Would Ivy Chances Be Better Out of Woodberry Forest than Deerfield/Exeter/Choate?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid is an athlete with coaches interest at Deerfield, Exeter, and Choate. He's almost-certain to get in, but I'm not sure if he's good enough to play D1. For college admissions purposes, would his chances at an ivy be better if he attended a lower-pressure school like Woodberry Forest? My son is very, very smart, but I don't think he'd graduate at the top of an elite New England school. I do think he'd graduate in the top decile at Woodberry due to easier work and less academically-intense peers.

My suspicion is that going to Woodberry might maximize his individual chances at a T10 college admission, because there are simply less Woodberry students aiming for Ivy League colleges. According to friends, there are like 5 kids max applying to Harvard out of Woodberry's senior class. At Exeter, there are typically 50 Harvard applicants per year, and around half the class applies to HYP in the EA round.

Even the smartest kids at Woodberry seem to really want southern schools like Vanderbilt, Duke, UVA, or UNC. The Ivy league lane is wide-open for the kids who want it.

Am I right in my assumptions?

There are plenty of academically intense boys at Woodberry, and they have a terrific faculty (e.g., perhaps the best high school physics teacher in the nation). Why are you so hung up on Ivy admissions? Let your kid go to a school where he will have the best experience for him - stop making everything so transactional (or you're bound to be disappointed).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is an athlete with coaches interest at Deerfield, Exeter, and Choate. He's almost-certain to get in, but I'm not sure if he's good enough to play D1. For college admissions purposes, would his chances at an ivy be better if he attended a lower-pressure school like Woodberry Forest? My son is very, very smart, but I don't think he'd graduate at the top of an elite New England school. I do think he'd graduate in the top decile at Woodberry due to easier work and less academically-intense peers.

My suspicion is that going to Woodberry might maximize his individual chances at a T10 college admission, because there are simply less Woodberry students aiming for Ivy League colleges. According to friends, there are like 5 kids max applying to Harvard out of Woodberry's senior class. At Exeter, there are typically 50 Harvard applicants per year, and around half the class applies to HYP in the EA round.

Even the smartest kids at Woodberry seem to really want southern schools like Vanderbilt, Duke, UVA, or UNC. The Ivy league lane is wide-open for the kids who want it.

Am I right in my assumptions?

There are plenty of academically intense boys at Woodberry, and they have a terrific faculty (e.g., perhaps the best high school physics teacher in the nation). Why are you so hung up on Ivy admissions? Let your kid go to a school where he will have the best experience for him - stop making everything so transactional (or you're bound to be disappointed).

Perfectly stated.

[Anonymous]

I would definitely look strongly at Deerfield and Exeter. Alumni are very engaged and the connections can help more so than the connections you can make at an Ivy. Also, if he’s good at a sport, he won’t be competing against other students from his high school for a spot, but rather other athletes. If D1 is not a possibility, all three schools still place lots of athletes at upper level NESCAC schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would definitely look strongly at Deerfield and Exeter. Alumni are very engaged and the connections can help more so than the connections you can make at an Ivy. Also, if he’s good at a sport, he won’t be competing against other students from his high school for a spot, but rather other athletes. If D1 is not a possibility, all three schools still place lots of athletes at upper level NESCAC schools.

This

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:WF is very southern and sends almost no one to Ivies. It's also nowhere close to be an academic peer of the other schools mentioned.

They send no one to Ivies, because few kids are that interested and few apply. They are southern boys that are more excited to go to flagship SEC schools (Alabama, UGA, Ole Miss, etc.) or well-regarded southern schools (Sewanee, Charleston, etc.) The really smart ones tend to aim for UVA, UNC, Vanderbilt, or Duke.

In fact, I'd reckon that a boy that wants the Ivies might have a better shot out of WF, because they will have little competition for the seat. Maybe 4 kids might apply to Harvard, whereas in the top New England schools, probably a quarter of the class applies for 5 seats.

And you are wrong. Every Ivy but Harvard represented.

[Anonymous]

^^https://www.woodberry.org/academics/college-counseling