Most Prestigious Private HS In US Suffers Elite College Matriculation Decline, Parents/Admins Reeling

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a remarkably high level of hooked kids at these schools ($$$ development, double legacy, recruited athletes, B of D relationships). Standard strong with no APs from a prep school that has already filled several slots at a T25 with hooked kids is a tough place to be, especially if that student would have been top 2-3% with 5s in 10 APs at their excellent local public. We decided to send our child anyhow (not to Andover, but to a peer school) because of the overall experience and education. It has been fantastic so far, absolutely worth it, and we are creating a realistic college list with a few gems and also some top overseas universities. Most people go in with eyes wide open.

No, that is not tough. You yourself admit that your unhooked kid is fine.

True. Very fine, by our standards.

But the question I was answering was whether or not it is harder for elite prep school kids to access elite US colleges and universities. And my answer is: for unhooked kids, absolutely yes. It simply doesn’t bother us as parents because the kid got a fantastic experience and we see multiple future paths forward to success. The kid has already ticked the super elite box. It’s time now for some travel, work experience and to select a university that offers terrific opportunities in the chosen field of study.

i

But it isn’t tougher for an unhooked kid at your kid’s school to get into the “elite” colleges than it is for the same kid (standard strong with no APs) who goes to any other school.

Your feelings about it as a parent (and good for you for not stressing out your kid on this) don’t affect this. The numbers don’t lie.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a remarkably high level of hooked kids at these schools ($$$ development, double legacy, recruited athletes, B of D relationships). Standard strong with no APs from a prep school that has already filled several slots at a T25 with hooked kids is a tough place to be, especially if that student would have been top 2-3% with 5s in 10 APs at their excellent local public. We decided to send our child anyhow (not to Andover, but to a peer school) because of the overall experience and education. It has been fantastic so far, absolutely worth it, and we are creating a realistic college list with a few gems and also some top overseas universities. Most people go in with eyes wide open.

No, that is not tough. You yourself admit that your unhooked kid is fine.

True. Very fine, by our standards.

But the question I was answering was whether or not it is harder for elite prep school kids to access elite US colleges and universities. And my answer is: for unhooked kids, absolutely yes. It simply doesn’t bother us as parents because the kid got a fantastic experience and we see multiple future paths forward to success. The kid has already ticked the super elite box. It’s time now for some travel, work experience and to select a university that offers terrific opportunities in the chosen field of study.

i

But it isn’t tougher for an unhooked kid at your kid’s school to get into the “elite” colleges than it is for the same kid (standard strong with no APs) who goes to any other school.

Your feelings about it as a parent (and good for you for not stressing out your kid on this) don’t affect this. The numbers don’t lie.

Much easier from public school. Are you in denial or something?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We all know the public school kids who look disadvantaged but are actually wealthy get the advantage in college admissions.

Public schools are less competitive environments with no admission requirements, rampant grade inflation, and meaningless class rank largely based on weighted GPAs that are actually just ranking kids based on the number of honors and AP courses they take.

Becoming valedictorian in public school is often the easiest path to an Ivy.

+100

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We all know the public school kids who look disadvantaged but are actually wealthy get the advantage in college admissions.

Public schools are less competitive environments with no admission requirements, rampant grade inflation, and meaningless class rank largely based on weighted GPAs that are actually just ranking kids based on the number of honors and AP courses they take.

Becoming valedictorian in public school is often the easiest path to an Ivy.

You mean class rank 1, not the person who gives a speech.
A hugh portion of school districts don't even have class rank, and there are 26,000 high schools and each ivy decides admissions independently for ~2000 seats.

Please look up the definition of valedictorian, it means class rank 1.

A huge portion of public school districts are underperforming and completely worthless.

If you take into account the overall number of applications and acceptances rather than just matriculations, from public school valedictorians, yes it is absolutely the easiest path to an ivy.

I don't quite know what this is getting at.

If you look at Title 1 public school (63% of all public schools) valedictorian matriculations, the number going to an Ivy school is next to nothing.

I would agree it is an easy path for the 38% non-Title 1...but almost no poor school valedictorians are attending Ivy schools.

Also, if you literally are talking about the #1 kid in the class, at the 38% non-Title 1 schools it's not easy to be #1. The smartest kid at Sidwell probably won't be #1 at Whitman, not because they can't but likely because that is not their focus in life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We all know the public school kids who look disadvantaged but are actually wealthy get the advantage in college admissions.

