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[quote=Anonymous]"I've got to be honest that I still don't understand segregating the highest achievers so much in relatively small schools. I don't think it serves them especially well for the future either."

As someone who went to a 99% first-gen, low-income, majority-minority, public high school, the experience of being among people who were all as smart and driven as me was wonderful. For the first time in my life people got my jokes. They didn't think it was weird that I read for pleasure. People understood why I preferred reading non-fiction instead of Danielle Steel. They enjoyed discussing things we'd read in class with me. As far as dating was concerned, I loved never having to pretend I was dumb in order to not risk bruising some guy's ego. It was heaven.

Whether the school name got me jobs or better pay wouldn't even matter to me. Those four years of respite from a world full of mediocrity was worth it. But, for the record, my first job right out of college was in a US Senator's office and my former college classmate was the one who got me in the door. Every other job I've had since then was because of connections I made when I was an undergrad. I have advanced degrees from other top schools. But the HSYP undergrad is where I made my friends for life.

People love to say that it's where you go to grad school that matters. I think that's true for law, but only with respect to certain aspects of the legal profession. Obviously, if you want to be a federal judge, that really matters. The reality is that by the time you go to grad school, most people are coupled up and they're living in apartments spread around the city. There is no late night bonding and silly adventuring that is essential to becoming friends for life. My study group from law school had two people with kids waiting for them at home every night. Even though I was still single and kid free, that didn't mean that I had access to a social scene among the law students. I actually spent most of my limited social time with college friends who lived in the city where my law school was located. My law school was a top one that people dream of attending.

The only downside to segregating the super bright kids that I can see is that it can make you less tolerant of people who can't write and aren't able to grasp concepts quickly. It's very easy to live in that bubble and forget that very few people in the world are like you.

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