<p>I don't want to say bad, but if you are the top of an okay high school and took APs vs. if you went to a really good high school (like Deerfield) and were in the average percent (since there are a LOT of smart people there) but did take lots of APs and made good grades, which one would get into better colleges?</p>
<p>And I don’t mean okay high school as an a public school, I mean an okay boarding high school.</p>
<p>Don’t apply to any boarding school that you consider to be “bad” or below you. You should be happy to attend any school to which you apply. It is best to compare schools to your local options, keeping in mind that the boarding experience is different from attending a public school or day school.</p>
<p>Just take a look at college matriculation at the boarding schools that interest you. Some schools just include college acceptances, which makes me suspect that matriculation is not strong. Acceptances can look good because of a few strong candidates. </p>
<p>Keep in mind that teacher recommendations are important at most colleges. If you are at the top of the class, your recommendations will probably be stronger than if you are in the middle of a class.</p>
<p>bump! Sparklyydancer, I was wondering the same thing. I have a pretty good local HS that I think I could be towards the top of my class at, and I know that if I went to a BS, then I would probably have a lower rank…</p>
<p>This questions seems to me to be a no-brainer. Top of the class at a bad school, is the answer, if you’re aim is solely to get into a good college, and not learning or developing study habits or challenging yourself, etc.</p>
<p>^^^ Of course, we’ve seen cases of kids doing that, getting into a very good college, and then finding that they’re not particularly well prepared to succeed in a very good college.</p>
<p>There are no guarantees any way you look at this. Too many factors at play to even begin to hypothesize and no point in engaging in oversimplified speculation.</p>
<p>At my old school about one kid every two or three years went to a really good school (Harvard, Cornell, Princeton, Yale, Dartmouth, Stanford, Colgate, etc.). Granted only about half go to college, and 10% leave the area. At the school I’m going to over half of them go to really good schools. This is one of the reasons I chose to apply. Even though I’m 1st in my class (which doesn’t say much), the school councilor scoffed at me when I announced I wanted to go to Brown, so, even though I don’t really want to go to Brown anymore she certainly help me choose.</p>
<p>I think top prevails, because sometimes they dont realize your school is bad or good</p>
<p>Then again, top prep schools usually have the name and prestige at colleges more than your average high school, just my opinion</p>