Do colleges take private school curriculum into consideration with grades?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD is at top private school. She is an average student and works hard. Her grades (and those of many of her friends) are lower than their public school counterparts. I hear anecdotes from parents at our public school talk about how kids have no homework now and they don't even have to turn in assignments in a timely manner. These kids are getting straight As. Will college admissions people recognize this?

OP: The question in your topic is totally reasonable. And the answer is affirmative: AOs at elite private schools will be aware of your top private school's curriculum and will assess applicants accordingly.

As for the boldfaced portion above, it's hyperbolic nonsense and it's kind of embarrassing that you'd entertain it.

It's not nonsense. Some public schools truly are like this.

Can confirm. Many high schools have little to no homework and have retakes on the same test. It is supposedly for “mental health “. It does not usually apply to AP classes though. 93% of the local public high school that sends 60%at to 4yr college has A-B honor roll. 40% have straight As. 40%. Let that sink in. Less than 5% get into UVA every yr: this is not a top public high school. Yet. So many the A’s. The local top private has 21-23% of the graduating class get accepted to UVa, yet less than 15% of the class has all As(inclusive of A-), though some of the all A kids have no advanced or AP so are not near the top15% when weighted/rigor is accounted for in relative rank.
The median SAT is 200 points different at these schools. The colleges know all of this.

It really depends on the public high school. There is enormous variation. I can assure you that students at schools like Whitman and Langley are grinding. No student is floating through Multivariable Calculus and AP Physics and AP Lit while working at the school paper and practicing their sport. And schools like that have hundreds of very driven, very smart students. As a parent of a couple of them, from my perspective it's the private school kids that are coasting. Their math and science classes are at a much lower level. They receive a lot more individual attention. They are more coddled. And less is expected of them. I don't think there's any comparison between the AP level students at the top public high schools and the more pampered private school students. It's no wonder selective colleges tend to favor public school students these days. They work harder. They're more self-driven. And they're more prepared for college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD is at top private school. She is an average student and works hard. Her grades (and those of many of her friends) are lower than their public school counterparts. I hear anecdotes from parents at our public school talk about how kids have no homework now and they don't even have to turn in assignments in a timely manner. These kids are getting straight As. Will college admissions people recognize this?

OP: The question in your topic is totally reasonable. And the answer is affirmative: AOs at elite private schools will be aware of your top private school's curriculum and will assess applicants accordingly.

As for the boldfaced portion above, it's hyperbolic nonsense and it's kind of embarrassing that you'd entertain it.

It's not nonsense. Some public schools truly are like this.

Can confirm. Many high schools have little to no homework and have retakes on the same test. It is supposedly for “mental health “. It does not usually apply to AP classes though. 93% of the local public high school that sends 60%at to 4yr college has A-B honor roll. 40% have straight As. 40%. Let that sink in. Less than 5% get into UVA every yr: this is not a top public high school. Yet. So many the A’s. The local top private has 21-23% of the graduating class get accepted to UVa, yet less than 15% of the class has all As(inclusive of A-), though some of the all A kids have no advanced or AP so are not near the top15% when weighted/rigor is accounted for in relative rank.
The median SAT is 200 points different at these schools. The colleges know all of this.

It really depends on the public high school. There is enormous variation. I can assure you that students at schools like Whitman and Langley are grinding. No student is floating through Multivariable Calculus and AP Physics and AP Lit while working at the school paper and practicing their sport. And schools like that have hundreds of very driven, very smart students. As a parent of a couple of them, from my perspective it's the private school kids that are coasting. Their math and science classes are at a much lower level. They receive a lot more individual attention. They are more coddled. And less is expected of them. I don't think there's any comparison between the AP level students at the top public high schools and the more pampered private school students. It's no wonder selective colleges tend to favor public school students these days. They work harder. They're more self-driven. And they're more prepared for college.

