<p>i agree once again w/ none... that reminds me of my old school.... and all our valedictorians got full merit scholarships to colleges.</p>
<p>Colleges have indexes of how difficult schools are (i'm not sure where they get them etc.. maybe from standardized tests but I'm pretty sure there are other factors). Anyway, I believe they multiply your unweighted GPA (they recalculate your GPA as well) against the difficulty factor of your school (assuming you took the most rigorous courses). Its probably a lot more complicated than that, but I think that's the gist. (someone correct me if I am wrong). I'm sure they also take into account if you did the best that you could at your school even if it wasn't very "difficult". </p>
<p>If you go to a school a college determines as "difficult" your A will look better than another student's A who attended a "not as difficult" school..</p>
<p>And none a school where 60% drop out at 20% go to college would not be a "mediocre" public school (of course in my opinion). When I said mediocre I meant relatively high graduation rate and relatively high rate attending colleges (be it 2 year or 4 year). By mediocre I also meant that the classes weren't EASY but were not extremely challenging either.</p>
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WHO decides if a school is tough????? the dumb students, or the smart students??? IT IS ALL AN OPINION, which means THERE IS NO SUCH THING,,,,,the only real INDIVIDUAL STUDENT decider... is standardized tests... which levels all playing fields....
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<p>It's called school profile. All the CA public schools have one on their website. I also check at the 4 private schools in the Bay Area and they do have it. I think when the OP refers school name, OP means the school reputation or school profile.</p>
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Excelling at a mediocre public does mean something. Being ranked 1st in a school where 60% drop out and only 20% go to college shows a lot of merit and motivation on the part of the student in excelling in a horrible learning environment. Private schools have many opportunities available to students, so colleges expect students to use all those opportunities
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<p>Agree, I do think colleges take into account of that but if you get top grades because you have no competition vs medium grade because competition is stiff. Just like a top college, there are probably few kids getting top marks there vs an easier college where As are easier to get. Note I leave out specific name and reference because I was hoping to avoid a long drawn out debate over this school and that school.</p>
<p>school profiles don't tell.... how hard the teacher makes the class..... it is an opinion... which differs from student to student......</p>
<p>^^Agree within the same school, even grade varies. But this is what you transcript is sent to college, your school profile. This is fact, not my opinion. Please check out some books about college admission in the library, it will help you understand the process.</p>
<p>Yeah, Toorichforaid is right. There are differences within the same school which the profile does not account for, it simply accounts for the differences between your schools and other schools. It is the job of YOUR school administration to make sure that there is not a large degree of variation with in the same type of class. Some schools don't do a good job with that though.</p>
<p>Also one of the advantages (maybe disadvantages) about going to a top public school/top private school is that when you don't get perfect grades, colleges get a very good sense of where you stand academic wise. However, if you go to a very easy public school and get A+s, colleges don't know your full potential (which can either be good or bad) because you haven't met up against anything that really challenged you yet. If colleges accept a B+ student from a very challenging private/public school, they know whether or not that student will be able to handle the courseload so it is in a sense a "safe bet". However, if they accept a student who received A+'s at a poor public school, they have no idea whether or not the student can handle the courseload because their previous environment was not challenging enough to serve as an indicator. </p>
<p>When you compare student A (who went to a top private/public school) to student B (who went to a lacking public school) it is challenging to actually compare them. The colleges have no idea if student B would do better than or worse than student A because student B has not yet reached his limit-acadmic wise, but nor has student B received as difficult of coursework as student A. </p>
<p>Im not really sure the last part made sense so sorry.</p>
<p>Think about this: Susy attends Great Private School. College counselors there went to Top Universities and personally know many admissions directors at those schools. Susy is competing for a spot at Top University with other equally qualified kids from Good Public Schools. Susy's chances of getting into Top University are the same as the kids from Good Public Schools EXCEPT that her college counselors personally know admissions people at Top Universities. This "connection" tips the scale in favor of Susy. Her school isn't perceived as better, but she has access to connected people....It's very incestuous at Top Private Schools and Top Universities....</p>
<p>I believe that you have a fair chance at UPenn, your SAT II scores shouldn't weigh TOO much. However, make sure you write stellar essays and get nice recs. Good luck</p>
<p>Remember this important fact about private schools: kids who attend are constantly being presented with all the opportunities the school offers. In a public school, kids have to SEEK OUT these opportunities. A good friend likened it to a private school passing around a tray with all it offers and a public school requiring kids to go to the "buffet" table on their own.</p>
<p>So are you saying that private school is a plus or a minus? </p>
<p>Don't forget that private school, especially boarding schools, often means that the parents have deep pockets, so that is a definite plus, admissions-wise.</p>
<p>Although I go to a boarding school, I got in on my own merits. I do not have legacy and while I am not on financial aid, I certainly don't have a lot of money. </p>
<p>Thanks for all your comments.</p>