Did private schools get a bump in elite college admissions?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My take on this is that high-end independent schools has a pretty good outing this year, which actually kind of surprised me. I thought all of the uncertainty re: affirmative action and test optional was going to cut the other way. In general, I think that most students take a small hit by going private, and they would actually do slightly better coming from most public schools if you are solely concerned with optimizing college prospects.

Very very true.
It’s been a fabulous year with more Ivy admits than in the past 5 years for our school.

+1

Not a big 3 or 5–but DC private HS. My kid got into Ivy, 5% admit SLAC, UVA, Georgetown, etc with zero hooks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:no but attending a private school is a nicer experience! like flying business or first class versus coach. you still get to the same destination, but the ride is more enjoyable.

Exactly. People don't like to admit this.

Actually most people fully admit this. Plus for us, it's not the college outcomes. It's like having steak vs a hamburger

By most people…do you mean the parents or the kids? There are plenty of miserable kids at private schools, but they would admit that they have nice facilities and creature comforts. Yes, the parents are generally happier that they don’t have to be as involved in the process.

I meant both. My kids have been very happy in private and so have I. If they weren't then I would move them to an appropriate environment where they would be happy. Private schools call that "fit" and screen for that in the selection process. Although some parents still try to fit a square peg in a round hole and game the system tobget then to a "top Big Whatever". They, and/or their kids, usually end up miserable.

Also, I disagree about parental engagement. Most of my friends/colleagues with kids in public are much less involved with the school activities and there are fewer activities and opportunities to begin with. Private schools foster a community that public schools just can't. So it's easier to be part of that community.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My take on this is that high-end independent schools has a pretty good outing this year, which actually kind of surprised me. I thought all of the uncertainty re: affirmative action and test optional was going to cut the other way. In general, I think that most students take a small hit by going private, and they would actually do slightly better coming from most public schools if you are solely concerned with optimizing college prospects.

Very very true.
It’s been a fabulous year with more Ivy admits than in the past 5 years for our school.

+1

Not a big 3 or 5–but DC private HS. My kid got into Ivy, 5% admit SLAC, UVA, Georgetown, etc with zero hooks.

Same here. It’s been almost shocking how good the results are this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Private school has taught my DCs how to study efficiently, how to prepare and present materials effectively, how to problem solve and so much more. I also like that there are no AP classes and they are not swamped with busy work at their private. We didn’t send them to private for college admissions but my oldest with a 3.5 UW GPA got into 3 top 50 schools. I don’t think that would have happened from a public school.

There are quite a few very high acceptance rate colleges in the Top 50. Not sure why public students you refer would struggle with Top 50 admissions if ranking is literally all that matters.

What schools in the top 50 have “very high acceptance rates”? Last I checked none.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most of the nonhooked Ivy admits are our private are URM.

This.

The kids that get in a legacies and hooked for the most part. Solid UMC unhooked white kids who would have gone to Harvard 30 years ago are totally shut out. If only 2-3 kids are chosen from a private it will be the hooked legacy donor, and maybe the rich full pay URM. Darn I wish I was "Hawaiian or Pacific Islander" or "native American".

[Anonymous]

Kid from no-name NOVA hs was admitted to MIT. Since anecdotes mean everything, this fully proves that public schools outperform all private schools across the United States in elite STEM admissions. Anyone who sends their child to a private school has doomed them to a life of penury as an interdisciplinary blank studies major. No way to refute this!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most of the nonhooked Ivy admits are our private are URM.

This.

The kids that get in a legacies and hooked for the most part. Solid UMC unhooked white kids who would have gone to Harvard 30 years ago are totally shut out. If only 2-3 kids are chosen from a private it will be the hooked legacy donor, and maybe the rich full pay URM. Darn I wish I was "Hawaiian or Pacific Islander" or "native American".

Are you only talking about Harvard? If so yes, I agree - for Harvard and Princeton in particular.

But if discussing other T20, that hasn’t been the case this year. Seeing more opportunities for high achieving white kids this year at many other Ivy /T20.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kid from no-name NOVA hs was admitted to MIT. Since anecdotes mean everything, this fully proves that public schools outperform all private schools across the United States in elite STEM admissions. Anyone who sends their child to a private school has doomed them to a life of penury as an interdisciplinary blank studies major. No way to refute this!

Congratulations!!
Stem = a lifetime of worker bee status. It’s not the golden ticket you think it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Private school has taught my DCs how to study efficiently, how to prepare and present materials effectively, how to problem solve and so much more. I also like that there are no AP classes and they are not swamped with busy work at their private. We didn’t send them to private for college admissions but my oldest with a 3.5 UW GPA got into 3 top 50 schools. I don’t think that would have happened from a public school.

There are quite a few very high acceptance rate colleges in the Top 50. Not sure why public students you refer would struggle with Top 50 admissions if ranking is literally all that matters.

What schools in the top 50 have “very high acceptance rates”? Last I checked none.

Rutgers - #40; 66% acceptance
Wisconsin - #35; 49% acceptance
OSU - #43; 53% acceptance
Purdue - #43; 53% acceptance (much lower for STEM, which means higher for non-STEM)
Texas A&M - #47; 63% acceptance
Virgina Tech - #47; 57% acceptance

Liberal Arts
Depauw #46; 66%
Furman #46; 67%

I think anything that is 50%+ (with again, higher acceptances for the most part for non-STEM) are definitely in the wheelhouse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most of the nonhooked Ivy admits are our private are URM.

This.