Public schools are less competitive environments with no admission requirements, rampant grade inflation, and meaningless class rank largely based on weighted GPAs that are actually just ranking kids based on the number of honors and AP courses they take.

Becoming valedictorian in public school is often the easiest path to an Ivy.

You mean class rank 1, not the person who gives a speech.
A hugh portion of school districts don't even have class rank, and there are 26,000 high schools and each ivy decides admissions independently for ~2000 seats.

Please look up the definition of valedictorian, it means class rank 1.

A huge portion of public school districts are underperforming and completely worthless.

If you take into account the overall number of applications and acceptances rather than just matriculations, from public school valedictorians, yes it is absolutely the easiest path to an ivy.

I don't quite know what this is getting at.

If you look at Title 1 public school (63% of all public schools) valedictorian matriculations, the number going to an Ivy school is next to nothing.

I would agree it is an easy path for the 38% non-Title 1...but almost no poor school valedictorians are attending Ivy schools.

Also, if you literally are talking about the #1 kid in the class, at the 38% non-Title 1 schools it's not easy to be #1. The smartest kid at Sidwell probably won't be #1 at Whitman, not because they can't but likely because that is not their focus in life.

It is easy to be #1 in public school due to minimal competition, grade inflation, and how weighted GPAs are calculated. You just take the most honors / AP classes and that is usually enough because getting As is not hard. There is no rigor.


I attended one of the HYPs and the classmates who struggled the most with coursework were the public school graduates, usually valedictorians. They were not prepared for the college coursework that came easy to the rest of us, average private high school graduates.

There is no comparison.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We all know the public school kids who look disadvantaged but are actually wealthy get the advantage in college admissions.

Public schools are less competitive environments with no admission requirements, rampant grade inflation, and meaningless class rank largely based on weighted GPAs that are actually just ranking kids based on the number of honors and AP courses they take.

Becoming valedictorian in public school is often the easiest path to an Ivy.

You mean class rank 1, not the person who gives a speech.
A hugh portion of school districts don't even have class rank, and there are 26,000 high schools and each ivy decides admissions independently for ~2000 seats.

Please look up the definition of valedictorian, it means class rank 1.

A huge portion of public school districts are underperforming and completely worthless.

If you take into account the overall number of applications and acceptances rather than just matriculations, from public school valedictorians, yes it is absolutely the easiest path to an ivy.

I don't quite know what this is getting at.

If you look at Title 1 public school (63% of all public schools) valedictorian matriculations, the number going to an Ivy school is next to nothing.

I would agree it is an easy path for the 38% non-Title 1...but almost no poor school valedictorians are attending Ivy schools.

Also, if you literally are talking about the #1 kid in the class, at the 38% non-Title 1 schools it's not easy to be #1. The smartest kid at Sidwell probably won't be #1 at Whitman, not because they can't but likely because that is not their focus in life.

It is easy to be #1 in public school due to minimal competition, grade inflation, and how weighted GPAs are calculated. You just take the most honors / AP classes and that is usually enough because getting As is not hard. There is no rigor.


I attended one of the HYPs and the classmates who struggled the most with coursework were the public school graduates, usually valedictorians. They were not prepared for the college coursework that came easy to the rest of us, average private high school graduates.

There is no comparison.

In this area the bolded is just not true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We all know the public school kids who look disadvantaged but are actually wealthy get the advantage in college admissions.

Public schools are less competitive environments with no admission requirements, rampant grade inflation, and meaningless class rank largely based on weighted GPAs that are actually just ranking kids based on the number of honors and AP courses they take.

Becoming valedictorian in public school is often the easiest path to an Ivy.

You mean class rank 1, not the person who gives a speech.
A hugh portion of school districts don't even have class rank, and there are 26,000 high schools and each ivy decides admissions independently for ~2000 seats.

Please look up the definition of valedictorian, it means class rank 1.

A huge portion of public school districts are underperforming and completely worthless.

If you take into account the overall number of applications and acceptances rather than just matriculations, from public school valedictorians, yes it is absolutely the easiest path to an ivy.

I don't quite know what this is getting at.

If you look at Title 1 public school (63% of all public schools) valedictorian matriculations, the number going to an Ivy school is next to nothing.

I would agree it is an easy path for the 38% non-Title 1...but almost no poor school valedictorians are attending Ivy schools.

Also, if you literally are talking about the #1 kid in the class, at the 38% non-Title 1 schools it's not easy to be #1. The smartest kid at Sidwell probably won't be #1 at Whitman, not because they can't but likely because that is not their focus in life.

