Do you think it is easier to get into a top college from public or private?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It depends on the private school. I think private schools do place better for ivy/t20. However, public school kids likely have an advantage at flagship publics that like high gpa. Publics have more grade inflation and inflated gpa due to weighted gpa and heavy AP curriculum. Lots of pressure for perfection at public hs whereas private kids dont have that expectation. At our private, we have zero AP courses and few kids have perfect gpa's and all place very well, even the kids that aren't very strong. Our private has rigor, a strong curriculum that colleges know and a solid track record of kids doing well. Lots of opportunities for kids to distinguish themselves academically. Yes, school has legacy, urm, and wealthy donors. But we are neither (we got financial aid from the hs), and my smart, interesting kid is now at an Ivy and I don't think they would be there now if they went to public. Also, small classes mean teachers really know kids, kids are expected to lead discussions, etc. I think the exception might be for math/stem where public magnet school kids do very well in admission to top stem programs (mit, engineering, etc). I think public kids can distinguish themselves but they have to put in the effort to find opportunities where they can showcase their strengths. .

Same with my college freshman who is also at an Ivy after attending a top private for high school. She is very smart but she did not have perfect grades and she did not have an extensive resume. There was no way if she had attended Langley or similar that she would have taken 16 APs and done research and had 2 internships etc. By attending private she was able to get into an Ivy with pretty regular extracurriculars and even a few Bs.

How is a kid with few Bs smart and deserving of an Ivy? And you yourself say she cannot compete with students who take 16 APs. What a corrupt admissions system. Is this Cornell? That is where many such students from private schools with mediocre profiles end up.

you realize there are high schools harder than some colleges. and there are high schools where every other kid has a 4.0.

our high school almost never has a kid with a 4.0 and we send 20% of the class to t10 colleges. So literally they all have a B, at least one.. And they all have a 1550 plus.

My kids go to a top private so I know what kind of kids get B in private school and I would not call them smart especially kids with a few Bs. Also, many have 1550s not "all".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It will depend on the school. Private schools obviously have an advantage bc they choose their students. That’s not the case at public high schools that educate everyone in their district. That’s their mission.

But the top 10-20 percent of students at well resourced public schools like Langley and the Ws do just as well as the elite private school students when it comes to college admissions. And the STEM kids at public schools are usually much stronger than the private school students. Which is no small thing these days.

Lots of magnet publics get to choose their students. If you are the top student at Andover or Sidwell, you are shoo in at HYP if that's what you want. If you're top from TJ, you are shoo in at schools like Cornell or Hopkins, which are obviously amazing colleges, but not guaranteed at HYP. So it depends on how top OP means by "top college".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can we have a new rule that since we’re talking about a specific high school in a specific region that only posters whose kids attend a DMV private available to OP and who actually know something about Langley can comment?

EVERY OTHER POST IS IRRELEVANT

I previously asked for something similar and Jeff said no. It’s probably still easily accessible on website feedback.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can we have a new rule that since we’re talking about a specific high school in a specific region that only posters whose kids attend a DMV private available to OP and who actually know something about Langley can comment?

EVERY OTHER POST IS IRRELEVANT

I previously asked for something similar and Jeff said no. It’s probably still easily accessible on website feedback.

Well they’re ruining the site. It’s become useless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can we have a new rule that since we’re talking about a specific high school in a specific region that only posters whose kids attend a DMV private available to OP and who actually know something about Langley can comment?

EVERY OTHER POST IS IRRELEVANT

ITD. Also there are regional school boards right here for a specific questions about individual schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in a top public school (Langley High in McLean). My oldest is currently a junior and it feels like there are so many students who may sound similar on paper. He is targeting T20 schools like everyone else in the school.

I have 2 other kids and considering private schools for them. Cost is a non-factor. We gave our oldest the option to switch to private in middle school and he chose to stay with his friends. He does have a fantastic friend group. Wondering if we should switch our younger kids earlier.

I think the better approach is to avoid focusing only on the "T20" like everyone else in your DC's school. Apply to 1-2 as reaches if there's something about them that's particularly well suited, or if anyone in the family is legacy, but otherwise it's a low odds lottery if you're only focused on admission to a handful of schools with far fewer seats than there is demand.

We're at a private school. We chose it for the curriculum and small class size (ranging from 12-18). We had the ability to afford it and chose it for those reasons, not their college matriculation list. College matriculation lists at strong private high schools are typically impressive because the families are well resourced and many are legacies at schools that still give advantages to children and grandchildren of alums.

So my advice would be: 1) broaden the college list far beyond the T20 (everyone thinks they can get in, but there's too many similar candidates vying to get in), and 2) only go private if you like the other aspects of what it has to offer (classes, class size, admin, teachers) and not because you expect that you will have an easier college admissions season. I don't think it makes much difference in terms of admissions between private vs. public when you take legacy, resources into account.

I hope that helps!

