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<p>And thus was able to cause economic collapse by getting into needless wars.</p>
<p>Too black and white for me to think of prep school as an end in itself rather than a means to future happiness/success/ivy admission/whatever. It is both an end and a means, and I as a parent feel the need to look at all aspects - how satisfied my kid is likely to be during the prep school years, as well as the potential impact of prep school on college admission and other future life activities.</p>
<p>Different kids make use of the same opportunities in different ways. Some might experience the oft described dramatic BS transformation, and for others it might be a less dramatic but still positive experience. For that latter group, the college experience might be the more important socially, emotionally, and intellectually, thus the impact of BS on college admissions more important than the day to day experience of prep school. It’s not always obvious how it will be for a given kid, so it makes abundant sense to me to at least consider the impact of prep school on college (including ivy) admissions.</p>
<p>^^perhaps the bigger issue is so many parents take Ivy admission to be an end unto itself, even though it’s patently clear that in today’s world advanced degree work is a basic prerequisite for the majority of professional careers (whether they pay well or not!). Given that reality, why wouldn’t students and parents want to think broadly–instead of narrowly–about different benefits to the undergraduate experience, well beyond the seal on the diploma? A Phi Beta Kappa student at any of 100+ colleges and universities will likely have many more opportunities open to them upon graduation than someone who struggles through a top-ranked bastion with a low B average. Is this really news at this point? I apologize if I come off as annoyed (or annoying), but there is a lot of digital ink being spilt on this thread over “what ifs.” I suspect 1) it’s the time of the year and 2) it’s cheaper than therapy (but probably not better for you…)</p>
<p>But if a kid can be accepted to a top BS on their merits (meaning, they don’t have major hooks, in which case these kids could use the same hooks for college admissions and therefore are “out of scope” of this discussion), and have received rigorous training in their BS, and then go on to the top-ranked colleges, shouldn’t we realistically expect they’d do better than a low B average?</p>
<p>^^ honorarymom, +1.</p>
<p>“And thus was able to cause economic collapse by getting into needless wars.”</p>
<p>My comment was not a political opinion. GWB was still elected President of the United States twice.</p>
<p>“All this talk about prep school being an end itself is probably making my old philosophy professor turn over in his grave. According to Aristotle, only happiness is an intrinsic good that should be valued as an end in itself. Hence, prep school can be a means to the ultimate end of happiness. But it cannot be that ultimate end itself.”</p>
<p>Well, of course school isn’t the ultimate end, silly! It should be an end in itself, however, when the alternative says that it is a mere stepping stone to a “top college”. The formative years of secondary school will leave a greater, lasting impression than those that follow. I say this as a rule because, yes, there are exceptions. (And, Aristotle did have it right!)</p>
<p>Take care, though, as PelicanDad said, to not fall into the the equally meritless view that an Ivy education is an end unto itself, either.</p>
<p>“was…elected…”</p>
<p>Was he?</p>
<p>PelicanDad said: “^^perhaps the bigger issue is so many parents take Ivy admission to be an end unto itself, even though it’s patently clear that in today’s world advanced degree work is a basic prerequisite for the majority of professional careers (whether they pay well or not!). Given that reality, why wouldn’t students and parents want to think broadly–instead of narrowly–about different benefits to the undergraduate experience, well beyond the seal on the diploma?”</p>
<p>Of course. But let’s not automatically assume that an anonymous parent posting on an online forum is concerned ONLY with the ivy seal and diploma, when they ask about the impact of BS on ivy admission. We don’t know them, we know nothing about their parenting and nothing about their kids. And it’s none of our business. In the absence of other evidence, can’t we assume that we all want what’s best for our kids and honor a parent’s request for a rational discussion rather than a self righteous debate?</p>
<p>Good grief.</p>
<p>honoraryamom,</p>
<p>Your plea would resonate but for the fact that there’s a number of parental posters here for whom their own boarding school experience has meant if not the world to them, then something damn close to it. And, when someone comes on and asks about the experience from a purely analytical and calculating point of view it tends to rub the wrong way. So, you’ll have to forgive the “self righteous” stance.</p>
<p>At least there is discussion…</p>
<p>leanid,
Ah, I understand now. Thank you for the clarification. So it is as if they are making light of an experience that was near and dear to your heart. I did not realize that, and suspect that most others who come here looking for info about prep school do not guess that the forum is frequented by a lot of people who are passionate about their own past boarding school experience. I know my own thought when I stumbled upon this forum was that the core group here is simply intolerant of alternative views. I should have realized that there is more to it than that. Thanks again.</p>
<p>Thanks for pointing that out, leanid! Makes a lot more sense to me now.</p>
<p>So confused here. Im looking over the matriculation list for the Choate class of 2012, and I just dont see a single college that wont provide a top-notch education, not a clinker in the list. The entire class, top/middle/bottom, was accepted to great schools. Im sure Andovers results are very similar. Heck, Im sure most BS lists are just as solid.</p>
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<p>^THIS is what you send your kiddo to BS for. College takes care of itself.</p>
<p>On another note:</p>
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<p>Thats a risk all parents take whether they send their kids to BS or not.</p>
<p>Really like this list, and assume most relatively hard working kids at most of the top 20-25 BS have good shots at at least a couple here.</p>
<p>[Top</a> 50 Colleges & Universities in America - The Best Colleges](<a href=“http://www.thebestcolleges.org/rankings/top-50/]Top”>http://www.thebestcolleges.org/rankings/top-50/)</p>
<p>Now I agree with that Choatie!</p>
<p>Nice bit of sarcasm there, honorary.</p>
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<p>You are assuming that the kids who did not matriculate into an Ivy didn’t get accepted. The Ivies have prestige, but what they do not have is merit money or may not be the best fit for a particular choice of major (e.g. engineering).</p>
<p>I would lay off discussing GWB, or else the moderators will lock this thread for talking politics</p>
<p>Yes! DD has a friend who turned down Harvard for the Morehead/McCain (?) full ride scholarship to UNC Chapel Hill and DS has a friend who turned it down for a full ride to Duke. It happens.</p>
<p>Not all acceptance offers are “equal”. I turned down an Ivy, as did some other of my public school classmates. Never looked back…</p>