It is easy to be #1 in public school due to minimal competition, grade inflation, and how weighted GPAs are calculated. You just take the most honors / AP classes and that is usually enough because getting As is not hard. There is no rigor.


I attended one of the HYPs and the classmates who struggled the most with coursework were the public school graduates, usually valedictorians. They were not prepared for the college coursework that came easy to the rest of us, average private high school graduates.

There is no comparison.

In this area the bolded is just not true.

What a ridiculous statement. Would a top student at a top local private do well at one of the top local public schools (and I'm excluding the magnets like TJ, Blair, Poolesville, etc.), taking the most rigorous classes? Sure, they could. Would they easily be #1, maybe, but they would be going against incredibly stiff competition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We all know the public school kids who look disadvantaged but are actually wealthy get the advantage in college admissions.

Public schools are less competitive environments with no admission requirements, rampant grade inflation, and meaningless class rank largely based on weighted GPAs that are actually just ranking kids based on the number of honors and AP courses they take.

Becoming valedictorian in public school is often the easiest path to an Ivy.

You mean class rank 1, not the person who gives a speech.
A hugh portion of school districts don't even have class rank, and there are 26,000 high schools and each ivy decides admissions independently for ~2000 seats.

Please look up the definition of valedictorian, it means class rank 1.

A huge portion of public school districts are underperforming and completely worthless.

If you take into account the overall number of applications and acceptances rather than just matriculations, from public school valedictorians, yes it is absolutely the easiest path to an ivy.

I don't quite know what this is getting at.

If you look at Title 1 public school (63% of all public schools) valedictorian matriculations, the number going to an Ivy school is next to nothing.

I would agree it is an easy path for the 38% non-Title 1...but almost no poor school valedictorians are attending Ivy schools.

Also, if you literally are talking about the #1 kid in the class, at the 38% non-Title 1 schools it's not easy to be #1. The smartest kid at Sidwell probably won't be #1 at Whitman, not because they can't but likely because that is not their focus in life.

It is easy to be #1 in public school due to minimal competition, grade inflation, and how weighted GPAs are calculated. You just take the most honors / AP classes and that is usually enough because getting As is not hard. There is no rigor.


I attended one of the HYPs and the classmates who struggled the most with coursework were the public school graduates, usually valedictorians. They were not prepared for the college coursework that came easy to the rest of us, average private high school graduates.

There is no comparison.

In this area the bolded is just not true.

It may be an exception but virtually everywhere else this is how it works.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We all know the public school kids who look disadvantaged but are actually wealthy get the advantage in college admissions.

Public schools are less competitive environments with no admission requirements, rampant grade inflation, and meaningless class rank largely based on weighted GPAs that are actually just ranking kids based on the number of honors and AP courses they take.

Becoming valedictorian in public school is often the easiest path to an Ivy.

You mean class rank 1, not the person who gives a speech.
A hugh portion of school districts don't even have class rank, and there are 26,000 high schools and each ivy decides admissions independently for ~2000 seats.

Please look up the definition of valedictorian, it means class rank 1.

A huge portion of public school districts are underperforming and completely worthless.

If you take into account the overall number of applications and acceptances rather than just matriculations, from public school valedictorians, yes it is absolutely the easiest path to an ivy.

I don't quite know what this is getting at.

If you look at Title 1 public school (63% of all public schools) valedictorian matriculations, the number going to an Ivy school is next to nothing.

I would agree it is an easy path for the 38% non-Title 1...but almost no poor school valedictorians are attending Ivy schools.

Also, if you literally are talking about the #1 kid in the class, at the 38% non-Title 1 schools it's not easy to be #1. The smartest kid at Sidwell probably won't be #1 at Whitman, not because they can't but likely because that is not their focus in life.

It is easy to be #1 in public school due to minimal competition, grade inflation, and how weighted GPAs are calculated. You just take the most honors / AP classes and that is usually enough because getting As is not hard. There is no rigor.


I attended one of the HYPs and the classmates who struggled the most with coursework were the public school graduates, usually valedictorians. They were not prepared for the college coursework that came easy to the rest of us, average private high school graduates.

There is no comparison.

This is not remotely true. The best students at schools like Whitman, Langley, and the magnets are usually far ahead of their DMV private school counterparts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We all know the public school kids who look disadvantaged but are actually wealthy get the advantage in college admissions.

Public schools are less competitive environments with no admission requirements, rampant grade inflation, and meaningless class rank largely based on weighted GPAs that are actually just ranking kids based on the number of honors and AP courses they take.

