<p>Relatively speaking regarding overall college experience, is it better to be in “25th percentile” of accepted student profile at a very competitive and more prestigious LAC, or in “75th percentile” ranking for a less competitive LAC? Same relative geographic location, academic offerings, and student-life atmosphere; financial aid not expected.</p>
<p>I think it really depends on the student and also whether their HS performance was “their best” or “just good enough.” Some kids do better when they are the top of the heap, others do better when they are challenged. My S chose a school where he could be at the top of the heap and turned down schools with much stronger academic reputations where the students are hyper-competitive and he would have been middle of the pack at best. There are also a lot of intangibles to consider other than just stats…mainly where will the kid fit best and be happiest?</p>
<p>My son was in the top percentile in verbal, bottom percentile in math, and who knows where on GPA. His grades have been very, very similar to his high school grades. A’s in history and most social science courses, C+/B- in language, B’s and B+'s in the math/science courses. He’s at Tufts.</p>
<p>It may also matter how large the school is, how “wide” the range of student abilities and motivations is, and how the student abilities and motivations are in the intended or possible majors (a pure math and philosophy double major might find a different kind of peer group and course rigor than someone majoring in whatever the easy “fluff” majors are at the school).</p>
<p>You may want to consider
- How rigorous was his HS?
- Where % did he fall in relation to his peers there?
- How hard did he have to work to get there?
- And all those things considered, how much did he enjoy that experience? Would he care to duplicate it or correct it?
- Lastly, does pressure/workload bring out his best or worst? and, conversely, Does lesser degree of challenge in expectations and peers give him confidence and bring out self-motivation or encourage him to float on a lower tide?</p>
<p>It’s a very individual thing. Some kids go to relatively straightforward high schools and get accepted to colleges where they have to kick butt to catch. Others have attended pretty competitive high schools with a stiff curve and find college easy. Typically you would think being in the top quartile woud mean that you should have no trouble maintaining a B average for most colleges. (or at least that is what I tell my kid and so far it’s worked). Colleges do a pretty good job of picking kids that know have the capability of succeeding but alot of kids don’t finish college for many, many reasons.</p>
<p>I’ve spent time at several colleges where I fell into different bands on the achievement spectrum. My favorite academic environment was being in the top third but with some classmates stronger than me. I had friends who pushed me and inspired me; but I did well in my classes and never felt “left behind.” </p>
<p>Being one of the highest-achieving students got me a lot of attention from faculty, but it was rather lonely. (“Why is nobody sharing my enthusiasm for ___?”) Most frustrating was being in the bottom quarter and continually struggling to keep up. No fun at all. </p>
<p>That being said, standardized test scores or high school GPAs may not be a good indicator of how a student will actually compare to their peers in college.</p>