<p>I’m wondering if anyone else has had this experience or this is an anomily.
My D1 went to an elite private prep school. When she tested in for the first grade class I found from the admitted students that she was one of the 2 of the 20 admitted who had not already finished a first grade program. When starting first grade there were a number who had been held back in K so some in the class were a full 2+ years older. When I spoke to parents who held their kids back, they overwhelmingly stated that they wanted their kids to have the advantage. These kids most definitly did throughout the years. All leadership and sports positions througout MS & HS; then again, in the college admissions cycle. In the classroom these students had an advantage as well. In such a competitive academic atmosphere the bar is raised to achieve some semblance of a bell curve. This was popular at other local privates so students who tested in at HS also were a year+ older.
The practice has been curtailed to some extent but by no means stopped since many privates have not instituted this change in policy prior to the students transfer and if your a current parent in good standing you can petition a waiver for elementry admits.
At the time, I thought this practice was just a personal family decision that was not that widespread. The implications for the younger students have been detrimental in all aspects and I can not find any downside for the older students since they dominate this culture.
It seems that in the college admission process these students capitalized on their secondary school advatage.
This is not a “sour grapes” post but just intrested in the trends and facts. For the emotional side of things, I do think I did an injustice to my daughter. I would like to hear if adcoms have noted this trend and/or take this into consideration? Do they have a mental or hard copy list of prep schools who practice this admission policy? Parents, is this regional or thoughout all prep schools?</p>