Anonymous
Post 05/30/2026 16:49     Subject: Public School Kid Has MUCH Better Ivy Chances Than Private School Kid
So a public school parent came into the private school forum with this PSA?

We don't care.

And that's not sour grapes. The ivies have devolved into a false idol for spelling bee winning strivers and first gen kids destined go into debt and develop inferiority complexes.
Anonymous
Post 05/30/2026 16:32     Subject: Public School Kid Has MUCH Better Ivy Chances Than Private School Kid
Anonymous wrote:I have two kids in high school right now. The oldest is at a top private and the youngest opted for Jackson-Reed. I say they are roughly equal in intelligence, but the private school kid works much harder and has more work. However, the private school kid has managed to pull a 3.8 GPA compared to the J-R sibling with a 4.4 GPA.

According to Naviance, the private school kid has almost no shot at a T10 admission and MAYBE a chance at Vanderbilt, Emory, Rice, WashU if they apply ED1. He has good UChicago chances, but he doesn't want to go there. The J-R kid is right on target for Ivies, Stanford, MIT, Duke, etc. And what's more interesting, is that there are <10 applicants to the absolute top colleges each from J-R every year compared to like 1/2 of the private school kids gunning for the T10.

I have a similar situation and concerns. 2 children: 1 child in public. Applied to a big 3 for MS. Didn’t get in so stayed on in public and went to feeder public HS (MoCo.) Going to an Ivy next year. Younger DC who got into a big 3 for MS, works harder than the older one and probably smarter but difficult to get an A in all classes. I’m concerned about their college prospects.
Anonymous
Post 05/30/2026 16:30     Subject: Public School Kid Has MUCH Better Ivy Chances Than Private School Kid
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I call bull****. In 2025, Jackson-Reed didn't send a single student to Harvard, Stanford, or MIT. PolarisList.com . If you are just going to make up stuff, you have to keep your claims vague and not capable of easy verification.


Given that Jackson-Reed doesn't send ANY students to Harvard, Princeton or MIT, your DC's chances there are essentially zero. Granted, your DC's chances at a top private are maybe only 3 percent, but those private school chances are still better. Each family has to decide for itself whether a nominal increase in chance is worth a few hundred thousand dollars, but it is b.sh__ that chances are better in publics, even in top publics.

JR has at least one student going to Princeton this year.


Even if you accept this rumor, 1 in a graduating class of 500 would be awful results.

MacArthur has 2 going to Princeton in a graduating class of 50. Is that better?

But seriously college admissions are not a lottery weighted by high school. The only reasonable comparison would control for SAT score and HHI, and I suspect if we had the data to do that, there’d be very little difference among high schools. So pick the high school experience you want.
Anonymous
Post 05/30/2026 16:10     Subject: Public School Kid Has MUCH Better Ivy Chances Than Private School Kid
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I call bull****. In 2025, Jackson-Reed didn't send a single student to Harvard, Stanford, or MIT. PolarisList.com . If you are just going to make up stuff, you have to keep your claims vague and not capable of easy verification.


Given that Jackson-Reed doesn't send ANY students to Harvard, Princeton or MIT, your DC's chances there are essentially zero. Granted, your DC's chances at a top private are maybe only 3 percent, but those private school chances are still better. Each family has to decide for itself whether a nominal increase in chance is worth a few hundred thousand dollars, but it is b.sh__ that chances are better in publics, even in top publics.

JR has at least one student going to Princeton this year.


Even if you accept this rumor, 1 in a graduating class of 500 would be awful results.
Anonymous
Post 05/30/2026 16:04     Subject: Public School Kid Has MUCH Better Ivy Chances Than Private School Kid
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I call bull****. In 2025, Jackson-Reed didn't send a single student to Harvard, Stanford, or MIT. PolarisList.com . If you are just going to make up stuff, you have to keep your claims vague and not capable of easy verification.


I'm not sure about MIT but I'm 100% certain that students went to Stanford and Harvard from JR in 2025.


The Polaris List reviews the actual Harvard, MIT, Princeton freshman profile for ever student and publishes their reported High School. I would accept the Polaris List over some public school parking lot rumor about someone's cousin getting into Harvard. But if you want to accept rumors, go ahead and do that.
Anonymous
Post 05/30/2026 15:07     Subject: Public School Kid Has MUCH Better Ivy Chances Than Private School Kid
I’m sure both kids will be more than fine.
Anonymous
Post 05/30/2026 14:01     Subject: Public School Kid Has MUCH Better Ivy Chances Than Private School Kid
OP: Come back in a year and tell us where your kids are heading to college.

Anonymous
Post 05/30/2026 13:56     Subject: Public School Kid Has MUCH Better Ivy Chances Than Private School Kid
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Hmmmm...hard to believe.


No it’s fact.

