<p>Okay, maybe a bit too literal, but which is generally better? To be somewhere in the top percentile in an easier school, or somewhere in the lower percentile but in a harder school? Also, assume that it is the same person in both situations, so the marks will be the same in both situations (but percentile is different, due to the schools’ difficulties.)</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>You mean you have a choice?</p>
<p>I agree with bettina but also I think it depends on the person and his willingness to actually try/get good marks at the college. And college usually will be no walk in the park, in easy or hard college, you need to try.</p>
<p>i thought he was talking about high school, not college…</p>
<p>What do they call the last ranked member of medschool class: Doctor
What do they call the last ranked member of lawschool class: Your Honour</p>
<p>My kids faced this choice for HS & chose to apply for & accept the harder, more selective private HS that grades a LOT harder. It has been a good choice because their peers have more in common with them–same goals & common language. On the other hand, I’m sure they would not have found the teachers or subject matter nearly as stimulating in the public HS they would have attended (their friends have not been too happy their). I was concerned that they were losing interest in school because so much time is spent on discipline & other “things” the feds require rather than subject mattter material kids care about. It’s also OK (actually good) to be smart at their school, where it definitely isn’t in public school.</p>
<p>For college, I went to a huge undergrad public uni (UO) & was one of the top students there. I loved it! For law school, went to a public again, UCD. It was the smallest school I had ever attended (in that the law school was fairly small & it was fine; my HS had over 750 in our graduating class & UO had many thousands in my graduating class). </p>
<p>It’s really a personal choice, I guess. A friend’s daughter went to Stanford & didn’t get into the local med school. Another friend’s son went to USC (when it was a bit less selective) & got into the local med school. What does this mean? Each student has to figure out what is the best fit for him/her & make the most of whatever situation they end up in. At least that seems to be how things work best as far as I can tell.</p>
<p>It’s definitely never good to be in the very bottom of your class (I would think). I would choose 65th or so percentile at the harder school over 99th percentile at the easier school, but if it dips into 40th or 30th percentile at the harder school, the easier one might be a better choice.</p>
<p>It depends on your career/graduate school goals. If you want to get into business, ibanking, or any other field that requires connections and recruiting, then a harder (more recognized) school is better. No prestigious firm is gonna recruit at Pudonk State U. even if you’re the valedictorian.</p>
<p>But for fields like medicine, it’s better to be the top student w/ the top gpa at Pudonk than say, way lower than average at Harvard.</p>
<p>second that ^</p>
<p>I’m talking about high school and not university.</p>