The kids that get in a legacies and hooked for the most part. Solid UMC unhooked white kids who would have gone to Harvard 30 years ago are totally shut out. If only 2-3 kids are chosen from a private it will be the hooked legacy donor, and maybe the rich full pay URM. Darn I wish I was "Hawaiian or Pacific Islander" or "native American".

Non DMV private (not NYC).
Seeing nonhooked/non-legacy white or Asian Ivy admits to: Yale, Dartmouth, Penn, Cornell and Brown.
More than typical year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Private school has taught my DCs how to study efficiently, how to prepare and present materials effectively, how to problem solve and so much more. I also like that there are no AP classes and they are not swamped with busy work at their private. We didn’t send them to private for college admissions but my oldest with a 3.5 UW GPA got into 3 top 50 schools. I don’t think that would have happened from a public school.

There are quite a few very high acceptance rate colleges in the Top 50. Not sure why public students you refer would struggle with Top 50 admissions if ranking is literally all that matters.

What schools in the top 50 have “very high acceptance rates”? Last I checked none.

Rutgers - #40; 66% acceptance
Wisconsin - #35; 49% acceptance
OSU - #43; 53% acceptance
Purdue - #43; 53% acceptance (much lower for STEM, which means higher for non-STEM)
Texas A&M - #47; 63% acceptance
Virgina Tech - #47; 57% acceptance

Liberal Arts
Depauw #46; 66%
Furman #46; 67%

I think anything that is 50%+ (with again, higher acceptances for the most part for non-STEM) are definitely in the wheelhouse.

Those stats aren’t telling the OOS acceptance rates which are usually a lot lower than in-state. Also interesting that they are all state schools which usually is not the aim for kids coming from a private unless it’s UCLA or Michigan. And no one considers the liberal arts schools when referencing the Top 50.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kid from no-name NOVA hs was admitted to MIT. Since anecdotes mean everything, this fully proves that public schools outperform all private schools across the United States in elite STEM admissions. Anyone who sends their child to a private school has doomed them to a life of penury as an interdisciplinary blank studies major. No way to refute this!

Congratulations!!
Stem = a lifetime of worker bee status. It’s not the golden ticket you think it is.

I think Bezos, Zuckerburg, Gates, Musk, Ellison....would disagree that STEM leads to a lifetime of worker bee status.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kid from no-name NOVA hs was admitted to MIT. Since anecdotes mean everything, this fully proves that public schools outperform all private schools across the United States in elite STEM admissions. Anyone who sends their child to a private school has doomed them to a life of penury as an interdisciplinary blank studies major. No way to refute this!

Congratulations!!
Stem = a lifetime of worker bee status. It’s not the golden ticket you think it is.

I think Bezos, Zuckerburg, Gates, Musk, Ellison....would disagree that STEM leads to a lifetime of worker bee status.

I’m confident the stars align and your kid will join those ranks….

Perhaps if you named some quant wizards…..Jim Simons? That’s the true path. But they aren’t famous.
Anyway, gl.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Private school has taught my DCs how to study efficiently, how to prepare and present materials effectively, how to problem solve and so much more. I also like that there are no AP classes and they are not swamped with busy work at their private. We didn’t send them to private for college admissions but my oldest with a 3.5 UW GPA got into 3 top 50 schools. I don’t think that would have happened from a public school.

There are quite a few very high acceptance rate colleges in the Top 50. Not sure why public students you refer would struggle with Top 50 admissions if ranking is literally all that matters.

What schools in the top 50 have “very high acceptance rates”? Last I checked none.

Rutgers - #40; 66% acceptance
Wisconsin - #35; 49% acceptance
OSU - #43; 53% acceptance
Purdue - #43; 53% acceptance (much lower for STEM, which means higher for non-STEM)
Texas A&M - #47; 63% acceptance
Virgina Tech - #47; 57% acceptance

Liberal Arts
Depauw #46; 66%
Furman #46; 67%

I think anything that is 50%+ (with again, higher acceptances for the most part for non-STEM) are definitely in the wheelhouse.

Those stats aren’t telling the OOS acceptance rates which are usually a lot lower than in-state. Also interesting that they are all state schools which usually is not the aim for kids coming from a private unless it’s UCLA or Michigan. And no one considers the liberal arts schools when referencing the Top 50.

So many caveats now when the data proves you wrong. There would not be a beef if you had said Top 30 or even Top 40 schools or specifically mentioned Michigan or UCLA, but you said Top 50. VT is likely in-state for many on DCUM and there seem to be plenty of DCUM admits to OSU, Rutgers, Purdue...A&M is not talked about much on DCUM.

Actually, on DCUM, nearly everyone seems to mean both SLAC and national universities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kid from no-name NOVA hs was admitted to MIT. Since anecdotes mean everything, this fully proves that public schools outperform all private schools across the United States in elite STEM admissions. Anyone who sends their child to a private school has doomed them to a life of penury as an interdisciplinary blank studies major. No way to refute this!

Congratulations!!
Stem = a lifetime of worker bee status. It’s not the golden ticket you think it is.

I think Bezos, Zuckerburg, Gates, Musk, Ellison....would disagree that STEM leads to a lifetime of worker bee status.

I’m confident the stars align and your kid will join those ranks….

Perhaps if you named some quant wizards…..Jim Simons? That’s the true path. But they aren’t famous.
Anyway, gl.

Well, OK...but I struggle to name any humanities majors that have achieved those levels of success (literally, I would have to do a Google search because I am not aware of any). Yet, those names roll off the tip of everyone's tongue.