Do Elite Prep Schools Hurt College Chances?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have kids in public and private, a disproportionate number of the private school kids are Ivy legacies sometimes double legacy or have famous parents so even with similar grades, those kids have an advantage.

+1 That would be the way being in private school could hurt. If a substantial number of your kids' classmates are bold faced names, very rich (donor advantage) or legacies. They would be getting in when your kid would not.

That said, private schools are generally smaller than big public HS in this area, so it's easier to be a bigger fish in a small pond and acquire leadership credentials when it's a class of 200 vs. a class of 700 at a big public HS.

Also private schools have a lot more resources in the form of guidance counselors, smaller class sizes with teachers more willing to write recs than public schools, administrators.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, that's just rich people cope.

Being at the bottom of a small class hurts your elite college admissions, no matter how high your class average SAT is, while being at the top of that class gives you a decent shot, but no guarantee. However, being at the bottom of that class is not the same as being at the bottom of the class of a huge school, so it does give you better admissions and merit aid chances outside of the highly rejective colleges range.

This exactly.

[Anonymous]

Attending a competitive private school probably does hurt your chances overall. A bright, motivated kid will stand out from the pack more at a public school. Ivy League schools will reach a bit farther into a private school class, but not that far.

Private schools are also juggling a lot of competing priorities. Competitive universities will only take so many from a single secondary school, and the counselors can only push for a few at each university. Your application to UPenn might be sacrificed on the altar of the ambitions of a child of a major donor. Private schools even limit applications, so the strategy of aiming for several reach schools might not be an option.

The kid who benefits from private school is the kid who is sensitive to his environment. In a school full of self-starters, he'll adopt that posture. If he is surrounded by stoners, or kids who aren't pushing themselves, that's the route he'll take.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Attending a competitive private school probably does hurt your chances overall. A bright, motivated kid will stand out from the pack more at a public school. Ivy League schools will reach a bit farther into a private school class, but not that far.

Untrue. The top private schools around here are regularly sending 20 percent of their students each year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Attending a competitive private school probably does hurt your chances overall. A bright, motivated kid will stand out from the pack more at a public school. Ivy League schools will reach a bit farther into a private school class, but not that far.

Untrue. The top private schools around here are regularly sending 20 percent of their students each year.

At Sidwell, that's 25 kids. So where would Kid #26 be if they had stayed in a large public school class?

[Anonymous]

Depends on the large public school, but it's pretty hard to stand out at these places with everyone at the top having 4.0 type grades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Attending a competitive private school probably does hurt your chances overall. A bright, motivated kid will stand out from the pack more at a public school. Ivy League schools will reach a bit farther into a private school class, but not that far.

Private schools are also juggling a lot of competing priorities. Competitive universities will only take so many from a single secondary school, and the counselors can only push for a few at each university. Your application to UPenn might be sacrificed on the altar of the ambitions of a child of a major donor. Private schools even limit applications, so the strategy of aiming for several reach schools might not be an option.

The kid who benefits from private school is the kid who is sensitive to his environment. In a school full of self-starters, he'll adopt that posture. If he is surrounded by stoners, or kids who aren't pushing themselves, that's the route he'll take.

I would say that 99% of teenagers are pretty sensitive to their environment. My anecdotal evidence is that it helps, and doesn't hurt, to come from a well-regarded private school. A big factor is that your child is more likely to be surrounded by hard-working classmates that will push them to work harder. Private schools also tend to be smaller, so they offer more chances to do the extracurriculars that will make for a more interesting application.

[Anonymous]

I am looking at private schools for kid. Not DC but in Baltimore. I went to a well known prep school in another city and cannot but help make comparisons to the 1990s. Also went to an Ivy. In glancing at the 2025 classes Instagram, there are fewer prestigious college placements than you would expect. Of those, disproportionate are black, especially those of African ancestry. Most kids seem to be going to big state universities across the country. Far fewer LACs, which really surprised me.

It has made me pause a bit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the advantage comes when it’s down to your kid and one other. Private schools give admissions officers a guarantee that your child can likely keep up in college. There’s also the fact that private schools have relationships with certain colleges so the counselor has a direct line to the admissions office. Finally, because they have smaller classes, teachers and counselors can write more tailored LORs.

All true. The small, seminar style classes at my kids' top private prepared them very well for a very top college. Admissions staff know the kids will be ready to succeed and participate in class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am looking at private schools for kid. Not DC but in Baltimore. I went to a well known prep school in another city and cannot but help make comparisons to the 1990s. Also went to an Ivy. In glancing at the 2025 classes Instagram, there are fewer prestigious college placements than you would expect. Of those, disproportionate are black, especially those of African ancestry. Most kids seem to be going to big state universities across the country. Far fewer LACs, which really surprised me.

It has made me pause a bit.

Don't know what's happening in Baltimore. But hey, it's Baltimore. The top DC schools still have stellar records at getting kids into top schools.

[Anonymous]

At schools like Phillips, sure. But for DC/NoVA schools it's an advantage.

[Anonymous]

A rule of thumb is, if a private school meets full need and recruits nationally, it's going to be hard to stand out there to the point where you get into a too school. If a school recruits regionally, then it's more likely to give you a boost.

[Anonymous]

I think it helps at top liberal arts schools, doesn’t help/hurt for top private universities, and hurts for top public universities.

I will say people seem to be obsessed with private school as a means to getting into an elite college, but it helps prepare kids for the academics and can help with future connections. My brother got a job at a hedge fund from a non-target school through a prep school classmate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The goal posts are going to move many times for your DC. What Ivy League schools want always changes. Private schools have been an advantage in the past but then other times it was being URMs, then living in a low income zip code. Well rounded students were hot until pointy ones were. Test scores seem to be the most important thing this upcoming year but weren’t the past few years.

Making too many decisions with Ivy admissions in mind isn’t the way to go.

I went to Ivy in the 90s, and half the kids were from private schools. Considering how few private schools there are compared to public, that was INSANE.

I was a rural admit (though I didn’t test well, NMSF).

But OP learn from my path: you want your kids to prepared well enough to succeed at an Ivy (or any college) not just get admitted to an Ivy. I was way way over my head coming from CowTown High. Your kids will be fine, so focus on which school best fits them and challenges them now as prep for the future.

[Anonymous]

Yes