Anonymous
01/08/2026 12:17
Subject: Re:Do you think it is easier to get into a top college from private or public?
Private 100%
There is way too much grade inflation in public school. Public school rewards executive function over academic quality. LOR can be an issue in public schools. Teachers are too busy to write meaningful recs, may not know what AOs look for in LOR and public schools do not care where you get in. Private schools have an incentive to get as many kids in as possible.
The downside in private schools is that they do care who gets in where. The counselor can be a gatekeeper which can help or hurt you depending on your relationship with the counselor and the school.
There is way too much grade inflation in public school. Public school rewards executive function over academic quality. LOR can be an issue in public schools. Teachers are too busy to write meaningful recs, may not know what AOs look for in LOR and public schools do not care where you get in. Private schools have an incentive to get as many kids in as possible.
The downside in private schools is that they do care who gets in where. The counselor can be a gatekeeper which can help or hurt you depending on your relationship with the counselor and the school.
Anonymous
01/08/2026 12:15
Subject: Do you think it is easier to get into a top college from private or public?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:For an unhooked UMC smart kid?
We are trying to decide if we should switch our bright child to private school.
Depending on the kid and the school.
Generally speaking, for a smart unhooked kid but not ultra competitive, it's easier to get into non-ivy T20 or T10 lacs from a feeder private school.
For an ultra competitive kid, it's much easier to get in ivies and T5 from a really good public school.
Actually, it's exactly the REVERSE.
If you are ultra competitive from Sidwell, STA, NCS (i.e. you're top 5 in the class) you can almost guarantee a top5 school. I hate to say 100% but it's pretty close to 100%
I don't think you can say the same about publics.
Being a top student at a private if you aim for STEM will not guarantee top 5. Better to be in a public school. My kids go to a top private and I have seen this.
what do you mean "aim for STEM?" MIT and Cal Tech?
Top 5 at a DC Big3 will get you into a top Ivy and then you can choose your major.
Anonymous
01/08/2026 12:14
Subject: Do you think it is easier to get into a top college from private or public?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:For an unhooked UMC smart kid?
We are trying to decide if we should switch our bright child to private school.
Depending on the kid and the school.
Generally speaking, for a smart unhooked kid but not ultra competitive, it's easier to get into non-ivy T20 or T10 lacs from a feeder private school.
For an ultra competitive kid, it's much easier to get in ivies and T5 from a really good public school.
Agree.
When you select a private school, don't look at the matriculation data and think it will necessarily realize on your kid.
The matriculation data includes so many hooked kids. Legacy, donor, lot of athletes, and every school has a fair amount of first gen and low income.
Our view certainly changed during the application season when the counselors start steering kids.
Anonymous
01/08/2026 12:05
Subject: Do you think it is easier to get into a top college from private or public?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:For an unhooked UMC smart kid?
We are trying to decide if we should switch our bright child to private school.
Depending on the kid and the school.
Generally speaking, for a smart unhooked kid but not ultra competitive, it's easier to get into non-ivy T20 or T10 lacs from a feeder private school.
For an ultra competitive kid, it's much easier to get in ivies and T5 from a really good public school.
Actually, it's exactly the REVERSE.
If you are ultra competitive from Sidwell, STA, NCS (i.e. you're top 5 in the class) you can almost guarantee a top5 school. I hate to say 100% but it's pretty close to 100%
I don't think you can say the same about publics.
Being a top student at a private if you aim for STEM will not guarantee top 5. Better to be in a public school. My kids go to a top private and I have seen this.
Anonymous
01/08/2026 12:03
Subject: Do you think it is easier to get into a top college from private or public?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:For an unhooked UMC smart kid?
We are trying to decide if we should switch our bright child to private school.
Depending on the kid and the school.
Generally speaking, for a smart unhooked kid but not ultra competitive, it's easier to get into non-ivy T20 or T10 lacs from a feeder private school.
For an ultra competitive kid, it's much easier to get in ivies and T5 from a really good public school.
Actually, it's exactly the REVERSE.
If you are ultra competitive from Sidwell, STA, NCS (i.e. you're top 5 in the class) you can almost guarantee a top5 school. I hate to say 100% but it's pretty close to 100%
I don't think you can say the same about publics.
You can say the same thing for any high-performing public school. The question is which is the easier place to come out on top...top 1% of Sidwell or top 1% of say Whitman.
Yea the top 5 kids at any decent public school in the DMV is gonna land just fine.
True, however, public school class sizes are much larger...think top 5% vs top 1%.
Anonymous
01/08/2026 12:03
Subject: Do you think it is easier to get into a top college from private or public?
I have a kid that attended a top 10 New England boarding school and another that attended a local public.
When you disaggregate the matriculation data, there's really no difference. Private schools have far more recruited athletes, legacies, donor children, and high-achieving URMs/FGLI applicants.
If your kid is unhooked, it's a mistake to assume the private school will help their admission chances. They'll still need to rank in the top decile of the class, which is harder at the elite private school.
When you disaggregate the matriculation data, there's really no difference. Private schools have far more recruited athletes, legacies, donor children, and high-achieving URMs/FGLI applicants.
If your kid is unhooked, it's a mistake to assume the private school will help their admission chances. They'll still need to rank in the top decile of the class, which is harder at the elite private school.
Anonymous
01/08/2026 11:56
Subject: Do you think it is easier to get into a top college from private or public?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:For an unhooked UMC smart kid?
We are trying to decide if we should switch our bright child to private school.
Depending on the kid and the school.
Generally speaking, for a smart unhooked kid but not ultra competitive, it's easier to get into non-ivy T20 or T10 lacs from a feeder private school.
For an ultra competitive kid, it's much easier to get in ivies and T5 from a really good public school.
