Do private schools have it easier than normal publics?

VAMom2015
Thu, 06 Nov 2014 15:19:17 +0000

I do think some schools are definitely more likely to get kids accepted to Ivys than others. I don’t know the reason–it could be that some schools don’t encourage the kids to aim that high. My DS went to public HS. Before his graduation year it had been at least 8 years since any graduates got into an Ivy. His year, 4 did. What was the difference? Did the colleges start looking outside their usual recruiting areas? Was this the first time in ages that students from DS’s HS applied? Who knows. I do know that people assumed that he was a graduate of a different HS when they found out where he was attending college (even had a professor at his college ask if he was from said school when he found out where we lived).

So where is the disconnect? Is it the counselors not encouraging the kids to apply? Is it a lack of interest in applying on the part of the student? Is it due to stereotyping of the students who get into certain schools? Is it the focus of recruiting from the colleges? It could be a combination.