Although I think I understand your analysis, I’m still unclear about the attributes Groton students bring that influence the colleges where there are high concentrations, or which attributes are shared by the colleges that would attract Groton students. Ditto with Trinity.
I’m familiar with the culture at my kid’s school, but not the culture at Groton.
A glance at the schools attended by Thacher grads reveals a predilection for colleges with access to the great outdoors, which makes sense given Thacher is adjacent to the Los Padres National Forest and the school’s focus on healthy risk taking in the context of outdoor adventures. camping, rock climbing, etc.
Culturally, they bring certain attributes to a college. Thacher kids tend to be very responsible and willing to work for the sake of the community. This is an offshoot of the frequent camping experiences, where everyone must do their part for the group, not to mention the thankless tasks related to horse care (remember: Freshmen are mucking for their horses every dawn). The camping also makes them resourceful. You can count on a Thacher kid in an emergency. I can see why some colleges really like Thacher kids for reasons that go beyond the academic preparation and ECs.
I think that the OP is trying to read too much into this. Groton is a bit of an outlier in that it is the only tippy-top boarding school of its small size and they start in 8th grade so the graduating class is even smaller than one might expect. It may make some sense that kids who like small elite schools in the North East gravitate to smaller elite colleges in the North East. My take on it is that Groton and St. Paul’s lists are roughly the same as any of the other elite schools. Having had kids and nephews at a variety of these schools over the last 7 years, it is remarkable to me how limited is their scope of matriculation given all of the great options out there. I haven’t done the math, but I would not be surprised if 70% of the graduates went to the same 40 or so schools with similar heavy representation at the same schools listed. Scripps, while excellent, seems like an outlier. As for that Forbes list, people will always find nits to pick on these lists but Governor’s? – a fine school but not in the same league as the others.
I wonder what a few of you are seeing? My goal was to get the math correct, then to hear the opinions of others. I had no preformed opinion, although I hazarded a tentative interpretation when asked (#s 12 and 13).
@merc81: What year was the Forbes article printed ? The article ranked 20 schools of which less than half were boarding schools ( Andover, Exeter, St. Paul’s, Lawrenceville, Groton & Deerfield).
These are the schools kids from Groton like, for any number of reasons.
Some BS kids wish to replicate their BS experience and choose small remote LACS where the community is almost exclusively that of the school. Those are in this list. Many BS kids are so over living in a bubble and want the anonymity a bigger school can provide and the entertainment options of a city. Those are in the list.
While all BS have kids from around the country and around the globe, the majority tend to be from within a few hours of the school. So geographic preference may play in. Yep again.
If a school has a particularly strong program, especially to the point that it attracts students because of it, it’s not unusual to see that reflected in college choice. Not necessarily seeing that, but might be missing something.
Overall, parents and kids choose Groton because, among other things, they value academics so it’s not surprising to see highly selective schools with strong academics in the list. But Groton like? No. Liked by Groton kids? Sure.
@gardenstategal My understanding is that this was NOT a list of the most popular schools for Groton grads, which round be an absolute number by # of kids enrolling, but a relative number that took the overall # of students at each college into account?
It looks like guidance counselors at these prep schools need to get elite southern schools like Vanderbilt, Rice and Duke on their radar. Their students would have geographical diversity advantage there.
They don’t need to do any such thing. They are already on their radar. It’s the kids/parents, with limited exceptions, who impose geographic parameters on the college list.
The kids often have a somewhat limited view of where they want to go based not only on geography but also on legacy pulls, “reputation” of the college, where they are likely to settle ( this is very important) and other factors like the size of the school. The guidance counselors also influence things to a very large degree. There are some great schools on the West Coast(Caltech etc) and South ( Duke, etc) but few NE BS students want to be that far away from friends and family. Many also factor in, getting a job down the road and they chose the East Coast for that reason. Many are in fact very limited in the geography of the schools they are looking at. I’ve heard many kids who attend a small college talk about other colleges which are close by. They can often take classes there or just socialize.
For those pointing out the full pay at Groton, please dig deeper the Head of School has made diversity a big issue and the demographics have changed dramatically. And Groton has very deep pockets so they can fund whomever they like.
Another factor is the balance of math and social science. Unlike many schools where one can focus in high school on Math/Science, Groton also has a strong emphasis on the social sciences. You cannot escape from Latin/Greek. That’s a big thing for some kids. That also translates well into some of the schools mentioned. Not Latin and Greek specifically but having an emphasis on what used to be known as liberal arts. Having a well rounded education used to be important and it’s still emphasized more at Groton than many other schools.
There’s a lot to be said in getting a top notch education at a small school where you can get to know people very well. Kids coming from Groton’s small size might want to jump to a large university. But many will find comfort in the small classes and personalized attention of a small LAC.
Personally, I don’t think the list is surprising at all.
It’s too hot down south. That’s why I didn’t look at southern schools. Who wants to play soccer in 105+? Although now that may apply to New England schools as well.
@dogsmama1997 - Having attended college in the NE and a grad school in the South, I cannot begin to tell you how many stereotypes of southern schools I still hear…even from some parents here on CC. People do ask me about some of the Southern schools’ golf programs (Duke, UNC, Georgia, Emory, etc). I think some folks are very sensitive about what other’s may “think” about southern schools. This also applies to why some parents/kids on CC do not look at boarding schools in the South or even mid-Atlantic states.
As others have noted on this thread, Groton may attract kids who like a small campus vibe. There is a lot to be said for attending a smaller school.
There are several smaller LAC’s in the South and Mid-Atlantic states that are attracting BS students (including kids from Groton and other top schools). I have had the chance to visit several: Davidson, Washington & Lee, Rhodes College, William & Mary, University of Richmond, University of The South (looks very similar to Groton), and the Oxford College of Emory University (small liberal arts program on their own campus). Davidson and University of The South have small, charming, campuses - they seem smaller than a couple of boarding schools we know
Unless you are taking summer courses, you can skip three months of heat wave at southern colleges, unlike winter blast of northern colleges where are on campus for worst part.
