<p>Stats21, yes, that is how I feel. Our public school is the only option in our area. If you want private, you have to send your kid to boarding school or else a sport specific academy. We don’t wish to do that and cannot afford to but I’m certain our kids would have been admitted. (and not all mature, poised and intelligent kids have parents with that kind of money) And I’m certain that they would have had some opportunities at such schools that they didn’t have at our local school. But who they are doesn’t change. If someone compares them to a boarding school kid, they are who they are whether we kept them here or opted to send them to the boarding school. Their high school experiences differed but their strengths, maturity, and poise belong to them no matter which school we opted to send them to. If I sent them to Andover and Interlochen, for example, would they all of a sudden now be considered “intelligent, mature, and poised,” but since they stayed local are they now not those things? And obviously, highly selective colleges and programs opted to admit them and they excelled and stood out at their colleges and so kids of this sort exist everywhere. And where we live, unless you send your kids far away, your kids go to the public school and so it is not as if our state doesn’t have intelligent, poised, or mature kids. In fact, I am an alum interviewer for a select university and I have just conducted several interviews with kids from various public schools in my region and they sure knock my socks off.</p>
<p>hold on now, sooz you’re arguing that the parents walking around say Olympia Washington have same level of intelligence as the parents walking around say Palo Alto? And therefore the kids at the public-prep HS in Palo Alto have a similar IQ to the kids at the public high school in Olympia? Is that what you’re saying in your post above??</p>
<p>Wow this entire thread is scary for so many reasons. First of all, I always wonder about people who remember their standardized tests scores (and apparently the scores of everyone that they work with!) Who really cares? Is that how you define yourself?
Let’s not pretend that being the president of a high school class is equal to running a small country. Please. Then I can’t take the generalizations that are made here with regard to prep vs public. To make these blanket statements about the “average” kid in a prep school and the “average” kid in a public school is ludicrous. I wouldn’t begin to comment on either because I have never experienced either (I was catholic school educated). Now ask my opinion on catholic education and I can tell you what MY experience was but I wouldn’t begin to speak for all catholic educated people throughout the U.S. Generalizations are a dangerous thing. I think it is unfortunate though, to think that kids in prep or private schools are more mature than those in public. There are many kids today that deal with a host of family problems ranging from domestic violence, addiction, poverty, gangs, absent parents etc. and yet they try and do the right thing everyday and go to school to get an education so that they can better their unfortunate circumstance. I think that many of these kids are quite “mature” trying to handle things that kids just shouldn’t be dealing with at 14+.<br>
Do prep schools provide a better education? For their $35,000+ price tag, they better, at least, provide an excellent education. Many people will argue that surrounding oneself with equally wealthy peers is not exactly a “real world” experience. Money can buy you an excellent education but I have found that it can’t buy you class and I really dislike the angry tone this whole discussion has taken. Prep school people trying to prove why they are better, more qualified or desired to attend HPY and public advocates saying that they are just as good. Doesn’t diversity make the world go round? HPY are filled with kids from private, prep, public, catholic, non denominational high schools throughout the world. Not everyone aspires to go to an Ivy. I just hate it when people think that if you don’t, that somehow there is something wrong with you (or the school you came from!)</p>
<p>Soozievt, obviously there are exceptions in public schools as I have stated numerous times on this thread. That’s why they are at the TOP at those regular high schools. If they are at the top at those high schools yet, being the same person, they become average at an elite prep school (given its selectivity level as you said), then by definition the average student at the regular school will be below the average student at the elite prep school. You proved my point.</p>
<p>A cloistered environment does not seem to be the optimum one for developing maturity in regard to the board range of situations that one encounters in everyday life.</p>
<p>As other posters have noted, a well managed, top private prep school provides an environment that artificially reduces or eliminates many situations that are present in life. To me, maturity covers how you react to unpleasant, unwanted and/or adverse situations as well as uplifting, enriching and positiive ones. </p>
<p>Don’t confuse maturity and poise with privilege, pretention and/or prestige.</p>
<p>1) OP said: " . . . I used to feel very proud of my GRE analytical score of 780/800 . . ."</p>
<p>Of course that’s a score to be proud of.</p>
