Would you pick a different high school?

[lmkh70]

Obviously, this is not in reference to my children who are currently in high school, but rather my younger children who are far off from high school. Basically, our high school is very lazy in the area of helping kids find colleges and applying and all. They barely have colleges visit. If you try to talk about colleges with them, they just say "nothing is wrong with community college." Those are the exact words, as if they are reading from a script. I have also gotten shrugs when I asked which colleges to consider or whatever else. (literally gotten shrugs). If I email questions, they do not get answered. The only colleges that visit, pretty much, none of them are tier 1. (except Wash U, Wash U is visiting, which shocks us because even the major state universities are not coming).

On one hand, I think this school is not geared toward students going to college, so we should go elsewhere with the rest. But on the other hand, I think, maybe this means that our children will be the only ones applying to these colleges, which may result in higher chances of getting in. I found it odd that when they did a "senior edition" newsletter and profiled the recent to 10 grads (out of 800, not top 10%...just top 10), they all went to non-tier one public universities.

[SteveMA]

Those are really sad numbers. I would be out of that school in a second-actually we never would have started our kids in that school. The problem comes not only with assistance with applications, etc. but the prep for college or the focus of the classes through their high school years. If the school is focused on getting the kids to community college and no farther, the classes will not support the curriculum needed to get into these top schools.

Not sure where you get your Tier system though.

[sylvan8798]

I think the question here should be not what the school does in terms of the guidance office, or what schools the graduates go to, but what kind of education your kids are getting. Did their education prepare them for the SAT/ACT? Are they passing AP courses and scoring well on the exams? ARE there AP courses offered? Are your kids truly going to be prepared when they get to college, or will they be caught flat-footed?

If you can evaluate these things, you will have your answer re the younger kids.

[ucbalumnus]

The question should be, how well are the graduates of the high school prepared for college? Does the school note how well its graduates do in college (whether they go to a four year as freshmen or start at community college and transfer)?

Even the students who are not going for their bachelor's degrees need to know how well the high school prepares them for further education in skilled services and trades, rather than relegating them to unskilled labor jobs.

[emberjed]

I wish I'd gone to a more competitive high school, but one that didn't calculate class rank.

[michaellax28]

I wish i went to a different high school mine does not prepare you for anything we get a PSAT junior year and that is it no classes to help you or guidance to help. Most of my school scores in 1200-1300 SAT range. My school only top 10% do well on SAT. No one even talks about ACT. There are barely any AP classes or honors too. English class is a joke all we do is read books and do an essay on it and they give a good grade. My CR on SAT is 420 and writing is 400 only my math is good at 730. Over half of kids end up going to community college.

[turbo93]

I sometimes wish my kids would have gone to a small town high school where it was fairly easy to bump up one's class rank and test scores (much less competition) rather than the super-wealthy suburb large high school where competition is far more intense and class rank, forget it... Or the super-easy parochial school, or the super expensive prep school where money does buy grades, and so on...

To our high school's credit, they do a pretty good job of college prep, but at a cost. Getting even a 3.5, let alone anything better, is quite the challenge if you end up in the 'wrong' classes.

[constantIllusion]

Lmkh70, did you ever consider that maybe the reason why the top ten ranked students went to such "low" ranking schools is because their parents would not let them undertake insurmountable debt to pay for a "high" ranking private school's tuition? Sometimes kids have to go to the school they can afford instead of the one of their dreams.

[intparent]

Agree with other posters that college application support is the least of your worries. Far too many kids go to high schools where a 25 on the ACT is considered to be an incredibly high score, then everyone is puzzled when the kid does not into Harvard with it. It is the day-in, day-out college preparatory nature of the classes that prepares your kid for admission to college and long term success. Honestly, we could go thru the college app process with almost no support but a Fiske book and CC, as long as the high school sends in the transcripts and does the NMSF paperwork on time. But that rigorous curriculum and higher expectations in the classroom are what they really need most. Move 'em if you have the option.

[MomofWildChild]

Turbo93^^^ I always chuckle at the sour grapes posts about "expensive prep schools.". I hooe you really aren't stupid enough to believe "money buys grades." The reputation of those schools is dependent on preparing students for selective colleges.

[lmkh70]

It is not just where they went. It is also the fact that no selective schools (except 1) seem to visit this school. No information is given, even when requested, about colleges or applying or financial aid. NONE of the top 10 kids went to higher ranking schools. We have gone to fairs and talks, elsewhere...at other high schools. I emailed the school counselor the week before last to ask about the fairs going on. He knew of none. But I already knew of 4 in the area...and a session (free) told to us by the Tufts admission person on how to get in to selective colleges...over 7 days time. The school counselor knew of none of them. When my daughter expressed an interest in a specific competitive school, the college emailed her and said they do not visit her school but that she was welcome to see them when they were going to be at the college fair. (which led me to ask the counselor, and his lack of knowledge led me to look up more info on others).

[lmkh70]

Actually, I have seen some truth to what Turbo says. I am unsure of the effect on the admissions process. We will see. I have a niece who shows up at her expensive private school when she feels like. She is given straight As. Her grades are generally dependent on the donations being made on her behalf. If she gets in to a top school, or even a good school, then we will know that all made a difference for her. She rarely studies. She mostly parties and plays on the internet. She has a lot of absences. Her mother loves to brag about her grades. But her grades mean very little to us when they are just given to her. But we will see. I will save judgement for when we find out where she is going to college.

[compmom]

We never really regarded school as the center of education for our kids, honestly. Some students do well with college admissions from our school, which has some similarities to yours, but those who do well generally do a lot at home, and outside of school in general. We actually appreciated the lack of stress and pressure at the school, and the lack of rigor allowed our kids and others to focus on interests that were important to them, and even time to read what they wanted. The social mix gave them a taste of the real world without the precious expectations of some of the best high schools. They seem to adjust to the work load at more selective colleges, at least after the first semester or two.

[SteveMA]

turbo--sure, you can have a great class rank but keep in mind that those smaller schools also don't have the course offerings and generally test scores aren't as good because the kids don't have the access to the higher level classes. You also find that you end up with a mix of kids similar to what the OP is finding and there isn't the need to go to a 4 year college, which does rub off on the other kids no matter what their parents want.

[mathmom]

lmkh, it's conceivable if they don't weight honors and APs that the top ten ranked students aren't really the top ten academically. Nevertheless what you describe does sound worrisome. I think compmom is right that there's something to be said for attending a school that is not a pressure cooker. Our kids attended a pretty good high school, but there weren't so many high achievers that my kids felt that much pressure. My older son used his free time to explore interests and even get a job computer programming outside of school. I know some kids in "expensive prep schools" - they aren't giving A's out like candy in the ones I know.

In any event, I'd want a good enough school so that my kids were prepared for college and that my kids weren't totally bored. For my kids that meant a fair number of AP courses or their equivalent.