I think this is true for public flagships.
Public colleges like public school kids.
Esp for stem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD is at top private school. She is an average student and works hard. Her grades (and those of many of her friends) are lower than their public school counterparts. I hear anecdotes from parents at our public school talk about how kids have no homework now and they don't even have to turn in assignments in a timely manner. These kids are getting straight As. Will college admissions people recognize this?

Please disclose the names of schools you’ve heard this about.

PS- private school parents frequently believe this is true about public school kids.

Yes, please name the public high schools. My kid completed the full IB Diploma and some AP courses from a public. She worked her tail off.

[Anonymous]

Do colleges take a high-rigor public school curriculum (backed up by high standardized test scores including BC Calc and 1500+ SAT as well as classes like Multivariate Calc) into account?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD is at top private school. She is an average student and works hard. Her grades (and those of many of her friends) are lower than their public school counterparts. I hear anecdotes from parents at our public school talk about how kids have no homework now and they don't even have to turn in assignments in a timely manner. These kids are getting straight As. Will college admissions people recognize this?

OP: The question in your topic is totally reasonable. And the answer is affirmative: AOs at elite private schools will be aware of your top private school's curriculum and will assess applicants accordingly.

As for the boldfaced portion above, it's hyperbolic nonsense and it's kind of embarrassing that you'd entertain it.

It's not nonsense. Some public schools truly are like this.

Can confirm. Many high schools have little to no homework and have retakes on the same test. It is supposedly for “mental health “. It does not usually apply to AP classes though. 93% of the local public high school that sends 60%at to 4yr college has A-B honor roll. 40% have straight As. 40%. Let that sink in. Less than 5% get into UVA every yr: this is not a top public high school. Yet. So many the A’s. The local top private has 21-23% of the graduating class get accepted to UVa, yet less than 15% of the class has all As(inclusive of A-), though some of the all A kids have no advanced or AP so are not near the top15% when weighted/rigor is accounted for in relative rank.
The median SAT is 200 points different at these schools. The colleges know all of this.

It really depends on the public high school. There is enormous variation. I can assure you that students at schools like Whitman and Langley are grinding. No student is floating through Multivariable Calculus and AP Physics and AP Lit while working at the school paper and practicing their sport. And schools like that have hundreds of very driven, very smart students. As a parent of a couple of them, from my perspective it's the private school kids that are coasting. Their math and science classes are at a much lower level. They receive a lot more individual attention. They are more coddled. And less is expected of them. I don't think there's any comparison between the AP level students at the top public high schools and the more pampered private school students. It's no wonder selective colleges tend to favor public school students these days. They work harder. They're more self-driven. And they're more prepared for college.

This is a really weird take. And shows you see only one side. Private school kids are not coasting. It is true some do not have MV Calculus but so what? Colleges do not care. It may be a lower level but that is not important to colleges or we would not have MIT and CalTech admits. They are not at all coddled. More is expected of them to tell the truth. Colleges are not favoring publics if anything it is the other way around but really they look at the differently. Most colleges would rather have the kid that worked on the school paper, played a sport and took the highest rigor classes they could. That would get their attention. There is no one way. If public was superior no one would go to provate. If private was vastly superior even more would get out of public and there would be new privates popping up. It is really student by student as to which is better for them -- some of course have no choice. But simply not true to make a general statement that one works harder or one is more ready for college. Also not true that colelges have a preference. What they want are students that fit what they are looking for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do colleges take a high-rigor public school curriculum (backed up by high standardized test scores including BC Calc and 1500+ SAT as well as classes like Multivariate Calc) into account?

not really because these kids are a dime a dozen from public.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do colleges take a high-rigor public school curriculum (backed up by high standardized test scores including BC Calc and 1500+ SAT as well as classes like Multivariate Calc) into account?

not really because these kids are a dime a dozen from public.