<p>Only someone who has lost their sense of their perspective would believe that such a score is NOT someothing to be proud of.</p>
<p>And same with anyone who gets an 800 on any part of the SAT. Just because Ivies routinely say “no” to 75-80% of those kids who apply is no reason NOT to feel proud of such scores. . . unless you can only feel proud of that score (or proud of your school) if it’s validated by an Ivy acceptance. </p>
<p>2) OP said: “I would like to understand where I got confused with cause and effect. Would you like to explain?”</p>
<p>This post is about how certain schools are better because they “get” kids into Ivies. That hopelessly confuses whether the schools are the cause of Ivy acceptance (the kids would not have gotten in if they’d gone to another school) or the effect (the kids who attend these schools would gave gotten in if they’d gone to another school.)</p>
<p>It’s the same as picking the “best” schools in a metro area: are those schools “best” because they teach so well or because of the SES of the families who live there? </p>
<p>The HYPed fetish on this site - that the 1% of all students who attend such schools “succeed” while all others fail - is founded on pretending that are the primary determinat of success in life. They contribute some, but they do not determine.</p>
<p>At Ds’s school -p one fo the hihgfalutin’ ones in the Forbes study - I know personnally 3 kids who were accepted to but decided NOT TO ATTEND HYPed schools . . . they did so because they could get a better educational fit elsewhere. </p>
<p>If not for them DS’s schools would have been #1 . . . but the value of their high school education was prescisely the same, no matter where they went afterwards.</p>
<p>07Dad, what kinds of situations can a regular HS prepare a student that an elite prep school, more specifically an elite boarding school, can’t?</p>
<p>07dad: i’ve heard that argument before, “send your kid to a rough and tumble public school, they gotta learn sooner or later how the REAL WORLD is”</p>
<p>really? </p>
<p>1) is that the behavior we want our kids emulating? it’s all learned behavior you know
2) And life will throw rough things at you sooner or later, I prefer it to be later for my kids! I don’t think a third grade girl needs boys saying crude sexual comments at her and the public teacher school yard monitor unable to remove the boys from school…no 07dad you can have that school, I’ll gladly go somewhere else.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>No, I’m not saying that. The public school in Palo Alto may have a higher concentration of very bright accomplished students than the high school in a less affluent town. Duh. But there are very intelligent high achieving academic students in EVERY school. Some schools have a greater percentage of such students at their school…for example, an elite prep school that has selective admissions…or an affluent area public high school where 100% of students are college bound and so on. But there are the same level of intelligence, maturity, leadership, poise, achievement, etc. at all schools. Some schools have a higher percentage of such students in the student body and some have a smaller percentage of this kind of student.</p>
<p>My kids went to a high school where one third of the students do not attend college (though those students were not in my kids’ Honors classes). The kids in the hardest classes were very bright, not necessarily affluent, and are the sorts of kids who could attend a private prep school if their parents could afford it or wanted to send them out of state.</p>
<p>I am back. As regards DNA, I postulate that DNA exists in its purest form on the Upper East side, and deteriorates rapidly as it migrates west and (particluarly) south. The effects of northern migration are unclear, because scientifically, who the hell moves north. I once met a fellow from Ohio or Kansas, or some such place, who seemed intelligent, in spite of it all, once I was able to overlook the roughly hewn clothing.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>OK…</p>
<p>What kinds of situations can an elite prep school or specifically an elite boarding school prepare a student that a regular HS cant?</p>
<p>Or in plain English…</p>
<p>What situations can an elite school prepare its graduates for…that a regular public high school can’t.</p>
<p>MY answer…there are none.</p>
<p>There might be none but the elite prep school, especially if it’s a boarding school, can prepare you better.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>For starters, I am not against elite boarding schools. They offer a fine education. They offer some things better than some public schools like ours. Also, please keep in mind that the vast majority do not have the OPTION to attend elite boarding schools, not because they are not bright enough but because they cannot afford such schools. Many could be admitted to such schools but do not attend. They are in the public school system. Just saying. </p>
<p>But since you ask, there are some experiences a public school kid might have that a boarding school kid might not. A kid in a certain type of public school like ours will be mixing with kids from a wide range of socio-economic background and it is less insular in that way. The atmosphere tends to be more cooperative and less competitive. There is no “HYP” on the brain. College admissions is not the topic du jour. Rankings never are discussed. Nobody is competing with one another over college admissions issues. </p>
