Prep school reputations.

<p>thanks for the realistic
but sort of crushing
post, nightsky!</p>

<p>Nightsky, most of the longtime posters on this board are in agreement with you. There are many threads stating you have a better chance of getting into an Ivy by being a superstar at your local public high school, than if you went to top boarding school.</p>

<p>Most of the top schools like you to be in the top %'tile of your class. If you are in the bottom of your class at exeter and 2nd in your class at xyz public school, it is obvious that your chance of getting into ivy is better from public school.<br>
However, is your education better. There are lots of threads on this from the college board as to whether education is better at Harvard or State University? From being pushed by your fellow students and teachers, obviously better at prep school and Harvard.<br>
But, does your MD or JD after your name say which school, no – only how good you do at your job.</p>

<p>The other factor to consider is whether your child can/will be a superstar at the high school. Potential doesn’t always work out the way the think it will. I know my youngest would never be the superstar at the local high school – he is already discouraged by the lack of discussion in class, the mediocrity of the students, the lack of ambition by the other boys, the limited opportunities, etc. Yes – he would do fine and go on to college, but I don’t think he would be the type of superstar that goes to Harvard. He needs the challenge, support and opportunites that are offered at the schools he is deciding between in order to truly flourish.</p>

<p>of course, his goal is not to get into an Ivy League school – but to learn and grow as a person. But even for those students for whom an Ivy League school is a goal, you have to look at whether you will be the local high school superstar.</p>

<p>and rememberrrr, just cause a school is ivy doesnt mean its the best. obviously its gonna be a fantastic school but not necessarily the best for YOU. for instannnce i’m good at writing andd want to go to columbia, but if you are good at art/thats what you want to persue RISD would be better.
lsdfjsdlkf</p>

<p>i feel like bumping this thread…</p>

<p>If your reaction to this thread is “yech” or “gross” and you want to find a boarding school with amazing results but none of the ORD “Obsessive Ranking Disorder,” that afflicts too many people on this thread (and America generally), then go West young man (or woman)!!! :)</p>

<p>I found Milton much easier to get into. I applied for 6 and got in 5 and Exeter was the exception but I knew I didn’t get into that cos I stuffed the interview big time and the essay was poor. I scored a 2339 on the SSATs out of 2400 but I don’t know how important or good that is. I’m going to Andover but Groton and Choate were great. Taft was my safety I think.</p>

<p>Yes it is possible to have a better chance to get into an Ivy from a public school. However, the statistics for the top boarding schools would superficially indicate otherwise. Why? I think there are reasons, but much of the difference is simply because they have already self-selected.</p>

<p>I do not want to deteriorate into rankings and counter rankings but when you look at PrepReview’s 2008 number’s for America’s Best Boarding Schools and see that St. Paul’s School (#1) had 34% of their students go to the Ivy League+ MIT+Stanford THAT is pretty amazing! </p>

<p>I am taking nothing away from public school. You do have to realize that the top boarding schools tend to accept top high school student’s who probably would have gotten into those same top schools regardless of where they finished their high school years. </p>

<p>And yes all of the top 10 prepschools had numbers in 2008 ranging from 22% to 34%. All great schools, all great students.</p>

<p>Personally, I believe that prep school IS WORTH IT because of the teachers, the fellow students, the maturity you develop, the class size, the study habits and the motivated people around you.</p>

<p>Our friends’ daughter is an amazing student and athlete…she attended Columbia last year. Did not care for it and transferred to our state university. She excelled at Columbia (Dean’s list), but it was not for her. She is in the honors program at the state university and says she does not notice a difference in academic rigor. Go with what makes YOU happy…prestige is definitely not the end-all.</p>

<p>Even if you <em>were</em> in the top 1% of your public school, it doesn’t necessarily guarantee anything. At the public school I would have gone to had I not gone to Exeter, we sent a kid to Harvard like once every 10 years. Going to an “elite” or prestigious school, one that colleges know are academically and socially rigorous, might actually benefit you. For example, I know people at Harvard, Yale, etc. who weren’t even close to being in the top 5% at Exeter; more like 25%. Simultaneously, valedictorians with above-average EC’s and SAT scores are rejected from top colleges <em>all the time,</em> simply because kids like that applying to Ivies are a dime a dozen.</p>

<p>I actually feel like I have a much better chance at colleges at Exeter than I would at my public school, because I know I’ve been able to do more worthwhile and distinguishable things here.</p>

<p>Everyone has talked about the best schools…But what about the worst prep schools? Most notorious for drugs, drinking, etc…</p>

<p>Ummm… I heard Kent had a drug reputation, but I’m not sure if that’s actually true.</p>

<p>I think they all have drinking and drug issues, just like every public school. The difference is that some of theirs make national headlines because they’re so “elite”.</p>

<p>Every boarding school has their little problem, whether it be drinking, drugs, sex, off-campus parties, the sheer inability to go three months without having a scandal AND having a best-seller written about it…</p>

<p>^^ that “best-seller” was pretty much the worst book I’ve ever read, ha.</p>

<p>Haha I had to stop reading it halfway through. That’s why I didn’t apply there though, my parents thought I was going to be sexually harrassed. Ugh.</p>

<p>Oh God, it was terrible. I wonder how their prep school English teachers felt…</p>

<p>THEY ALL HAVE DRUGS AND ALCOHOL!!!..
lol
U will find them anywhere, it’s up to you if you do them or not.</p>

<p>Wait, what book is that…I feel like I’ve heard of it before?</p>