Just like the dime a dozen from private. Try harder.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD is at top private school. She is an average student and works hard. Her grades (and those of many of her friends) are lower than their public school counterparts. I hear anecdotes from parents at our public school talk about how kids have no homework now and they don't even have to turn in assignments in a timely manner. These kids are getting straight As. Will college admissions people recognize this?

OP: The question in your topic is totally reasonable. And the answer is affirmative: AOs at elite private schools will be aware of your top private school's curriculum and will assess applicants accordingly.

As for the boldfaced portion above, it's hyperbolic nonsense and it's kind of embarrassing that you'd entertain it.

It's not nonsense. Some public schools truly are like this.

Such as…? I could say the same about the unregulated private schools. One of DC’s peers went to a Chicago private high school with zero grades and “aptitude benchmarks.” They go to northwestern now and struggle.

OP is talking about her specific local school. Not "all publics." PP said it is nonsense, not knowing what school she is talking about, as if NO high school anywhere does this. Some do.

To you second point, sure, no one said otherwise. But also, what private schools are not regulated? They are governed by the local government and also need accreditation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do colleges take a high-rigor public school curriculum (backed up by high standardized test scores including BC Calc and 1500+ SAT as well as classes like Multivariate Calc) into account?

Yes, but if other kids with those scores at your school managed higher GPAs, they will also consider that.

OP's question is not about "top schools." No one is expecting a kid with a low GPA to apply to an ivy league school. OPs question is really about the understandable anxiety of the all-around smart kids who have low GPAs from tough schools and where they can realistically land. They have a lot of good options.

When you look at the lists of matriculations from private schools, remember that very few of those kids are 4.0 students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD is at top private school. She is an average student and works hard. Her grades (and those of many of her friends) are lower than their public school counterparts. I hear anecdotes from parents at our public school talk about how kids have no homework now and they don't even have to turn in assignments in a timely manner. These kids are getting straight As. Will college admissions people recognize this?

OP: The question in your topic is totally reasonable. And the answer is affirmative: AOs at elite private schools will be aware of your top private school's curriculum and will assess applicants accordingly.

As for the boldfaced portion above, it's hyperbolic nonsense and it's kind of embarrassing that you'd entertain it.

It's not nonsense. Some public schools truly are like this.

Can confirm. Many high schools have little to no homework and have retakes on the same test. It is supposedly for “mental health “. It does not usually apply to AP classes though. 93% of the local public high school that sends 60%at to 4yr college has A-B honor roll. 40% have straight As. 40%. Let that sink in. Less than 5% get into UVA every yr: this is not a top public high school. Yet. So many the A’s. The local top private has 21-23% of the graduating class get accepted to UVa, yet less than 15% of the class has all As(inclusive of A-), though some of the all A kids have no advanced or AP so are not near the top15% when weighted/rigor is accounted for in relative rank.
The median SAT is 200 points different at these schools. The colleges know all of this.

It really depends on the public high school. There is enormous variation. I can assure you that students at schools like Whitman and Langley are grinding. No student is floating through Multivariable Calculus and AP Physics and AP Lit while working at the school paper and practicing their sport. And schools like that have hundreds of very driven, very smart students. As a parent of a couple of them, from my perspective it's the private school kids that are coasting. Their math and science classes are at a much lower level. They receive a lot more individual attention. They are more coddled. And less is expected of them. I don't think there's any comparison between the AP level students at the top public high schools and the more pampered private school students. It's no wonder selective colleges tend to favor public school students these days. They work harder. They're more self-driven. And they're more prepared for college.

This is a really weird take. And shows you see only one side. Private school kids are not coasting. It is true some do not have MV Calculus but so what? Colleges do not care. It may be a lower level but that is not important to colleges or we would not have MIT and CalTech admits. They are not at all coddled. More is expected of them to tell the truth. Colleges are not favoring publics if anything it is the other way around but really they look at the differently. Most colleges would rather have the kid that worked on the school paper, played a sport and took the highest rigor classes they could. That would get their attention. There is no one way. If public was superior no one would go to provate. If private was vastly superior even more would get out of public and there would be new privates popping up. It is really student by student as to which is better for them -- some of course have no choice. But simply not true to make a general statement that one works harder or one is more ready for college. Also not true that colelges have a preference. What they want are students that fit what they are looking for.

