<p>Isn't it so unfair. They all walk into the greatest schools like its nothing!</p>
<p>Well if you live in some cities the public schools are comparable to many private ones. The public I go to is better than the 3ish Private Schools around me.</p>
<p>i mean private schools get you in not because of academics but because of highly connected guidance counselors…</p>
<p>I’m jealous of them, I do think that not being really poor and constantly moving would’ve helped my grades. But they do more work in those schools, and their parents pay for it, it is fair.</p>
<p>^^^ Lol his name</p>
<p>Well that’s one of the perks of one’s parents paying 40k+ a year to send their kids to private schools</p>
<p>Obviously price of a private won’t be bad.</p>
<p>lol</p>
<p>10 char</p>
<p>well I have a more respect for the kids who go to those insane NYC prep schools/prep boarding schools. But the kids at my local private school…not so much</p>
<p>I think it’s fair.</p>
<p>I’m on scholarship at my private school. I definitely couldn’t afford to go private without a LOT of aid.</p>
<p>Public school was terrible and I feel like the government needs to figure things out when it comes to public schools… because my education in private school outweighed my public school education by leaps and bounds.</p>
<p>Comparatively, at least for my area, public school just was not at the same level as private school and a lot of my friends had the same sentiments. But it also depends on the school you go to. Some private schools suck and have kids who end up at worse colleges (or not at college) than the local publics.</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s ‘unfair’. But that’s just me…</p>
<p>Well my public school (well actually it is a charter school) and it is better than some private schools. It is ranked 68th in the nation 
100% free</p>
<p>MITHopeless16</p>
<p>pastexecutive</p>
<p>lol… anyways, except for one school, the private schools where I live suck.</p>
<p>Completely fair.</p>
<p>the big public schools have more sports and ECs but if you pay alot more for school then i guess they get better teacher or something.</p>
<p>^Not always true.</p>
<p>My private school has just as many sports and ECs than the local public schools and we’re a LOT smaller.</p>
<p>Our middle school actually offers more sports than any of the local public middle schools.</p>
<p>Because our school is so small, you get to participate in everything… one sport a year is actually mandatory in 7-12th grade.</p>
<p>The only disadvantage I’ve found in private school is the fact that EVERYONE tries to get good grades. It’s really difficult to be in the top 25%, let alone top 5 or 10%.</p>
<p>But i’ve personally had way more opportunities in private school than public school. And as far as sports go… Last year 20% of the senior class ended up committing to play a sport at a college, and I believe they were all different sports.</p>
<p>I really do think kids from good private schools get an extra bump from the name of the school, but this bump is probably deserved if their school has a good reputation and sends many students to Ivies and top colleges each year. I still feel like I got a quality education from my public school though, despite the fact that coming from a relatively lower-ranked school (our SAT average is 1150/1600, top 800ish public schools in America) puts me at a tiny disadvantage since it isn’t as competitive.</p>
<p>I actually feel that going to a public school can help you because it allows you to stand out in the crowd as a strong student. I go to a small public school that has average students (with regards to grades, SAT scores, and ECs) rather than the star students who go to the private schools in our area. But since I have high standards for myself and seek out my own opportunities, I perform well and therefore am in the top of the pack at my public high school. I think if I was at a highly competitive private school, it would be harder for me to stand out.</p>
<p>I think its perfectly fair. Even though the public school in my town is ranked #99 in the country, its not even known as good here. It may be ranked high but everyone who lives here knows it is nowhere comparable to the private schools in the area. For instance, the average SAT scores at the public school is around a 1700 and that’s from a school thats in the top 100 ranked in the country. My private school, however, has an SAT average of about a 2050. About a third of the senior class at my school every year applies early decision to Ivy League schools. Another thing, my brother who graduated from University of Michigan was choosing between UM w/o sports or playing football at Tufts. He may have gotten into Tufts w/o sports, but he wasn’t sure. When we met with the coaches, they mentioned a player on their team who came from my school. They said he had like a D in 1 class but there is a big discrepancy between good private and even top public schools so he said they basically said the D was like a B- at a public school. Both my brothers who went to Yale and Michigan coming from my school said that college was actually pretty easy and easier than high school, while many of their public school friends were really struggling there. Just some examples of how there really is legitimate reason for that edge…</p>
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<p>Exactly. The top schools are aware that talent resides in all HS settings, and they’re all determined to lay claim to their share of it. If you’re at an undistinguished public HS, find ways to challenge yourself, go to extra means to seek enrichment activities, and build a record of accomplishment. Your achievement despite a relative lack of resources can provide you a potential admissions hook that the kids at Phillips and Exeter don’t have.</p>
<p>Yes, but what I don’t understand is when people from top public schools post stats for their Ivy League acceptances with SAT scores of only (“only” used relatively here), say, a 2000’s-2100’s. I mean, aren’t these schools supposed to be the tippy-top, cut-throat competition, extremely difficult classes, etc.?</p>
<p>I go to what many CCers would deem a “crappy public school,” and I and most of my friends got 2300+ on the SAT. I do realize that the SAT isn’t the only part of an application, but it IS a way to measure academic ability. It makes me wonder…are private schools really worthy of all the hype that surrounds them?</p>