Regretting private high school investment because of colleges want more public school graduates

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
The small private school will have a de facto ceiling on HYP admits, legacy and non-legacy alike. The small private will both per capita and, likely in real terms, have more legacies. The small private will have both per capita, and possibly in real terms (certainly for the rich kid sports), more recruitable athletes. And the small private will have, both per capita and in real terms, more VIPs.

What does this mean? Being a top stats legacy (non-VIP, non-athlete) from the public is much more desirable than having that status from the private, and the kid is more likely to get in. There is far less competition for the, say, maximum of 4 Harvard slots — one of which will go to an athlete, one to a VIP, one to a first-gen type, and 1 to the top stats legacy (or none, if the VIP type is a legacy to begin with, or if a recruited athlete is also first gen). The public school will have far less likelihood of VIPs, far less likelihood of fencing recruits etc.

Per capita makes a difference for legacy — no question.

Of course, legacy is such a minor hook these days (without big money or VIP status), that the kid is not getting in either way — so what if the kid would have a 15% chance from the public but only 5-10% from the private.

Love how this poster holds forth like they actually know something. No, there are no specific caps on the part of HYP schools for small private schools. It really depends on the individual students.

What seems like a cap exists because the HYPs admit less than 4% of applicants. Harvard and Princeton probably went below 3% which is why they don’t publish the info anymore.

With a greater population of hooked students, publics still get fewer of them into HYPs. Why? Because one factor elite schools look is the rigor of the applicants’ high schools and how well students from X high school has done historically at their university. Kids with great SAT scores and APs can still struggle at elite institutions. The colleges have data on how well students from X school have done and they use it.

It’s why you have more kids getting into HYP from Sidwell, NCS/STA, and GDS. Being hooked with established rigor and a track record of kids from your school doing well helps.

Athletic recruitment helps, too. Saw stats recently that showed recruited athletes have 80+% likelihood of being admitted at elite schools.

FWIW, kids don’t all congregate around HYP either. Our CCO encourages the kids to select the right school for them and sometimes that doesn’t mean HYP, even when they get in. I know a kid who was admitted to five Ivies but is going to a non-Ivy that is elite in his chosen sport.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Been told by our college counselor that this year colleges are turning away from selecting most private high school kids because of their privileged education. That you now have a better chance coming from a public high school with good grades and top scores and activities. There’s no advantage anymore paying more money for private. None at all.

So for those of you looking to go private, don’t waste your money. Your private school kid, despite top gpa and test scores, will probably will be bumped in favor of someone from a good public school.

Regrets, regrets, regrets…

Get a better counselor. This is not true int he least for this year or next year. It was for three years ago. World has changed.

It was never true for the most elite privates. The middling privates, maybe.

[Anonymous]

Personally I just think for most schools a high GPA is what gets you in and this is much easier to achieve at public. There are exceptions of course but overall GPA wins.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Been told by our college counselor that this year colleges are turning away from selecting most private high school kids because of their privileged education. That you now have a better chance coming from a public high school with good grades and top scores and activities. There’s no advantage anymore paying more money for private. None at all.

So for those of you looking to go private, don’t waste your money. Your private school kid, despite top gpa and test scores, will probably will be bumped in favor of someone from a good public school.

Regrets, regrets, regrets…

Get a better counselor. This is not true int he least for this year or next year. It was for three years ago. World has changed.

This!!
An amazing year for private high school applicants in the current era.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Personally I just think for most schools a high GPA is what gets you in and this is much easier to achieve at public. There are exceptions of course but overall GPA wins.

You are compared to your peers though. So if very few people are getting a high GPA at your private school and the average is generally much lower, that is who you are compared against.

It’s why my private HS 3.8 GPA kid is going to a T10.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Personally I just think for most schools a high GPA is what gets you in and this is much easier to achieve at public. There are exceptions of course but overall GPA wins.

You are compared to your peers though. So if very few people are getting a high GPA at your private school and the average is generally much lower, that is who you are compared against.

It’s why my private HS 3.8 GPA kid is going to a T10.

That is true…and congrats!!! For kids like mine - strong students who care and work hard but aren’t quite top of their class, staying in public would have been best. Depends on the kid as well as the school.

[Anonymous]

Now that college visits have started, DS has expressed some regrets that attending public school may have yielded a top GPA with easier classes, more time for sports, social life and extracurriculars plus an easier path to the top universities. However, he also knows the skills he learned from attending a small, rigorous private school will ultimately set him up best for college, graduate studies and life beyond. Private school was definitely harder than public. I know we made the right decision. Excited for final year of HS!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Now that college visits have started, DS has expressed some regrets that attending public school may have yielded a top GPA with easier classes, more time for sports, social life and extracurriculars plus an easier path to the top universities. However, he also knows the skills he learned from attending a small, rigorous private school will ultimately set him up best for college, graduate studies and life beyond. Private school was definitely harder than public. I know we made the right decision. Excited for final year of HS!

Huh????

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We were never at private for admission to college.

It was about laying the groundwork for success in college and life.

Public education is a shambles. It’s terrible what has happened.

What's the point to get a "good" high school education if you end up at a not-so-good college?

To develop skills and learn things?

I don't care about the scrap of paper at the end.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
The small private school will have a de facto ceiling on HYP admits, legacy and non-legacy alike. The small private will both per capita and, likely in real terms, have more legacies. The small private will have both per capita, and possibly in real terms (certainly for the rich kid sports), more recruitable athletes. And the small private will have, both per capita and in real terms, more VIPs.

