Does going to a Big 3 school really help with college admissions?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Only 10 percent of Big 3 seniors end up at top undergrads?

Correct.

Many are persuaded to go to small Slacs and continue to pontify new literature there.

[Anonymous]

Probably not, but these schools have a vested interest in making you think there’s an inherent advantage.The only way to truly know this is to see all the data you listed in your OP. The schools don’t provide that.

I think the real advantage is in a kid getting more concentrated attention from college counselors than they’d get at a public high school. But I don’t think that translates to kids getting into better colleges so much as it means they apply to colleges that are a genuinely good fit for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^ you essentially agree with the posters main point though. Top 10% at good public’s are working just as hard and are just as bright as the kids at $45k+ per year Big 3s. I can understand the bitterness that they feel when they realize all that $ paid didn’t confer an admission advantage.

I am currently paying that amount of money and I do not believe it confers an admissions benefit to college. I am not bitter. I have known it would not confer an admissions benefit from the start.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only 10 percent of Big 3 seniors end up at top undergrads?

Correct.

You're lying. Even Holton sends over 10 percent of its seniors to Ivy League schools alone (i.e., before counting Stanford/MIT/et al.).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What isn't often discussed, but should be is that if you can fully pay for university and don't need any financial aid, you get an edge up in admissions. Most kids at a Big 3 have parents who can fully pay AND are willing to fully pay for private college. All thing being equal if you have two kids with similar stats, the full pay kid is going to be admitted.

It really is affirmative action for rich people. Most people have to fully pay. Our HHI is around $175,000. We can't pay for a Big 3 or private university.

Your post asserts that college is a right. And that expensive colleges are a right as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All thing being equal if you have two kids with similar stats, the full pay kid is going to be admitted.

Maybe at the second or third-tier schools, but definitely not at the most selective ones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^ you essentially agree with the posters main point though. Top 10% at good public’s are working just as hard and are just as bright as the kids at $45k+ per year Big 3s. I can understand the bitterness that they feel when they realize all that $ paid didn’t confer an admission advantage.

You may imagine, but that doesn't make it so. Do you think that I feel bitter towards economy passengers when I get out of a business class flight to Tokyo just because they pay a lot less and get to the same place at the same time? You are just observing that the market for top university admissions is a lot tougher than before, more global, and open. Which is as it should be. Pretty much everything else is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^ you essentially agree with the posters main point though. Top 10% at good public’s are working just as hard and are just as bright as the kids at $45k+ per year Big 3s. I can understand the bitterness that they feel when they realize all that $ paid didn’t confer an admission advantage.

I’m not that bitter. $90k ( we have two) just isn’t that much money. And probably worth it to get away from desperate, bitter people like you. We’ll get our third house after they’re done with college. It’s not that big a sacrifice.

[Anonymous]

I don't think anyone's going to sign up for a randomized controlled study to prove your question one way or another. As a parent who is paying for 14 years of private school tuition (PK-12) twice. DC1 is at an Ivy and we'll find out if DC2 goes to one next month. They are the kind, thoughtful, serious adults, I wish I was at their age. We have had the luxury of letting them free-range and make their own decisions because they had lots of adults who really knew them at their high school and a program of study that guarantees an easy transition to college. As a matter of fairness, I really hope that they don't have an advantage over public schools students.

My sense is that it doesn't make a difference in admissions for the Ivies+, but it might at the SLACs less selective than Williams/Wellesley/Amherst. But, maybe more importantly, their high school reduced the stress of the admissions process. Teacher recs are tailored for the students and their target schools, counselors help students find safeties they'll be happy at, and there are plenty of friends at the colleges on their lists.

[Anonymous]

I think it does provide an advantage. Better teacher and counselor recs because they are writing these letters for less kids. Public school counselors and teachers have huge work loads and are trying to cover so many kids. I think the top 10% of kids at public and private are very similar and they could all do great at any school. The private school kids will most likely have better essays and applications due to more personal help from the school. It probably isn’t a level playing field unfortunately

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m a parent who has spent $$$$ on a top flight non DC private. I think the answer is no. One factor you haven’t considered is that parents like me are more likely to be top school alums themselves. Between all those factors, I think it doesn’t much change admissions outcomes. And it certainly isn’t why I pay for private.

Same, but we're in DC.

I don't think our teens will end up at more competitive universities than our neighbors' kids at public HS, controlling for confounding variables.

I am certain they're getting different education experiences right now. Sometimes, it's the journey

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What isn't often discussed, but should be is that if you can fully pay for university and don't need any financial aid, you get an edge up in admissions. Most kids at a Big 3 have parents who can fully pay AND are willing to fully pay for private college. All thing being equal if you have two kids with similar stats, the full pay kid is going to be admitted.

It really is affirmative action for rich people. Most people have to fully pay. Our HHI is around $175,000. We can't pay for a Big 3 or private university.

This is true *except* at need-blind schools, which includes all Ivies and many of the other top 25 schools.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Need-blind_admission

[Anonymous]

I personally don't have data but I bet the colleges themselves do.

Some high schools also let parents see college admissions data.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think anyone's going to sign up for a randomized controlled study to prove your question one way or another. As a parent who is paying for 14 years of private school tuition (PK-12) twice. DC1 is at an Ivy and we'll find out if DC2 goes to one next month. They are the kind, thoughtful, serious adults, I wish I was at their age. We have had the luxury of letting them free-range and make their own decisions because they had lots of adults who really knew them at their high school and a program of study that guarantees an easy transition to college. As a matter of fairness, I really hope that they don't have an advantage over public schools students.

My sense is that it doesn't make a difference in admissions for the Ivies+, but it might at the SLACs less selective than Williams/Wellesley/Amherst. But, maybe more importantly, their high school reduced the stress of the admissions process. Teacher recs are tailored for the students and their target schools, counselors help students find safeties they'll be happy at, and there are plenty of friends at the colleges on their lists.

Would love to know where your kids went, as it sounds like a great outcome regardless of college. That’s what we’re looking for for our two dc, and it seems so difficult to figure out when they’re young. But we’re trying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a parent who has spent $$$$ on a top flight non DC private. I think the answer is no. One factor you haven’t considered is that parents like me are more likely to be top school alums themselves. Between all those factors, I think it doesn’t much change admissions outcomes. And it certainly isn’t why I pay for private.

Same, but we're in DC.

I don't think our teens will end up at more competitive universities than our neighbors' kids at public HS, controlling for confounding variables.

I am certain they're getting different education experiences right now. Sometimes, it's the journey

This. I want my kids not just to have a *good* education but also a pleasant education. Both me and my spouse went to publics, spouse to TJ, and me in a differentiated T&G program within my neighborhood school. We both found the experience frustrating and wanted to opt out of the bureaucracy. It’s just a better experience, both for us as parents and for our kids as students.

We aren’t as rich as some people in this thread, but it also isn’t a huge strain financially. We aren’t trying to buy our kids’ way into Yale. We are trying to buy *our* way *out* of the public school experience.