They may not be all taking MV calc. But, they have very strong prereqs and going into 9th have exams for math placement--which invariably are much tougher than material covered in public MS. They want very strong math foundations before advancing each level. It's not unsual for a straight A/600SOL algebra or Geo kid to not be placed in the next higher course--but to repeat in Honors level because they blow the exemption test even with all those As in intensified and high SOL scores.

These kids are not the ones in the remedial math classes at the Ivies and T20s. They can hang because they weren't pushed along too fast too soon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:bit of a contrarian response here - my two DCs are at what people on DCUM consider a top university and a top LAC. Both went to the same public, which would be considered middle of the road on DCUM. Both went TO. Both econ majors and both just under 4.0. They say they were better prepared for college since they weren’t coddled like their private/prep school friends, and public teacher quality/ curriculum was excellent, with a huge caveat - for the AP classes.

Coddled academically or some other way? Coddled how?

Private school kids are the ones who get to retest if they don’t like their grade. Their academic standards are much higher and I dare say they are coddled, at least academically, less than public school kids.

OP here. I don't know of any private high school that lets kids retake grades. As for the "hyperbolic nonsense," there is one public high school in our city and the graduation rate is very low. There is also a lot of crime and violence. I am told by friends with kid there that colleges consider it an "inner city" school. Many friends have opted for this public v. private because they felt like from a strategic standpoint it would be easier for their kids to get into top colleges and from what I have seen they are right.

I live in Alexandria and this is the exact dynamic. And it always looks bad when the private school parents get bitter about it because they think their kid is entitled to a spot at a top college over the public school kid.

Jackson-Reed & Alexandria City HS---although more and more parents are putting kids into these HSs nowadays so that advantage is slipping. It used to be a very big advantage...and ACHS (Formerly TC Williams) was known as 'Yale or Jail'.

[Anonymous]

Nowhere in the OP does the word "top" appear.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nowhere in the OP does the word "top" appear.

"top college" I mean; I see OP does refer to a top high school (which is silly, there is not such thing).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do colleges take a high-rigor public school curriculum (backed up by high standardized test scores including BC Calc and 1500+ SAT as well as classes like Multivariate Calc) into account?

not really because these kids are a dime a dozen from public.

Just like the dime a dozen from private. Try harder.

They are a dime a dozen from both. Multivariable Calc in DC's private was for the top 1/3 of the grade. the 75th%ile SAT for the high school was 1500. Neighbor's kid went to a public magnet rigorous school, SAT within the magnet cohort was rumored to be around the same range as the private--dozens above 1500. Half of that smaller magnet cohort took Multivariable in high school, though it is a magnet within a larger school meaning lesss than 10% of the high school took multi. They key to top admissions coming out of both high schools was did you take the hardest courses offered (not # of APs), and how did you rank compared to peers(colleges track gpa and can tell relative rank even if not ranked officially). That is the info OP needs: what is the relative rank and rigor of OP's kid compared to others and where do students with that GPA and list of courses end up. Only a counselor from the school can answer and private schools tend to spell it out very early and in detail for the parents, in order to have time to steer the ship toward less selective colleges that fit, if needed. Privates tend to do a lot of hand holding with selecting and advising fit schools, but they also tend to tell the not-top students to not bother with super selectives(all the while encouraging the very top students to apply to many of them).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD is at top private school. She is an average student and works hard. Her grades (and those of many of her friends) are lower than their public school counterparts. I hear anecdotes from parents at our public school talk about how kids have no homework now and they don't even have to turn in assignments in a timely manner. These kids are getting straight As. Will college admissions people recognize this?