What does this mean? Being a top stats legacy (non-VIP, non-athlete) from the public is much more desirable than having that status from the private, and the kid is more likely to get in. There is far less competition for the, say, maximum of 4 Harvard slots — one of which will go to an athlete, one to a VIP, one to a first-gen type, and 1 to the top stats legacy (or none, if the VIP type is a legacy to begin with, or if a recruited athlete is also first gen). The public school will have far less likelihood of VIPs, far less likelihood of fencing recruits etc.

Per capita makes a difference for legacy — no question.

Of course, legacy is such a minor hook these days (without big money or VIP status), that the kid is not getting in either way — so what if the kid would have a 15% chance from the public but only 5-10% from the private.

Love how this poster holds forth like they actually know something. No, there are no specific caps on the part of HYP schools for small private schools. It really depends on the individual students.

What seems like a cap exists because the HYPs admit less than 4% of applicants. Harvard and Princeton probably went below 3% which is why they don’t publish the info anymore.

With a greater population of hooked students, publics still get fewer of them into HYPs. Why? Because one factor elite schools look is the rigor of the applicants’ high schools and how well students from X high school has done historically at their university. Kids with great SAT scores and APs can still struggle at elite institutions. The colleges have data on how well students from X school have done and they use it.

It’s why you have more kids getting into HYP from Sidwell, NCS/STA, and GDS. Being hooked with established rigor and a track record of kids from your school doing well helps.

Athletic recruitment helps, too. Saw stats recently that showed recruited athletes have 80+% likelihood of being admitted at elite schools.

FWIW, kids don’t all congregate around HYP either. Our CCO encourages the kids to select the right school for them and sometimes that doesn’t mean HYP, even when they get in. I know a kid who was admitted to five Ivies but is going to a non-Ivy that is elite in his chosen sport.

Absolute BS

W schools in MOCO have higher acceptance rates to HYP

Elite in his chosen sport? LOL that is stupid. Chances of them making NFL you have got to be an idiot to think any of this crap.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Now that college visits have started, DS has expressed some regrets that attending public school may have yielded a top GPA with easier classes, more time for sports, social life and extracurriculars plus an easier path to the top universities. However, he also knows the skills he learned from attending a small, rigorous private school will ultimately set him up best for college, graduate studies and life beyond. Private school was definitely harder than public. I know we made the right decision. Excited for final year of HS!

Isn't this what HS life should be about though? Public school kids are also very ready to succeed in college. We left public for private and absolutely would have made a different choice if doing it again! (I'm not the OP) The fact that we were in public prior to HS makes a difference in my thinking though. Private is definitely harder and starting that in 9th isn't the best idea...an adjustment year would have been ideal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Been told by our college counselor that this year colleges are turning away from selecting most private high school kids because of their privileged education. That you now have a better chance coming from a public high school with good grades and top scores and activities. There’s no advantage anymore paying more money for private. None at all.

So for those of you looking to go private, don’t waste your money. Your private school kid, despite top gpa and test scores, will probably will be bumped in favor of someone from a good public school.

Regrets, regrets, regrets…

The Big 3 schools and other top privates in DC send a much much higher percentage of kids to top 25 schools. There is no comparison. Publics send a very low percentage of kids. At our Big 3 we have kids with 3.8 or 3.9 GPA's going to Ivies. At publics this would never happen. There is just no comparison.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We were never at private for admission to college.

It was about laying the groundwork for success in college and life.

Public education is a shambles. It’s terrible what has happened.

What's the point to get a "good" high school education if you end up at a not-so-good college?

This is the falsest of false choices.Where I am, it is far, far, far easier to find a not-so-elite college where you can still get a good strong education than to get a good strong education at your zoned public school.

There are literally thousands of colleges in the US. Chances are that your private school graduate will be able to find one where they can get a great education.

So you’re not trading between a good high school education and a good college. At worst, you’re trading between a good high school education and an extremely short list of “elite” colleges.

If it comes to it, I’m comfortable with that trade-off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Been told by our college counselor that this year colleges are turning away from selecting most private high school kids because of their privileged education. That you now have a better chance coming from a public high school with good grades and top scores and activities. There’s no advantage anymore paying more money for private. None at all.

So for those of you looking to go private, don’t waste your money. Your private school kid, despite top gpa and test scores, will probably will be bumped in favor of someone from a good public school.

Regrets, regrets, regrets…

The Big 3 schools and other top privates in DC send a much much higher percentage of kids to top 25 schools. There is no comparison. Publics send a very low percentage of kids. At our Big 3 we have kids with 3.8 or 3.9 GPA's going to Ivies. At publics this would never happen. There is just no comparison.

Public’s don’t ask where your parents went to college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Been told by our college counselor that this year colleges are turning away from selecting most private high school kids because of their privileged education. That you now have a better chance coming from a public high school with good grades and top scores and activities. There’s no advantage anymore paying more money for private. None at all.

So for those of you looking to go private, don’t waste your money. Your private school kid, despite top gpa and test scores, will probably will be bumped in favor of someone from a good public school.

Regrets, regrets, regrets…

The Big 3 schools and other top privates in DC send a much much higher percentage of kids to top 25 schools. There is no comparison. Publics send a very low percentage of kids. At our Big 3 we have kids with 3.8 or 3.9 GPA's going to Ivies. At publics this would never happen. There is just no comparison.

So you're comparing the percentage of 3-10 private schools to hundreds of public schools?
You cannot be that stupid.