<p>the best high schools in houston might be the magnet schools from which i wouild say the best one is the Debakey HS</p>
<p>In terms of best Houston area, Bellaire is generally considered to be the best public high school and St John’s is generally considered to be the best private high school.</p>
<p>I actually think the strongest advantage is had by students who attend low performing schools and despite the obstacles are high achievers both in performance (gpa/rank/ecs) and ability (standardized testing). Those kids can write their ticket to any prestigious college.</p>
<p>yes idmom is completly right, the low standard schools are “easier” and it is easier to make higher grades there thanks to the grade inflation. Also, the student population is less motivated and so there is less competition for the individual. this happens in alot of HS in the Houston ISD and are ranked “unacceptable”.</p>
<p>Yes, serge … that’s exactly why admissions officers are familiar with each high school in their region. They know which schools are easier to obtain a 4.0 average and which are not. They might look just as favorably at a student with a 3.6 GPA from a very competitive school as a student with a 4.0 at a less competitive school. Being in a lower-performing school might make it easier for a student to have a high GPA and a high rank, but it doesn’t necessarily make it easier to get into college.</p>
<p>when i was applying to Rice, I was emailing with amy from the admssions comette. I asked her to send me the admissions to Rice from houston area schools and asked her if coming from a low performing school as a whole would affect admission. I had moved from westlake in austin (72th in the country, <a href=“http://msnbc.msn.com/id/7723397/site/newsweek/[/url]”>http://msnbc.msn.com/id/7723397/site/newsweek/</a> ) which was a much better school academically and with more educated people to Alvin HS here in hoston which is not really a good school overall because of many factors but the teachers were excellent and some of my teachers had PhDs or masters in their field. The demographics of my last high school lead to a high dropout rate and other factors which lower the rankings but there is always the group of students which are high achievers no matter what the school is and we had our share of national merit scholars and other things. Individual achievement is driven by your desire and ambition to get in to your choice college.
Amy, from admssions, told me that it would not affect it because they look at you as an individual person and not your high school diploma for academic standing. they cannot discriminate.</p>
<p>I think my point was slightly missed. </p>
<p>A student who attends a low performing school where advantages are few, yet makes opportunities for themselves (ex…entering science competitions without a mentor, taking college classes if APs are not available, seeking and securing internships on their own, etc…) and who achieves despite the disadvantages of attending this low performing school will always be a standout candidate in the eyes of an admissions officer. Especially if that student is also economically disadvantaged and must work, making their participation in extracurriculars even more meaningful…and if this candidate has survived negative peer pressure to avoid success. This type candidate will always be more intriguing than a student who pulls a perfect GPA or SATs at a wealthy school where tutoring, SAT prep and mentoring are readily available and where competition drives performance in a positive direction. Both candidates may make it into a school like Rice…but the former is one that will gain the immediate attention of the admissions office.</p>
<p>well said, thats what ive been trying to say :)</p>
<p>serge-
I suspect the adcomm Amy said exactly what she was supposed to say to you (“every student is looked at individually”). No adcomm would ever say “oh you go to that crummy school? We’ve never had luck with kids from that school.They all drop or flunk out after 2 years. What a waste of time and money on our part to invest in kids from your school. Don’t bother to apply”. </p>
<p>I am exaggerating to make a point. Even if it were true, they’d never say that. Ldmom and blackeyedsusan both have very valid points. Yes, the kids that shine, rise above the challenges and suceed despite being from a poor or weak school will be attractive to most adcomms. Most any school would clamor to have those kids. And your having attended a good school for most of your HS career would likely make you a strong, successful student in the poorer school from which you graduated. In fact, that might have been a plus for you.</p>
<p>But blackeyedsusan is also right. The reality is that many schools, public and private, are “known” to certain colleges to produce well-educated kids who will succeed in college, graduate, become successful, make lots of money and donate it back to the college (again exaggerating a little, to make a point). The reality is, if a college has a good experience with kids from a certain school, that will probably pave the way for future graduates of that same HS.</p>
<p>this is all speculation both ways</p>
<p>Serge-
I am a parent who (1) has been involved with my local college alumnae association , which includes college recruiting and interviewing and (2) I have a pretty close relationship with our (private) school’s college counselors. I promise you, this is not speculation. Its simply dollars and cents</p>
<p>Are you familiar with naviance? <a href=“http://www.naviance.com/[/url]”>http://www.naviance.com/</a> If you go in as a guest through one of your local schools, youwill find some surprising info on the schools statistics-- ie what the SATs, GPA’s etc are of the students who get into different colleges. fascinating stuff! I’ll find and post the CC link to several free ways to get into naviance</p>
<p>Here ya go (oops had to correct the link. Try this one)<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=139160&highlight=tcci+naviance[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=139160&highlight=tcci+naviance</a></p>
<p>Kinkaid belongs to naviance. *** The guest password is “college” *** Check it out</p>
<p>Here’s some of Kinkaid’s stats for admitted Rice students <a href=“https://connection.naviance.com/fc/colleges/collegecompare.php[/url]”>https://connection.naviance.com/fc/colleges/collegecompare.php</a>
Unfortunately, I can’t find the nifty scattergraphs. maybe they don’t make them available</p>