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<p>As a general rule, yes. Public schools are said to be more “numbers driven”, private schools more “holistic”. State universities after all are beholden to the taxpayers. It is easier to justify admissions results if you can back them up by numbers than if you have to explain a philosophical approach to crafting an interesting class.</p>
<p>That said, the most selective private schools (Ivies etc) also have higher numbers than the most selective public schools (Berkeley, Michigan, UVa, etc). But, if you are comparing a public and a private school that have similar numbers, and your own numbers are on the border line or a little below, chances are the private school is more likely to allow stronger ECs to compensate.</p>