<p>I have a 7th grader who has already decided to set his sights on West Point. He is currently in a very small private prep school, and we are starting to evaluate where to send him for high school. If he stays at his current school, he will have more opportunities for leadership, sports team participation, etc. His opportunities to take AP courses or a wide variety or courses will be severely limited. His is a straight A student (was in large competitive public school, too) and participated in the Duke Univ. TIP program taking the ACT as a 7th grader (OK scores, but not genius level). His public high school is larger (300 graduates/yr) and offers numerous AP classes and another school in town offers the IB program.</p>
<p>Will staying in a small school hurt his chances for admission to WP?</p>
<p>The high school itself (private, public, prep, etc.) is generally of little importance. It’s what he does with it that matters. Mids come from all walks of life. Heck, I knew one guy who had a GED and came in from the fleet.</p>
<p>The question becomes, which HS will challenge him the most, offer him the most opportunities to excel, and prepare him mentally for the Service Academy. </p>
<p>Curious: What kind of curricullum does his current school offer that would make you see it less favorably than the other one, and can he take AP courses or exams on the side?</p>
<p>IIRC, You can take AP exams in New York without having taken AP COURSES first. Not sure if that’s still true.</p>
<p>That said, there is something to be said about leadership and sports teams, too.</p>
<p>1)Yes, you can take AP classes without taking the course.
2)If not challenged enough at his smaller private high school, then he can take some classes at a local college. That is often a way to take more advanced math that may not be available.
3)Read, read, read.
4)It’s really early in his life. Expect that he may change his mind several times in the next few years. In the end, he may even return to this goal.
5)Make the most informed decision possible. The only way that can occur is by also looking at the many other options that will be available to him. That includes other service academies as well as civilian colleges.<br>
6)Take a look at the following documentary: “Inside America’s Military Academies”. It’s occasionally on The Military Channel. Also, watch the dvd, “Surviving West Point”. You can order it from a number of sites or your library may have it.</p>
<p>And good luck! It’s always amazing to me to hear about so many cadets/mids who have been committed to this goal from such an early age.</p>
<p>There is just no “right answer” when it comes to college preparation - and that means any college, not just the service academies. I think it is reasonable to assume your son could gain entrance to a service academy at either high school. There are so many other factors that come into consideration when they evaluate his application. The Admissions Board is looking for certain character aspects that show the kid is ethical, focused, disciplined, motivated, etc. Extracurriculars (service, leadership, sports) are also extremely important. The academics really come down to: top 20% of class, and 650+ in each SAT category. Your son might want to make contact with your local BGO now and begin talking about everything he needs to do to prepare for this.</p>
<p>I graduated 6th in a class of 32. My high school was a private school that ran from Kindergarten through High School, and there were, at most, 350 students in the WHOLE SCHOOL. This was in the suburbs of New York City.</p>
<p>I was only there for two years and did extremely well, but I did LOUSY during my first two years of HS in a large Catholic HS in the city. The school I graduated from had never had anyone apply to a Service Academy, let alone get in. It didn’t have super-honors courses or hyper-caliber sports teams (we had softball because we couldn’t afford the liability for hardball, and played on a field that was COMPLETELY paved over).</p>
<p>Still, I took every honors and technical course they DID offer, and got almost straight A’s. In the case where I was supposed to take art (gag), I insisted on taking computer programming, instead. I was president of four clubs, and a member of a good number of others. I took a summer job teaching computers at the summer camp. I lettered in Basketball and Softball, and played intramural football (flag football on a paved surface). Finally, I had letters of recommendation from Rudolph Giuliani, George Steinbrenner, the President of WPIX TV in New York, and all of my teachers. My BGO liked me, and I had done Army (double gag) ROTC and Karate my first two years of HS.</p>
<p>I got into NAPS.</p>
<p>So you see, it CAN be done, even after COMPLETELY BLOWING the first two years.</p>
<p>I go to a large public school (our graduating class is around 600) and I have to admit it’s really nice for the number of courses offered. There’s also still plenty of leadership possibilities available because bigger school = more activities.</p>
<p>If it came down to choosing between the AP and IB school and you were basing your decision solely on what curriculum they teach, my school does only AP and a lot of teachers wish we did IB - IB is a lot more integrated between subjects and is more…fluid? I can’t think of a good way to put it, but for each AP test there are different expectations, grading scales, number of essays, etc. From what I’ve heard, IB is much more consistant across the board.</p>
<p>That being said – I love my AP classes and wouldn’t go to a private school for anything. Does your son have a preference? How soon do you have to make a decision?</p>
<p>We have almost a year to decide, so we have plenty of time. We are checking out as many resources as possible - “Surviving West Point” was one of the things that really got him excited about WP. Zaphod - you give us a reason to stay at our wonderful small school. Thanks! It looks like excellence is rewarded even without going to a school with hundreds in the graduating class. Your letters of recommendation were amazing - don’t think I know anyone of that level of celebrity. </p>
<p>My dd is graduating from a class of one! We homeschool. She earned three Appointments, but I think what tipped admissions in her favor was what she did with what was available. She has lots of credits from our local college, did sports at the local public school, did music through the college, and had lots of leadership through 4-H. I agree with the poster that said–doesn’t matter so much where they are coming from, what matters is what they do whilst they are there.</p>
<p>Z -was the point you were trying to make that, even with awesome grades, activities and recs, you ONLY got into NAPS (which led to USNA, of course)? </p>
<p>Nickmom: some areas are much more competitive than others and it also helps if they are really great at some sport as well! I suspect a super football player might have an edge, for instance. Obviously, you still have to have the brains and maturity, but starting early can help get everything in order. In 7/8th grade, the biggest issue is getting into the best math track, i.e. take algebra early on so you can advance if possible to pre or regular calculus by HS graduation.</p>
<p>The point I was making is that even after having blown my first two years of high school, by working extremely hard and not losing focus during the SECOND two years I was still able to get into NAPS and thereafter the Academy.</p>
<p>In other words, it CAN be done WITHOUT a perfect 4.0, five varsity letters, a presidency of the student body, command of the NJROTC detachment, and a recommendation from God.</p>
<p>In other words, a lot goes into the selection process, and the high school alone is not as large a factor as others are.</p>
<p>I’m not sure having a letter of recommendation from the jerk who fired Yogi Berra - and didn’t have the guts to do it personally - is a good thing. I guess you got lucky and there were no real Yankees fans in the admissions office at NAPS/USNA (triple gag)</p>
<p>Considering some poor people are forced to ask such military legends as Ted Kennedy for nominations, I’ll take George Steinbrenner’s recommendation any day, despite his shortcomings.</p>