OP’s post is cynical, but there is some truth. I wouldn't send your child to an elite boarding school unless your child is ready to compete or end up above the middle of the class. Some 99% kids just don’t do as well in that environment and need to feel successful. The truth is if you are above the middle, you can get into a T15 school if you distinguish yourself in some way (citizenship, athletics,music, math, debate, etc.). If DC likes the idea of contributing to a community like Andover, your child will be fine. If DC is ambivalent and does not have a “plan” coming in, then it’s not worth the risk of graduating as a middling student. My 2 cents from personal experience. YMMV.

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Anonymous wrote:What a cynical approach!

Agreed. But no different than the many parents who send their kids to private schools that are not a good fit but they want for the prestige and connections.

Holy false equivalence, Batman!

Not really. Picking a school boy because it’s the best fit for your kid but because it has the most cache or alumni network or potential college placement is all a variation of the same thing - considering some variation of “name brand” as more important than picking the right school for the individual.

That makes no sense. Picking a purportedly "less prestigious" school is the opposite of wanting a name brand.

It all falls under the same umbrella of choosing a school strategically for the sake of tenuous future college/career benefit. Choosing a less prestigious school because you think that's the path to an Ivy is similar to picking a more prestigious school because you think that's the path to an Ivy.

But the rationale underlying these strategies is very different.

Choose the school that’s the best for for your kid where they are now, not potential college outcomes. That said, a school that has a range of students (eg mix of some honors track, on level) who are likely to apply to a range of colleges helps your DC if they are a very strong student. If you send DC to a school where everyone is the same and applies to the same schools it’s going to be more difficult to hook that “dream college.” That said if the academic competition is what suits your kid and they thrive in that type of environment, don’t shy away from it. One of our kids went a more demanding school route for HS and thrived. Other DC chose a less intense school but still took rigorous classes. Both ended up at colleges DCUM would approve of.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What a cynical approach!

Agreed. But no different than the many parents who send their kids to private schools that are not a good fit but they want for the prestige and connections.

Holy false equivalence, Batman!

Not really. Picking a school boy because it’s the best fit for your kid but because it has the most cache or alumni network or potential college placement is all a variation of the same thing - considering some variation of “name brand” as more important than picking the right school for the individual.

That makes no sense. Picking a purportedly "less prestigious" school is the opposite of wanting a name brand.

It all falls under the same umbrella of choosing a school strategically for the sake of tenuous future college/career benefit. Choosing a less prestigious school because you think that's the path to an Ivy is similar to picking a more prestigious school because you think that's the path to an Ivy.

Hahahaha you think you’re the only parent scheming this scheme? Your kid may very likely have fierce competition for the top spot at the crap school. ALSO! The crap teachers likely grew up with the parents of the kids your kid will be competing with there, so guess who is going to get the A+? Not an outsider! Not your kid!

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In our experience, 98th percentile in 8th doesn’t really predict high school performance. With that said, I think you are right that your child’s college chances will be improved the better they do in school versus their classmates. While this can be impacted by classmates academic prowess, it’s mainly going to be impacted by your own child being in an environment where they are motivated to thrive. Does your child do best as the big fish in a little pond or are they motivated by others working hard around them or motivated by challenge itself, etc? Food for thought.

+1. This is one of the few things that you can (somewhat) predict. Focus on that.

It doesn't make sense to pick School A because you think your child will be the star there. Maybe a bunch of other similar kids will make the same choice at the same time! And it doesn't make sense to pick School B because several kids went to Harvard from there last year. Maybe one is a double-legacy and the other two are hockey recruits.

If you are fortunate enough to have choices, make one based on who your kid is now – not who they maybe might be in four years.

There is no way to ensure you’d be at the top at schools with less difficult admissions. The theory that a middle of the road Sidwell student would be at the very top at Bullis isn’t correct. It might be true for some kids and not for others. Go where they will thrive. You can’t game the grades. There is way more luck involved in teacher and course selection than you realize going in.

Here is my take:

Do no compromise on quality/fit. That’s simply poor parenting. However, you can game it a little by choosing a top tier school with a smaller student body.

A school like St. Andrew’s in DE graduates a quarter of the number of kids that Andover does. Standing out is not quite as difficult, nor will there be nearly as many classmates applying to your top choices. Yet, you sacrifice nothing when it comes to excellence. And the school is a phenomenal community. There are several other schools that might work similarly. Thacher comes to mind, among others.

I understand the desire to give your kid a top tier prep education and a best, next step after. But the small schools have very selective admissions, and he won’t be a legacy there. So choose more than one. Because a high SSAT score is not enough. They are looking very carefully at personality, kindness and character at these schools. One bad egg has an outsized impact. They screen for that as carefully as they do for academics.

Anonymous wrote:Don’t try to min/max your college outcomes in choosing a high school. Pick the right high school for your kid.

+1

In our experience, 98th percentile in 8th doesn’t really predict high school performance. With that said, I think you are right that your child’s college chances will be improved the better they do in school versus their classmates. While this can be impacted by classmates academic prowess, it’s mainly going to be impacted by your own child being in an environment where they are motivated to thrive. Does your child do best as the big fish in a little pond or are they motivated by others working hard around them or motivated by challenge itself, etc? Food for thought.

If your kid isn't already a shoo-in for whatever college you are dreaming about, it really doesn't matter where they go to high school: they aren't getting in. These colleges are not about being "98th percentile" anything anymore (if they ever really were).

This post is the perfect combination of elitism and ignorance that I love about DCUM.

Maybe a public school analogy would be helpful.

Example: UVA expects higher GPA, better SAT/ACT scores (if submitted), more AP courses, and better ECs from a student at Langley HS in FCPS than they expect from a student in a small rural county in SW Virginia coal country with limited rigor available.

To some degree, for college admissions a student is competing with classmates at their school.

Being top 5% at school A might have better college admissions chances than being in the 11-20% bracket at School B, assuming one is studying the same topics and is taking "most rigorous" options available at each school -- even when school A offers a bit less max rigor than school B does - and of course assuming same SAT/ACT scores by the student.

OP, are you aware that if your child goes to Andover his grades will drop relative to whatever school he was in? We looked at boarding schools for DS but he was put off by the fact that every good boarding school said thus. They were urging him to apply ASAP because grades will drop and that he should allow as many years as possible to bring his GPA back up. So he decided to stay where he was which, uktimately turned out to be smart because he did graduate no. 1 in his class and got into UVA, which was a great match

Anonymous wrote:What a cynical approach!

Not at all! I find it practical and refreshingly honest.

I would still go with your more competitive option, OP! Your "DC" may develop friends and lifelong contacts. It could be a better path in general regardless of college placement.