Becoming valedictorian in public school is often the easiest path to an Ivy.

You mean class rank 1, not the person who gives a speech.
A hugh portion of school districts don't even have class rank, and there are 26,000 high schools and each ivy decides admissions independently for ~2000 seats.

Please look up the definition of valedictorian, it means class rank 1.

A huge portion of public school districts are underperforming and completely worthless.

If you take into account the overall number of applications and acceptances rather than just matriculations, from public school valedictorians, yes it is absolutely the easiest path to an ivy.

I don't quite know what this is getting at.

If you look at Title 1 public school (63% of all public schools) valedictorian matriculations, the number going to an Ivy school is next to nothing.

I would agree it is an easy path for the 38% non-Title 1...but almost no poor school valedictorians are attending Ivy schools.

Also, if you literally are talking about the #1 kid in the class, at the 38% non-Title 1 schools it's not easy to be #1. The smartest kid at Sidwell probably won't be #1 at Whitman, not because they can't but likely because that is not their focus in life.

It is easy to be #1 in public school due to minimal competition, grade inflation, and how weighted GPAs are calculated. You just take the most honors / AP classes and that is usually enough because getting As is not hard. There is no rigor.


I attended one of the HYPs and the classmates who struggled the most with coursework were the public school graduates, usually valedictorians. They were not prepared for the college coursework that came easy to the rest of us, average private high school graduates.

There is no comparison.

In this area the bolded is just not true.

What a ridiculous statement. Would a top student at a top local private do well at one of the top local public schools (and I'm excluding the magnets like TJ, Blair, Poolesville, etc.), taking the most rigorous classes? Sure, they could. Would they easily be #1, maybe, but they would be going against incredibly stiff competition.

It really isn’t as competitive as you think in the area public schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We all know the public school kids who look disadvantaged but are actually wealthy get the advantage in college admissions.

Public schools are less competitive environments with no admission requirements, rampant grade inflation, and meaningless class rank largely based on weighted GPAs that are actually just ranking kids based on the number of honors and AP courses they take.

Becoming valedictorian in public school is often the easiest path to an Ivy.

You mean class rank 1, not the person who gives a speech.
A hugh portion of school districts don't even have class rank, and there are 26,000 high schools and each ivy decides admissions independently for ~2000 seats.

Please look up the definition of valedictorian, it means class rank 1.

A huge portion of public school districts are underperforming and completely worthless.

If you take into account the overall number of applications and acceptances rather than just matriculations, from public school valedictorians, yes it is absolutely the easiest path to an ivy.

I don't quite know what this is getting at.

If you look at Title 1 public school (63% of all public schools) valedictorian matriculations, the number going to an Ivy school is next to nothing.

I would agree it is an easy path for the 38% non-Title 1...but almost no poor school valedictorians are attending Ivy schools.

Also, if you literally are talking about the #1 kid in the class, at the 38% non-Title 1 schools it's not easy to be #1. The smartest kid at Sidwell probably won't be #1 at Whitman, not because they can't but likely because that is not their focus in life.

It is easy to be #1 in public school due to minimal competition, grade inflation, and how weighted GPAs are calculated. You just take the most honors / AP classes and that is usually enough because getting As is not hard. There is no rigor.


I attended one of the HYPs and the classmates who struggled the most with coursework were the public school graduates, usually valedictorians. They were not prepared for the college coursework that came easy to the rest of us, average private high school graduates.

There is no comparison.

This is not remotely true. The best students at schools like Whitman, Langley, and the magnets are usually far ahead of their DMV private school counterparts.

I wish that were true, but it is the opposite. I understand the grind these public school kids face, but they are not nearly as prepared for college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We all know the public school kids who look disadvantaged but are actually wealthy get the advantage in college admissions.

Public schools are less competitive environments with no admission requirements, rampant grade inflation, and meaningless class rank largely based on weighted GPAs that are actually just ranking kids based on the number of honors and AP courses they take.

Becoming valedictorian in public school is often the easiest path to an Ivy.

You mean class rank 1, not the person who gives a speech.
A hugh portion of school districts don't even have class rank, and there are 26,000 high schools and each ivy decides admissions independently for ~2000 seats.

Please look up the definition of valedictorian, it means class rank 1.

A huge portion of public school districts are underperforming and completely worthless.

If you take into account the overall number of applications and acceptances rather than just matriculations, from public school valedictorians, yes it is absolutely the easiest path to an ivy.

I don't quite know what this is getting at.

If you look at Title 1 public school (63% of all public schools) valedictorian matriculations, the number going to an Ivy school is next to nothing.

