High school prep

Parent Cafe
1

<p>My son is a sophomore in a co-ed Catholic high school. Solid education, but nothing extraordinary. They have sent some kids to Ivies and some to top tier colleges/LACs, but not many.</p>

<p>He has an opportunity to transfer into a prestigious all boys prep school for his junior year. He is a year round swimmer and hopes to swim in college. He’s a great student (gpa is about a 4.5), is in a select chorus, is a hard worker, VP of his class, has a part time job in addition to endless hours in the pool, has decent list of ECs. He is well respected by the administration, etc.</p>

<p>Question for those who know better:</p>

<p>Is it better to leave well enough alone? In his present high school, he is on the honors/AP track, has an established reputation, has been there 2 years already, can probably get elected Pres. of his senior class and could hold some other leadership roles in his clubs. We know this devil.</p>

<p>OR</p>

<p>Does he take advantage of this unique opportunity for a much better education (undisputed), would be on a more competitive swim team with much better coaching, better opportunities in general.</p>

<p>The boys at the prep school have been there - some since 7th grade, some since 9th - will be in line for the leadership spots so those opportunities will probably disappear for my kid. </p>

<p>This devil is unknown in terms of everything except reputation for a great education, top college acceptances, more overall opportunities. My son knows of a few kids who go there, but he doesn’t know them well - only by name.</p>

<p>He will not have an opportunity to shadow until next week and the school has one spot open with people banging on the door to get in (9th graders). He really has to decide whether to fish or cut bait with a short window of opportunity to make this decision.</p>

<p>His goal is to have choices when it comes to colleges. He doesn’t know if he wants to try to get into an Ivy or not, but I would say he’d like to get into a top college/university to swim and, as well all know, it’s so competitive out there!</p>

<p>My question is this: How do you think a college admissions department would view a change for his junior year, esp. when there would undoubtedly be fewer leadership roles available to him? There will be a change in the look of his application, but it would also be clear why.</p>

<p>Good idea or bad idea to make this change?</p>

<p>Any and all opinions are welcome and I hope they come quickly - time is of the essence here. If there’s some better place to post this, please advise. I’m new to CC.</p>

<p>Thanks in advance for your input.</p>

2

<p>Call me crazy but I would focus on what he will enjoy over the next two years without worrying about which will improve his college admissions. </p>

<p>I know that is probably not the popular opinion on this board but in my mind you just never know. I’ve seen many posts where kids end up in a completely different place than either they or their parents thought they would be. </p>

<p>Enjoy the journey, the destination will take care of itself. </p>

<p>But that’s just me.</p>

3

<p>I actually agree with ebeeeee, pick the great school because it’s great for your kid NOW, now for college admittance prospects. I went to a pretty well known boarding school (though I only boarded the last year), and the groundwork they laid was invaluable. If he hits the ground running he may still be up for some leadership spots as a senior. We had a number of girls who joined our class as juniors, and they were quickly integrated into our class. So much so I’d be surprised occasionally by common experiences we did not share.</p>

4

<p>I switched schools for my junior year … from a high quality public to one of the top prep schools in our area. Best thing my parents ever did for me. Granted this is 30+ years ago … but I strongly support this idea.</p>

5

<p>I believe in challenging yourself. If I were making that decision as a student, or now as a parent, I would opt for the more competitive Prep school. I don’t believe in the big fish little pond appoach. Life doesn’t work this way. Besides, why shouldn’t he broaden his perspective? Attending an elite prep school mirrors one’s experience at a top University in many ways. This will be an excellent growing opportunity for your son.</p>

6

<p>He is going for it. He has to go through the process yet, but if all goes well, he is going to transfer. </p>

<p>Thanks so much for your input. All of the pros and cons were very helpful, things I hadn’t thought of and were all communicated to him in one form or another.</p>

<p>CC is great for bouncing ideas like this around.</p>

<p>I’ll let you know when it’s a done deal - I’ll know by the end of the week.</p>

7

<p>My son transferred from a highly ranked public to a very rigorous private school his junior year and is now completing his senior year. He tells me it was the best thing he has ever done–he is a much better student, a better writer with a more diverse group of friends. He was forced to stretch himself academically in a way that he did not have to at his public. He as able to participate in his sports at a more competitive level which helped him gain admission to his top choice college as an athletic recruit.</p>

<p>I will emphasize that the transfer was his idea but was really driven by his desire to play his sport at a more competitive level (we knew the academic piece would be a great benefit, but that was not his focus at the time)
I certainly would not push your son if this is not his wish as it is a huge adjustmmen acacemically and socially, but in our case well worth it from our point of view and our son’s point of view.</p>