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Private High Schools in New Jersey
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Replies to: Private High Schools in New Jersey
Delbarton had 32 kids get National Merit recognition from a class of 115. Yes a slightly lower percentage then Pingrys 46 of a class of 139 but insignificant. Keep in mind Delbarton soccer, hockey and lacrosse all nationally ranked in top 20. Lastly Delbarton is committed to community service and the arts
Keep in mind both schools historically place about 25-35% of students at ivy and ivy plus schools and 50% at top 30 schools. It really comes down to individual preference. Other schools do produce similar outcomes to Pingry just different. Delbarton all boys, athletic and catholic means it's not for everyone but for some it is a benchmark. For others Pingry fills that definition.
I view Pingry and Delbarton plus several other schools in NJ as exceptional based on the individual goals of the students. I suspect once again you have had no first hand experience with Delbarton.
Good luck at Johns Hopkins.
There are schools in the international school community (abroad), that are effectively 100% IB but are also, because of the expat communities they serve, not selective. (They may be the only English language school there.) And they take kids who move to that country for just 2-3 years, so they don't have the luxury of getting them set up. Most of them have worked out the easiest path to the IBD, and while it may not all be a cakewalk, it may look a bit different than what a US school would set up to provide its students with a rigorous, externally graded course of study. HL math, chem, may not be part of all kids' degrees there as they often are here. Here, many schools use it as their fully integrated, most challenging curriculum, and it is hard! There, it may be a diploma that will allow students to have a high school degree that will allow them to access higher education in their own country (because a high scool degree from the us is useless in many places.) But we digress...
As for schools with lots of high scoring kids, it often suggests that they accept a certain type of kid (i.e., high SSAT is weighted heavily in admissions ), and/or that their student body does a lot of prepping. The latter may happen in school or more likely, the norm may be for the parents to pay for tutoring. It doesn't necessarily mean that the school teaches better but it can signal whether it aligns with who your kid is and your expectations.
Personally, I would look at this not as a sign of school quality but for what it says about the community. At all of these schools, you'll find (mostly) success stories as well as tales of (some) kids who had very bad experiences there. The latter is almost always a result of bad fit. The question to ask is -- is this school better for a kid who....-- than is this school better than that one.
Interestingly, Oratory Prep had 3 and is a smaller school. Seton Hall Prep had 2 and Christian Brothers Academy had 3.
It is much harder to make National Merit Semifinalist (223 index score) than National Merit Commended (213 index score).
https://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/news/education/2017/09/13/national-merit-scholarship-2018-semifinalists-central-jersey/659956001/
https://www.scribd.com/document/358901119/Semifinalists-in-the-2018-National-Merit-Scholarship-Program#from_embed
Not every student looking to attend a private school in NJ has an Ivy League admission as their end goal. Also, not sending a student to an ivy league doesn't mean the students did not receive a quality HS education. As some have pointed out, the many private HS in NJ have different "personalities" (just like the many colleges in this country.) You need to find the school that fits your student (otherwise they should attend their local public HS - which in NJ are very well rated). Different families have different priorities for HS - co-ed or single sex, religious or not, diverse or not, strong athletics or not, etc.
Pingry: https://www.pingry.org/uploaded/_Teaching_and_Learning/College_Counseling/2017-18_Profile_CCO.pdf
Delbarton: https://www.delbarton.org/uploaded/documents/College_Counseling/2018_Profile.pdf
Newark Academy: https://newarka.myschoolapp.com/ftpimages/85/download/download_1668455.pdf
Morristown Beard: https://www.mbs.net/uploaded/Documents/2017-2018/College_Counseling/2018_MBS_Class_Profile.pdf
https://www.delbarton.org/academics/college-counseling
I would venture a guess that if you removed the school name off of any of the college lists for Pingry, Delbarton or NA for a given year you couldn't guess the school. Reality is all three produce tremendous results just arrived at differently. In Delbarton's case it's achieved while beating everyone else at sports. That elicits some misconceptions and jealousy but doesn't diminish the outcomes of their students.
Again not every school is for every kid but certainly Delbarton's placement speaks for itself. Cheers
With that said your missing the point by trying to define one school as better than another or "the benchmark". No school in NJ can match the combination of national level athletics and great academics Delbarton has. That doesn't make it better just different. If an extra 5 kids a year gets in to Ivy schools from Pingry for some that might be better. If an average student is compelled to achieve greatness by going to Mo Beard then that may be "the benchmark".
For each individual there is a unique best fit. Relax and get comfortable in your own shoes without having to make fun of someone else's.
Ironic that you would make this statement while simultaneously trying to assert that someone can't define one school as better than another.*
*Disclaimer: I have daughters, so zero affiliation with any school mentioned in this thread. I just live in NJ, have sent both kids to private schools, and have opinions.
If you can name a school that has as much athletic success as Delbarton across as many sports with so few students I will gladly stand corrected. NJ.com couldn't when they named Delbarton as the top athletic school in the state.
For the record they are currently the lacrosse, soccer, baseball and hockey state champions (with several sports having state wide tournament of champions).
I also said this mix of athletics and academics might not be the best option for all students. That other mixes, environments might yield better results based on the individual student. Context matters and my point was each school is unique and has its strengths that may lend themselves to the individual needs of an individual student.
Yep, 3 on Dukes LAX roster are from Delbarton: http://www.goduke.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&SPID=2027&SPSID=25941
It's also rumored that Delbarton has increased class size over the past few years and relaxed criteria a bit. Nothing wrong with that, just saying it is known.
They are all good schools. But there are clear differences in their focuses, evident on their websites and in their school profiles.
Your presumption that "most kids going to Ivies or Duke from Delbarton" are admitted based on athletics is incorrect. Of the 22-23 this year I know of 5 that are recruited athletes. Not to identify my own son in response to your comment but he is an athlete but not recruited to play college athletics. He got in based on the entirety of who he is. Again other schools may be "better" but please don't diminish the achievements of Delbarton kids, it's beneath you.
Posted February 06, 2018 at 07:20 AM | Updated February 06, 2018 at 05:22 PM
http://www.nj.com/hssn-mms/2018/02/these_50_private_high_schools.html#incart_river_home