OP: The question in your topic is totally reasonable. And the answer is affirmative: AOs at elite private schools will be aware of your top private school's curriculum and will assess applicants accordingly.

As for the boldfaced portion above, it's hyperbolic nonsense and it's kind of embarrassing that you'd entertain it.

It's not nonsense. Some public schools truly are like this.

Can confirm. Many high schools have little to no homework and have retakes on the same test. It is supposedly for “mental health “. It does not usually apply to AP classes though. 93% of the local public high school that sends 60%at to 4yr college has A-B honor roll. 40% have straight As. 40%. Let that sink in. Less than 5% get into UVA every yr: this is not a top public high school. Yet. So many the A’s. The local top private has 21-23% of the graduating class get accepted to UVa, yet less than 15% of the class has all As(inclusive of A-), though some of the all A kids have no advanced or AP so are not near the top15% when weighted/rigor is accounted for in relative rank.
The median SAT is 200 points different at these schools. The colleges know all of this.

It really depends on the public high school. There is enormous variation. I can assure you that students at schools like Whitman and Langley are grinding. No student is floating through Multivariable Calculus and AP Physics and AP Lit while working at the school paper and practicing their sport. And schools like that have hundreds of very driven, very smart students. As a parent of a couple of them, from my perspective it's the private school kids that are coasting. Their math and science classes are at a much lower level. They receive a lot more individual attention. They are more coddled. And less is expected of them. I don't think there's any comparison between the AP level students at the top public high schools and the more pampered private school students. It's no wonder selective colleges tend to favor public school students these days. They work harder. They're more self-driven. And they're more prepared for college.

This is a really weird take. And shows you see only one side. Private school kids are not coasting. It is true some do not have MV Calculus but so what? Colleges do not care. It may be a lower level but that is not important to colleges or we would not have MIT and CalTech admits. They are not at all coddled. More is expected of them to tell the truth. Colleges are not favoring publics if anything it is the other way around but really they look at the differently. Most colleges would rather have the kid that worked on the school paper, played a sport and took the highest rigor classes they could. That would get their attention. There is no one way. If public was superior no one would go to provate. If private was vastly superior even more would get out of public and there would be new privates popping up. It is really student by student as to which is better for them -- some of course have no choice. But simply not true to make a general statement that one works harder or one is more ready for college. Also not true that colelges have a preference. What they want are students that fit what they are looking for.

They may not be all taking MV calc. But, they have very strong prereqs and going into 9th have exams for math placement--which invariably are much tougher than material covered in public MS. They want very strong math foundations before advancing each level. It's not unsual for a straight A/600SOL algebra or Geo kid to not be placed in the next higher course--but to repeat in Honors level because they blow the exemption test even with all those As in intensified and high SOL scores.

These kids are not the ones in the remedial math classes at the Ivies and T20s. They can hang because they weren't pushed along too fast too soon.

Spouse is a professor. Sadly the remedial math (and lower than intro chem classes) at top schools are almost entirely due to TO lowered standards. These classes have expanded and new sections added the last 4 yrs like never before, including mandatory summer ramp up programs at elites that never existed to this large extent. These students who need remedial compared to peers there are a small portion of the incoming class. There have been public and private curriculums that did Algebra in 6th or 7th then mandate a two yr Calculus course to maximize AP scores for almost 20 yrs. Spouse reviewed every math curriculum in the region before we decided on where to school them: this is not new, the speeding/pushing along students, and before TO these students who got in to top20 types had 4s and 5s on AP and the ones that were not super stars just repeated the equivalent of AB or BC calc in college. Those are NOT the same kids as now who need remedial math that is the equivalent of precalc, courses that used to exist, frankly, for athletes to get a math course or two. Now they have many more who need them, and the students who do are often blindsided and embarrassed they cannot start in the easiest calc course. TO was a very bad idea in hindsight. The self esteem effects on the ones who got in that way are just being understood.