<p>The student can have experiences in the real world, not just on campus. For example, kids can hold paying jobs in the community. Kids can be involved in ECs not affiliated with their school, such as dance studios, community theater, elite sports training programs, and many others (my kids were in ECs both in school and outside the school, as well as held jobs). The student is part of daily life in the family. The strong academic or talented EC kid at the public may have some opportunities they could not have at the prep boarding school as there is less competition to make the team, be the academic leader, have the lead in the show, etc. etc. and such opportunities might have been closed off at the prep school. Also, they live more in the real world and not on a boarding school campus that is its own little world. They mix with all types of people in the community. </p>
<p>Is this better? Not saying it is better. Just like not saying the prep school environment is better. They are different and both have plusses and minusses. But these plusses and minusses are not in relation to getting into college or being prepared once they get there or being standouts once they get there.</p>
<p>pacheight–I chose to send my S to private for the academic value added. I also was aware of the more controlled environment. </p>
<p>In the 9 years he attended the private, there was not one teacher who was less than superb. All teachers kept office hours and all provided direct response to any student’s request for assistance. I have relatives and friends with either kids in public or who themselves teach in public (or both) and they all tell me that is not the case in public.</p>
<p>My S never had to deal with learning “on his own” until he hit his first brilliant but inept teacher in college. The public school student who has a mediocre teacher but masters the subject through his or her extra effort has learned a lesson in maturity on how to handle this less than perfect situation. That public school student’s mastery of the subject comes with a plus in maturity in this situation.</p>
<p><<there might=“” be=“” none=“” but=“” the=“” elite=“” prep=“” school,=“” especially=“” if=“” it’s=“” a=“” boarding=“” can=“” prepare=“” you=“” better.=“”>></there></p>
<p>Examples, please.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>For what? Please site some evidence that this is true.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Oh dear, I appear to have innundated my keyboard with a carbonated beverage. Please pass the tea towel.</p>
<p>Out here in the far west, we have little exposure to east coast prep school students. Most of my knowledge of schools like Andover and Choate came from reading “The Preppy Handbook”, so it was something of a shock to learn that one of my coworkers was an Exeter grad. Sadly, said coworker frittered away those prep school advantages and attended Caltech. Attending grad school at Brown slightly made up for this misstep, though the coworker’s family doesn’t seem to know enough to feel the humiliation.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>No doubt elite prep schools prepare students well for college. However, it doesn’t mean that students educated at public school are not also well prepared. I have to say that both my kids were WELL prepared for their highly selective colleges and programs coming out of a less than well regarded public high school. They excelled at college. They had excellent grades, were awarded top awards and recognition at their colleges, attained many leadership roles, even TA’d as UGs, and so on. They even had their papers discussed as exemplary in front of the class by their professors, even though they went to a measly high school. My kids were required to write a great deal in K-12 in our school system. All I can say is my kids were very well prepared. .I believe prep school kids are also well prepared, but they are not the only ones in that situation.</p>
<p>A little bit more from personal experience…
At the time my kids attended our HS, only two courses had an AP designation. The Honors courses were very demanding. </p>
<p>Also, one of my kids was very well prepared for her challenging college and this with starting college while still 16 years old. Also, she attended a prestigious performing arts program (about a 6% admit rate) and this is coming from a high school that didn’t even have drama classes and competing against kids from performing arts high schools. Well prepared, intelligent, talented achievers can come from ANY high school, and be prepared, achieve, stand out, and attain leadership at any selective university in the land…and “compete” with their prep school counterparts.</p>
<p>Please, just why is thread still alive? It’s full of misinformation, petty personal attacks and arguments over the most trivial matters. Why can’t everyone just leave this thread and go back to their own world, where they can be most comfortable without having to know the others’ world because there is no need to. Listening to some of the nonsenses is like listening to conversations between creatures living in different dimensions. There’s no way to reach a consensus and there is no point of making the effort to.</p>