I would agree it is an easy path for the 38% non-Title 1...but almost no poor school valedictorians are attending Ivy schools.

Also, if you literally are talking about the #1 kid in the class, at the 38% non-Title 1 schools it's not easy to be #1. The smartest kid at Sidwell probably won't be #1 at Whitman, not because they can't but likely because that is not their focus in life.

It is easy to be #1 in public school due to minimal competition, grade inflation, and how weighted GPAs are calculated. You just take the most honors / AP classes and that is usually enough because getting As is not hard. There is no rigor.


I attended one of the HYPs and the classmates who struggled the most with coursework were the public school graduates, usually valedictorians. They were not prepared for the college coursework that came easy to the rest of us, average private high school graduates.

There is no comparison.

Your statement is a contradiction and hence what it's not easy to be #1.

If there is grade inflation and classes are easy, then it's easy for the "less smart" kids to get all As. Therefore, there are far more 4.0 kids at a public school.

It's not an question of intellect, but rather the kids that have "valedictorian" as their goal in life (of which there are usually several). These kids are the ones that end up with 17 AP classes because they are ruthlessly chasing the highest weighted GPA. They load up on AP Psych, AP Human Geography, AP Environmental Studies (as well as all the core APs) because they are just chasing weighted GPA. They may take an online AP class over the Summer in order to have "one more" AP class then the #2 kid in the class.

They are often not the smartest kids at the school by a large margin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We all know the public school kids who look disadvantaged but are actually wealthy get the advantage in college admissions.

Public schools are less competitive environments with no admission requirements, rampant grade inflation, and meaningless class rank largely based on weighted GPAs that are actually just ranking kids based on the number of honors and AP courses they take.

Becoming valedictorian in public school is often the easiest path to an Ivy.

You mean class rank 1, not the person who gives a speech.
A hugh portion of school districts don't even have class rank, and there are 26,000 high schools and each ivy decides admissions independently for ~2000 seats.

Please look up the definition of valedictorian, it means class rank 1.

A huge portion of public school districts are underperforming and completely worthless.

If you take into account the overall number of applications and acceptances rather than just matriculations, from public school valedictorians, yes it is absolutely the easiest path to an ivy.

I don't quite know what this is getting at.

If you look at Title 1 public school (63% of all public schools) valedictorian matriculations, the number going to an Ivy school is next to nothing.

I would agree it is an easy path for the 38% non-Title 1...but almost no poor school valedictorians are attending Ivy schools.

Also, if you literally are talking about the #1 kid in the class, at the 38% non-Title 1 schools it's not easy to be #1. The smartest kid at Sidwell probably won't be #1 at Whitman, not because they can't but likely because that is not their focus in life.

It is easy to be #1 in public school due to minimal competition, grade inflation, and how weighted GPAs are calculated. You just take the most honors / AP classes and that is usually enough because getting As is not hard. There is no rigor.


I attended one of the HYPs and the classmates who struggled the most with coursework were the public school graduates, usually valedictorians. They were not prepared for the college coursework that came easy to the rest of us, average private high school graduates.

There is no comparison.

Your statement is a contradiction and hence what it's not easy to be #1.

If there is grade inflation and classes are easy, then it's easy for the "less smart" kids to get all As. Therefore, there are far more 4.0 kids at a public school.

It's not an question of intellect, but rather the kids that have "valedictorian" as their goal in life (of which there are usually several). These kids are the ones that end up with 17 AP classes because they are ruthlessly chasing the highest weighted GPA. They load up on AP Psych, AP Human Geography, AP Environmental Studies (as well as all the core APs) because they are just chasing weighted GPA. They may take an online AP class over the Summer in order to have "one more" AP class then the #2 kid in the class.

They are often not the smartest kids at the school by a large margin.

Bingo, now you understand the problem. This is the state of public schools. The class grades are meaningless when As are so common.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We all know the public school kids who look disadvantaged but are actually wealthy get the advantage in college admissions.

Public schools are less competitive environments with no admission requirements, rampant grade inflation, and meaningless class rank largely based on weighted GPAs that are actually just ranking kids based on the number of honors and AP courses they take.

Becoming valedictorian in public school is often the easiest path to an Ivy.

You mean class rank 1, not the person who gives a speech.
A hugh portion of school districts don't even have class rank, and there are 26,000 high schools and each ivy decides admissions independently for ~2000 seats.

Please look up the definition of valedictorian, it means class rank 1.

A huge portion of public school districts are underperforming and completely worthless.

