look as good as that GPA in a top private school. Colleges are familiar with these prep schools and know how demanding they are. They also tend to think that a lot of public schools are too easy and have heavy grade inflation. I had like a 3.8 GPA, but that was very good for my school, whereas in a public that would have ranked me like, 70.</p>
<p>All that said, I think that both types of schools have their benefits and drawbacks and it depends on who you are what you might like better. It also bothers me when people think that going to a prep school = automatic ivy acceptance. People have to work hard to get into good colleges, no matter which HS they went to.</p>
<p>zantedeschia makes a good point... (a few good points actually)</p>
<p>Also, attending an elite private high school is one thing... surviving the experience with a sane head and at least a decent rank is another.</p>
<p>Colleges know how competitive the high schools are, and someone in the 85th percentile of say, Philips Academy will be valued more than the valedictorian of some dump crap high school who sends only 2% of their graduating classes into a 4 year school</p>
<p>My school sends only half of its graduating class to 4-year schools. It hasn't sent anyone to the Ivies in years -- the best anyone usually does is Georgetown and even then it's pretty rare. I'm lucky enough to be granted the opportunity to attend an Ivy, but I'd like to give my side of the story:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I was valedictorian (hardest courseload, highest grades), but on that same note, so were like 15 others. A 4.0 UW GPA at my school makes you automatically rank 1. There was no incentive to do well because a 90% was just as good as a 100%. However, I worked hard because I wanted my counselor to write about my grade percentages in her rec (unfortunately she botched it up and didn't include it... oh well. I didn't need it in the long run after all). Despite the rank, my school was not that great. Most of the things I learned were from looking at things outside of the class/doing things on my own time. The school simply did not provide brain food. People at my school would say I am smart, but at an elite school I'd probably be average. I'd be a lot smarter right now if I had gone to a better school or had more money. Resources really do a lot for you. </p></li>
<li><p>Pertaining to club positions: At a large public school, you have to rise above quantity. At a small elite school, you have to rise above quality. Having a position in either case would be an accomplishment.</p></li>
<li><p>I think people understand the college process better at elite schools. They have a better idea of what to do, and the counselors understand what advice they should give, or how recs should be written, etc. At my public school, the teachers and general faculty have no idea. Most people from my school go to community college or the nearby state university, so as a result, people striving for higher-ranked schools have to jump through more hoops to ensure their application is presented correctly. I'm sure that at an elite school, this doesn't happen as often. One of the teachers typed up her rec in front of me in 4 minutes (I had asked her to write it a month and a half before I needed it --- it was last-minute when I had to confront her directly after constantly being told it wasn't ready).</p></li>
<li><p>I do think going to a better school increases your chances for acceptance but at a cost. At a crappy school you can shine easier, and in this way, stand out amongst your peers. But if a school's best student is an 1150 SAT individual with mediocre writing abilities and ECs, don't count on much. You still have to be "good" to get into good schools generally. If a strong individual from a public school went to an elite school, I believe that they would have more opportunities and chances to improve themselves otherwise. At this point, they may not have the perfect elite-school 4.0 GPA, but it would be more valuable than a public-school 4.0 GPA. A strong applicant will have a great chance no matter where he or she goes, but there will be more resources available at an elite school, which allows one to improve their chances at being accepted to the top schools.</p></li>
</ol>