Actually, it's exactly the REVERSE.
If you are ultra competitive from Sidwell, STA, NCS (i.e. you're top 5 in the class) you can almost guarantee a top5 school. I hate to say 100% but it's pretty close to 100%
I don't think you can say the same about publics.
You can say the same thing for any high-performing public school. The question is which is the easier place to come out on top...top 1% of Sidwell or top 1% of say Whitman.
Yea the top 5 kids at any decent public school in the DMV is gonna land just fine.
Anonymous
01/08/2026 11:54
Subject: Do you think it is easier to get into a top college from private or public?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:For an unhooked UMC smart kid?
We are trying to decide if we should switch our bright child to private school.
Depending on the kid and the school.
Generally speaking, for a smart unhooked kid but not ultra competitive, it's easier to get into non-ivy T20 or T10 lacs from a feeder private school.
For an ultra competitive kid, it's much easier to get in ivies and T5 from a really good public school.
Actually, it's exactly the REVERSE.
If you are ultra competitive from Sidwell, STA, NCS (i.e. you're top 5 in the class) you can almost guarantee a top5 school. I hate to say 100% but it's pretty close to 100%
I don't think you can say the same about publics.
Op here. I have seen some smart kids NOT get into ivy despite being double legacies and attending one of these privates. I assume they weren’t top students at their private.
I know people will say don’t pick private for college outcomes. We will be pissed if we spend 500k for our kid to end up at a college that could have been admitted from a public high.
We have a seven figure income and can pay for private but we aren’t rich rich. We are working rich.
Anonymous
01/08/2026 11:52
Subject: Do you think it is easier to get into a top college from private or public?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:For an unhooked UMC smart kid?
We are trying to decide if we should switch our bright child to private school.
Depending on the kid and the school.
Generally speaking, for a smart unhooked kid but not ultra competitive, it's easier to get into non-ivy T20 or T10 lacs from a feeder private school.
For an ultra competitive kid, it's much easier to get in ivies and T5 from a really good public school.
Actually, it's exactly the REVERSE.
If you are ultra competitive from Sidwell, STA, NCS (i.e. you're top 5 in the class) you can almost guarantee a top5 school. I hate to say 100% but it's pretty close to 100%
I don't think you can say the same about publics.
You can say the same thing for any high-performing public school. The question is which is the easier place to come out on top...top 1% of Sidwell or top 1% of say Whitman.
Anonymous
01/08/2026 11:49
Subject: Do you think it is easier to get into a top college from private or public?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:For an unhooked UMC smart kid?
We are trying to decide if we should switch our bright child to private school.
Depending on the kid and the school.
Generally speaking, for a smart unhooked kid but not ultra competitive, it's easier to get into non-ivy T20 or T10 lacs from a feeder private school.
For an ultra competitive kid, it's much easier to get in ivies and T5 from a really good public school.
Actually, it's exactly the REVERSE.
If you are ultra competitive from Sidwell, STA, NCS (i.e. you're top 5 in the class) you can almost guarantee a top5 school. I hate to say 100% but it's pretty close to 100%
I don't think you can say the same about publics.
Anonymous
01/08/2026 11:47
Subject: Do you think it is easier to get into a top college from private or public?
Anonymous wrote:I'm sorry to say this but just search the threads. This question is asked about every week on here and there is no easy answer.
It depends entirely on the school district, the private school, the kid, etc.
College results are so impacted by hooks around the DMV: legacies, athletes, VIPs, big donors, FGLIs, URMs etc that it's impossible to look at a school or a class and say, "attending THAT high school is why that kid got into the college they did." Easily 50-75% of the kids going to Ivies from around here are doing so because they were bumped up with a hook on top of also being good students.
Correct. Hooks and/or a bit of fairy dust.
Anonymous
01/08/2026 11:45
Subject: Do you think it is easier to get into a top college from private or public?
I'm sorry to say this but just search the threads. This question is asked about every week on here and there is no easy answer.
It depends entirely on the school district, the private school, the kid, etc.
College results are so impacted by hooks around the DMV: legacies, athletes, VIPs, big donors, FGLIs, URMs etc that it's impossible to look at a school or a class and say, "attending THAT high school is why that kid got into the college they did." Easily 50-75% of the kids going to Ivies from around here are doing so because they were bumped up with a hook on top of also being good students.
It depends entirely on the school district, the private school, the kid, etc.
College results are so impacted by hooks around the DMV: legacies, athletes, VIPs, big donors, FGLIs, URMs etc that it's impossible to look at a school or a class and say, "attending THAT high school is why that kid got into the college they did." Easily 50-75% of the kids going to Ivies from around here are doing so because they were bumped up with a hook on top of also being good students.
Anonymous
01/08/2026 11:44
Subject: Do you think it is easier to get into a top college from private or public?
Anonymous wrote:For an unhooked UMC smart kid?
We are trying to decide if we should switch our bright child to private school.
Depending on the kid and the school.
Generally speaking, for a smart unhooked kid but not ultra competitive, it's easier to get into non-ivy T20 or T10 lacs from a feeder private school.
For an ultra competitive kid, it's much easier to get in ivies and T5 from a really good public school.
Anonymous
01/08/2026 11:42
Subject: Re:Do you think it is easier to get into a top college from private or public?
It depends on what the kid does (academically and not) wherever he is, esp in relation to the classmates. Also:
- where does the school send kids?
- where does the school send kids?
Anonymous
01/08/2026 11:39
Subject: Do you think it is easier to get into a top college from private or public?
For an unhooked UMC smart kid?
We are trying to decide if we should switch our bright child to private school.
We are trying to decide if we should switch our bright child to private school.