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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I have a job offer in a state that is known to be underrepresented in college admissions (think: Mississippi, but not Mississippi. The Mississippi of the North/ West). On one hand, I feel like this will improve my kids' chances of getting into a top college (they will also have legacy status at a top 25 university, but I don't know if it would be a good fit for them, since it wasn't for me). I also feel like it will be fairly easy to be near the top of the class at any high school there.

OTOH, [b]everyone I knew at my fancy college who went to random public high school in a rural state was VERY unprepared to compete with people who went to Exeter or Sidwell (or even a W school). I feel like it was a big hit to their self-esteem to lose their "big fish in a small pond" status[/b]. Private school locally would not be an option (would have to go to boarding school, but then would lose the geographical diversity bonus). So what say you, DCUM? Is it worth the tradeoff?

And since someone will inevitably ask (or, this being DCUM, assume), my kids are multiracial (part Asian, part URM, a little bit white, could check multiple boxes or none at all). Not sure if that makes them less or more likely to benefit from geographical diversity (which, after all, was invented to keep colleges mostly white and Christian).[/quote]

OP, regarding the bolded above in your post: That was your experience...a while ago, right? While it's definitely a valid point to consider big fish/small pond syndrome, your experience at your college with those particular students isn't necessarily directly applicable to your kids a few (? or more?) years from now.

Look into whether the public high schools at your possible new location offer courses in programs like International Baccalaureate or Advance Placement or have other serious and well-regarded advanced programs. Even in places that are not broadly regarded as great for public education, there are indeed some publics offering IB, AP and other advanced programs, and those could make a big difference in your kids' eventual outcomes -- not just getting [i]into[/i] college, but how they cope with the workload [i]in[/i] college.

You also have some control over prepping your kids for college level work and being a smaller fish in a bigger pond. Summer programs (depending of course on their interests!) where they must leave home and be challenged --that's one good way to give them some experience.

Most of all, I think you're right to consider all this and to do more research on local schools, but take care not to [i]overthink[/i] it. A happy and successful parent with a good job she enjoys and a happy, solid home life, plus an emphasis on study skills throughout MS and HS, and genuine involvement in extracurriculars of real interest to the kids, can do a lot to balance out the location issues re: school. I know that from experience, OP! [/quote]

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