In terms of statistical average, this is exactly the worst advice. If you're a serious contender for an Ivy (incl MIT/Stanford), you should apply to ALL of them. It increases your chances of getting into one. That's the simple math of how that works. Now that's not to say that you will get into an Ivy because the odds are so damn difficult ... but the way to mitigate for the bad odds is to carpet bomb the Ivies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in a top public school (Langley High in McLean). My oldest is currently a junior and it feels like there are so many students who may sound similar on paper. He is targeting T20 schools like everyone else in the school.

I have 2 other kids and considering private schools for them. Cost is a non-factor. We gave our oldest the option to switch to private in middle school and he chose to stay with his friends. He does have a fantastic friend group. Wondering if we should switch our younger kids earlier.

I think the better approach is to avoid focusing only on the "T20" like everyone else in your DC's school. Apply to 1-2 as reaches if there's something about them that's particularly well suited, or if anyone in the family is legacy, but otherwise it's a low odds lottery if you're only focused on admission to a handful of schools with far fewer seats than there is demand.

We're at a private school. We chose it for the curriculum and small class size (ranging from 12-18). We had the ability to afford it and chose it for those reasons, not their college matriculation list. College matriculation lists at strong private high schools are typically impressive because the families are well resourced and many are legacies at schools that still give advantages to children and grandchildren of alums.

So my advice would be: 1) broaden the college list far beyond the T20 (everyone thinks they can get in, but there's too many similar candidates vying to get in), and 2) only go private if you like the other aspects of what it has to offer (classes, class size, admin, teachers) and not because you expect that you will have an easier college admissions season. I don't think it makes much difference in terms of admissions between private vs. public when you take legacy, resources into account.

I hope that helps!

In terms of statistical average, this is exactly the worst advice. If you're a serious contender for an Ivy (incl MIT/Stanford), you should apply to ALL of them. It increases your chances of getting into one. That's the simple math of how that works. Now that's not to say that you will get into an Ivy because the odds are so damn difficult ... but the way to mitigate for the bad odds is to carpet bomb the Ivies.

I also agree that you should broaden the scope to consider non-Ivy+ schools and especially schools in the T30 to T50+. So when parents think that a kid should only apply to 10 or 12 schools, it's actually not a well planned out thought. Yes, it does what has happened today--makes it incredibly difficult for kids to properly get into a good school. However, that is a problem the collective body has to solve by all high schools limiting the number of colleges you can apply to. You shouldn't have to be the sacrificial lamb in the process so that you fix the problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We live in a top public school (Langley High in McLean). My oldest is currently a junior and it feels like there are so many students who may sound similar on paper. He is targeting T20 schools like everyone else in the school.

I have 2 other kids and considering private schools for them. Cost is a non-factor. We gave our oldest the option to switch to private in middle school and he chose to stay with his friends. He does have a fantastic friend group. Wondering if we should switch our younger kids earlier.

If T20 is the goal for your younger kids and cost is a "non-factor" as you say, then I think you increase your odds by sending your kids to an elite boarding school like Andover, Exeter, Choate, Hotchkiss, etc. Those are the feeder schools and being in the top 50% will pretty much guarantee their placement at a T20. I have considered this myself, but would have been sad to send off a 15 year old so far from home, but I have friends who have done it and I understand their reasoning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can we have a new rule that since we’re talking about a specific high school in a specific region that only posters whose kids attend a DMV private available to OP and who actually know something about Langley can comment?

EVERY OTHER POST IS IRRELEVANT

I previously asked for something similar and Jeff said no. It’s probably still easily accessible on website feedback.

Well they’re ruining the site. It’s become useless.

The Bay area posters are relentless. I recommend the OP post this to the Fairfax County Public Schools forum. The intruders won't post over there.

[Anonymous]

One thing to keep in mind, that won't be reflected in matriculation data, a lot of kids in public schools can or did/do get into top schools, but can't afford to go to them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One thing to keep in mind, that won't be reflected in matriculation data, a lot of kids in public schools can or did/do get into top schools, but can't afford to go to them.

Same at privates. I know 3 kids off the top of my head who were admitted to Ivies from top DC privates last admission cycle who did not attend them. One is at a SLAC on a full ride, one is at UVA in-state, one is at Wisconsin on a full ride.

[Anonymous]

Another non-DMV poster here (not west coast). I like the Bay Area posters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our private with 200 seniors had so many more Ivy/T10/20 acceptances than the 2,000 total seniors in our entire county. So, yes, private did better. The admissions officers know the rigor of every HS in the area and they get the AP exam profile and know which schools grade inflate, etc.

+1 local

[Anonymous]

I don't mind the Bay Area or NYC posters as long as they identify themselves as such. It seems like most on this thread did. It just gets frustrating when they say something like: "privates can send 60% to top20 schools" when that stat doesn't represent any DMV private so isn't relevant to any of most of us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another non-DMV poster here (not west coast). I like the Bay Area posters.

DP I'm another one (also not west coast). I too like the geographically diverse posters. Always good to have larger sample size and wider perspectives. I understand why you may only want to hear from Virginia posters for in-state UVA admissions, but no reason to only think locally when you're applying to a college that accepts from everywhere.