If you take into account the overall number of applications and acceptances rather than just matriculations, from public school valedictorians, yes it is absolutely the easiest path to an ivy.

I don't quite know what this is getting at.

If you look at Title 1 public school (63% of all public schools) valedictorian matriculations, the number going to an Ivy school is next to nothing.

I would agree it is an easy path for the 38% non-Title 1...but almost no poor school valedictorians are attending Ivy schools.

Also, if you literally are talking about the #1 kid in the class, at the 38% non-Title 1 schools it's not easy to be #1. The smartest kid at Sidwell probably won't be #1 at Whitman, not because they can't but likely because that is not their focus in life.

It is easy to be #1 in public school due to minimal competition, grade inflation, and how weighted GPAs are calculated. You just take the most honors / AP classes and that is usually enough because getting As is not hard. There is no rigor.


I attended one of the HYPs and the classmates who struggled the most with coursework were the public school graduates, usually valedictorians. They were not prepared for the college coursework that came easy to the rest of us, average private high school graduates.

There is no comparison.

Your statement is a contradiction and hence what it's not easy to be #1.

If there is grade inflation and classes are easy, then it's easy for the "less smart" kids to get all As. Therefore, there are far more 4.0 kids at a public school.

It's not an question of intellect, but rather the kids that have "valedictorian" as their goal in life (of which there are usually several). These kids are the ones that end up with 17 AP classes because they are ruthlessly chasing the highest weighted GPA. They load up on AP Psych, AP Human Geography, AP Environmental Studies (as well as all the core APs) because they are just chasing weighted GPA. They may take an online AP class over the Summer in order to have "one more" AP class then the #2 kid in the class.

They are often not the smartest kids at the school by a large margin.

Bingo, now you understand the problem. This is the state of public schools. The class grades are meaningless when As are so common.

Different issue than "it's easy to be valedictorian"...which it is not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We all know the public school kids who look disadvantaged but are actually wealthy get the advantage in college admissions.

Public schools are less competitive environments with no admission requirements, rampant grade inflation, and meaningless class rank largely based on weighted GPAs that are actually just ranking kids based on the number of honors and AP courses they take.

Becoming valedictorian in public school is often the easiest path to an Ivy.

You mean class rank 1, not the person who gives a speech.
A hugh portion of school districts don't even have class rank, and there are 26,000 high schools and each ivy decides admissions independently for ~2000 seats.

Please look up the definition of valedictorian, it means class rank 1.

A huge portion of public school districts are underperforming and completely worthless.

If you take into account the overall number of applications and acceptances rather than just matriculations, from public school valedictorians, yes it is absolutely the easiest path to an ivy.

I don't quite know what this is getting at.

If you look at Title 1 public school (63% of all public schools) valedictorian matriculations, the number going to an Ivy school is next to nothing.

I would agree it is an easy path for the 38% non-Title 1...but almost no poor school valedictorians are attending Ivy schools.

Also, if you literally are talking about the #1 kid in the class, at the 38% non-Title 1 schools it's not easy to be #1. The smartest kid at Sidwell probably won't be #1 at Whitman, not because they can't but likely because that is not their focus in life.

It is easy to be #1 in public school due to minimal competition, grade inflation, and how weighted GPAs are calculated. You just take the most honors / AP classes and that is usually enough because getting As is not hard. There is no rigor.


I attended one of the HYPs and the classmates who struggled the most with coursework were the public school graduates, usually valedictorians. They were not prepared for the college coursework that came easy to the rest of us, average private high school graduates.

There is no comparison.

Your statement is a contradiction and hence what it's not easy to be #1.

If there is grade inflation and classes are easy, then it's easy for the "less smart" kids to get all As. Therefore, there are far more 4.0 kids at a public school.

It's not an question of intellect, but rather the kids that have "valedictorian" as their goal in life (of which there are usually several). These kids are the ones that end up with 17 AP classes because they are ruthlessly chasing the highest weighted GPA. They load up on AP Psych, AP Human Geography, AP Environmental Studies (as well as all the core APs) because they are just chasing weighted GPA. They may take an online AP class over the Summer in order to have "one more" AP class then the #2 kid in the class.

They are often not the smartest kids at the school by a large margin.

Bingo, now you understand the problem. This is the state of public schools. The class grades are meaningless when As are so common.

Different issue than "it's easy to be valedictorian"...which it is not.

If your know how to work the system, you just take the most AP/honors courses. That is much easier to in my opinion than competing based on rigorous and difficult coursework.