Public’s do better college admissions

I love it when morons pay for Catholic schools and they end up at tiny colleges not ivies not good colleges crap one’s


You're the moron if you think the only reason people pay for a Catholic or private school education is to gain admission into a top-"whatever" college.

THIS!
Anonymous
Post 05/30/2026 13:42     Subject: Public School Kid Has MUCH Better Ivy Chances Than Private School Kid
I hate to break this to you OP, but your private school student is stupider than your public school student. It is what it is. Let your kid go to the school that fits them best.
Anonymous
Post 05/30/2026 13:38     Subject: Public School Kid Has MUCH Better Ivy Chances Than Private School Kid
Our private gets 2-3 kids into Harvard year in and year out. No kids in our city or adjacent county in public school were admitted to Harvard this year.
Anonymous
Post 05/30/2026 13:31     Subject: Public School Kid Has MUCH Better Ivy Chances Than Private School Kid
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I call bull****. In 2025, Jackson-Reed didn't send a single student to Harvard, Stanford, or MIT. PolarisList.com . If you are just going to make up stuff, you have to keep your claims vague and not capable of easy verification.


I'm not sure about MIT but I'm 100% certain that students went to Stanford and Harvard from JR in 2025.


The Stanford kid was an athletic recruit.
The Harvard kid had an UW 4.0, every AP in the book and a crazy resume of extracurriculars. This was not a kid who just got perfect grades.

It's not easy to get into an Ivy from JR. No where near as simple as "having a 4.4." Many kids have that GPA and don't get anywhere near an Ivy in admissions.
Anonymous
Post 05/30/2026 13:27     Subject: Public School Kid Has MUCH Better Ivy Chances Than Private School Kid
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I have two kids in high school right now. The oldest is at a top private and the youngest opted for Jackson-Reed. I say they are roughly equal in intelligence, but the private school kid works much harder and has more work. However, the private school kid has managed to pull a 3.8 GPA compared to the J-R sibling with a 4.4 GPA.

According to Naviance, the private school kid has almost no shot at a T10 admission and MAYBE a chance at Vanderbilt, Emory, Rice, WashU if they apply ED1. He has good UChicago chances, but he doesn't want to go there. The J-R kid is right on target for Ivies, Stanford, MIT, Duke, etc. And what's more interesting, is that there are <10 applicants to the absolute top colleges each from J-R every year compared to like 1/2 of the private school kids gunning for the T10.



What’s the JR students unweighted GPA? That 4.4 is meaningless. JR sends a very small percentage of its students to Ivy+ each year.

Btw, at my child’s Big 3, a >3.80 GPA puts you into play at EVERY school, and students are getting into UChicago with a 3.5 GPA.



Fiction.


very possible with ED and full pay from a school like Sidwell or GDS
— Big 3 parent


Yes, that’s exactly the situation (GDS or Sidwell), ED1, and very much full pay. The student told me their (intentionally vague) GPA directly. Why would they lie by lowering their GPA?!
Anonymous
Post 05/30/2026 13:23     Subject: Public School Kid Has MUCH Better Ivy Chances Than Private School Kid
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I have two kids in high school right now. The oldest is at a top private and the youngest opted for Jackson-Reed. I say they are roughly equal in intelligence, but the private school kid works much harder and has more work. However, the private school kid has managed to pull a 3.8 GPA compared to the J-R sibling with a 4.4 GPA.

According to Naviance, the private school kid has almost no shot at a T10 admission and MAYBE a chance at Vanderbilt, Emory, Rice, WashU if they apply ED1. He has good UChicago chances, but he doesn't want to go there. The J-R kid is right on target for Ivies, Stanford, MIT, Duke, etc. And what's more interesting, is that there are <10 applicants to the absolute top colleges each from J-R every year compared to like 1/2 of the private school kids gunning for the T10.



What’s the JR students unweighted GPA? That 4.4 is meaningless. JR sends a very small percentage of its students to Ivy+ each year.

Btw, at my child’s Big 3, a >3.80 GPA puts you into play at EVERY school, and students are getting into UChicago with a 3.5 GPA.



Fiction.

— Big 3 parent


Lol—then either your children don’t attend a real Big 3, or they don’t attend the one my children attend.
Anonymous
Post 05/30/2026 12:52     Subject: Public School Kid Has MUCH Better Ivy Chances Than Private School Kid
Anonymous wrote:I call bull****. In 2025, Jackson-Reed didn't send a single student to Harvard, Stanford, or MIT. PolarisList.com . If you are just going to make up stuff, you have to keep your claims vague and not capable of easy verification.


I'm not sure about MIT but I'm 100% certain that students went to Stanford and Harvard from JR in 2025.
Anonymous
Post 05/30/2026 11:40     Subject: Public School Kid Has MUCH Better Ivy Chances Than Private School Kid
Absolute fiction.