One of my cousins got into Princeton and he went to a run of the mill public high school in New Jersey.

Anonymous wrote:This thread is both sad and silly. Sad that any parent would research Harvard "feeder" schools for their child, and silly in that there is just no such thing as a "feeder" anymore. There are just too many factors in play, and as a previous poster said, the pool from which colleges draw is just so much larger than it was 20 years ago. I would never get into the college I attended (Yale) now. And my children almost certainly won't either, despite the fact that they are exceptionally bright, attend an excellent school, and have five generations of HYP in both my and my husband's families. And you know what? I don't care. They will get a great education at a great college (of which there are many besides HYP) and hopefully go on to lead happy, productive and fulfilling lives.

Everybody just needs to relax and stop fantasizing about their kids going to Harvard. It's stupid.

I agree with your opinions, but I'm curious why you think your kids wouldn't get into HYP if they tried?

Anonymous wrote:This thread is both sad and silly. Sad that any parent would research Harvard "feeder" schools for their child, and silly in that there is just no such thing as a "feeder" anymore. There are just too many factors in play, and as a previous poster said, the pool from which colleges draw is just so much larger than it was 20 years ago. I would never get into the college I attended (Yale) now. And my children almost certainly won't either, despite the fact that they are exceptionally bright, attend an excellent school, and have five generations of HYP in both my and my husband's families. And you know what? I don't care. They will get a great education at a great college (of which there are many besides HYP) and hopefully go on to lead happy, productive and fulfilling lives.

Everybody just needs to relax and stop fantasizing about their kids going to Harvard. It's stupid.

I sent my child to a school that was a good fit for them, and one which focused on those things I valued in an education. That place was not a Big 3, or even a Big 6 or 7 in this area, and placing my child onto some Ivy League track was not something I considered. In the end, my child earned their way into one of the universities being discussed in this thread, and I credit their strong education and life experiences for that. An education which prepares you for the Ivy League can certainly be obtained at a Big 3, but it can also be had at many other good schools, both public and private. So don't sweat the name or matriculation statistics when making your primary school decisions, but do choose a school that is a good fit for your child.

I agree with 22:07.

I will say that college admissions offices are populated by human beings, and those human beings can get familiar with schools as a regional rep or as committee members. A change in admissions officers can change up results a bit.

For example, Princeton had a very famous head of admissions who was there for 15 years. When he retired, it probably did affect how many people got into Princeton from some of the local schools. Yale has a regional admissions officer who has been there for decades. She is excruciatingly familiar with the DC independent schools down the level of who is a tough grader at School X or School Y. When she retires there may be a small change as well.

This is just to give another reason why it would be a mistake to pick a certain school thinking they have an "in" at one or two colleges. Even if true (and often not) to any degree, that can change with personnel changes in the admissions office.

This thread is both sad and silly. Sad that any parent would research Harvard "feeder" schools for their child, and silly in that there is just no such thing as a "feeder" anymore. There are just too many factors in play, and as a previous poster said, the pool from which colleges draw is just so much larger than it was 20 years ago. I would never get into the college I attended (Yale) now. And my children almost certainly won't either, despite the fact that they are exceptionally bright, attend an excellent school, and have five generations of HYP in both my and my husband's families. And you know what? I don't care. They will get a great education at a great college (of which there are many besides HYP) and hopefully go on to lead happy, productive and fulfilling lives.

Everybody just needs to relax and stop fantasizing about their kids going to Harvard. It's stupid.

I do believe that if you go to a very good well known private and you donate extreme amounts annually with the intention to get into an Ivy the school will then tailor your child's record, awards, and recommendations accordingly. I only say this from matching up graduate destinations and donations from the school my DD went to. Only have a few years of anecdotal evidence so certainly not a fact. So if you are wealthy the feeder school is your school.

sorry, try this link:

http://anayambaker.hubpages.com/hub/Wall-Street-Journal-College-Rankings-The-Full-List-and-Rating-Criteria

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What's so great about Harvard and Yale? Contrary to popular belief, attending those schools does not guarantee success in life, and success is life does not require an Ivy League education. In the end, graduates from those schools will work along side of graduates from state universities that didn't make it onto anyone's top 20 list. It just doesn't mean what you think it does.

True. The better question is which undergrad program will best position DC to get into best graduate programs. DC have better opportunities NOT coming from HYP.

Does anybody have any speculative information on which undergrad schools feed into the best graduate programs?
Thanks

I looked at the undergrad list for Harvard Law several years ago, and the two most represented undergrads were Harvard and Duke. I'm sure it varies based on the type of grad school.

Every top law school in America is most represented by its own undergrad school. This is not surprising.

A few years ago the Wall Street Journal came up with a list of the 50 top "feeder" colleges to grad schools. It has its limitations, but here it is: http://www.inpathways.net/top50feeder.pdf.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: Folks: This question was answered years ago. GDS sends more kids to Harvard than any other school in the country

In the country, probably not. But Among DC privates, GDS' strong ties to Harvard are well known.

Please just stop. You're really looking like a fool now.

This is the GDS College Acceptance Troll. Probably not somebody actually affiliated with GDS. They keep saying silly things like this because people get riled. The outrage is what the poster is playing for.

Why would any parent want to purposely FEED their kids to Harvard or Yale? If they make the mark they make the mark, even then it may not be a good environment for them. It is up to the child.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What's so great about Harvard and Yale? Contrary to popular belief, attending those schools does not guarantee success in life, and success is life does not require an Ivy League education. In the end, graduates from those schools will work along side of graduates from state universities that didn't make it onto anyone's top 20 list. It just doesn't mean what you think it does.

True. The better question is which undergrad program will best position DC to get into best graduate programs. DC have better opportunities NOT coming from HYP.

Does anybody have any speculative information on which undergrad schools feed into the best graduate programs?
Thanks

I looked at the undergrad list for Harvard Law several years ago, and the two most represented undergrads were Harvard and Duke. I'm sure it varies based on the type of grad school.

Thanks

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. The stats in Bethesda Magazine, from what are considered among some of the best public high schools around, are very sobering.

Agreed. And, Whitman wasn't the school that seemed to have best results. That was also surprising.

I actually disagree both that the results were that sobering or that Whitman didn't have the best showing. On the first point, the numbers are entirely consistent with the numbers being reported by the colleges (Harvard only has a 5 percent acceptance rate, remember?), and on the second point I'd suggest you look again. Whitman generally did do better than the others, although not every single time. (I have no connection to Whitman.)

Sure is tough to get into U-Va from the Maryland schools . . .

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What's so great about Harvard and Yale? Contrary to popular belief, attending those schools does not guarantee success in life, and success is life does not require an Ivy League education. In the end, graduates from those schools will work along side of graduates from state universities that didn't make it onto anyone's top 20 list. It just doesn't mean what you think it does.

True. The better question is which undergrad program will best position DC to get into best graduate programs. DC have better opportunities NOT coming from HYP.

Does anybody have any speculative information on which undergrad schools feed into the best graduate programs?
Thanks

I looked at the undergrad list for Harvard Law several years ago, and the two most represented undergrads were Harvard and Duke. I'm sure it varies based on the type of grad school.

Anonymous wrote:Yes. The stats in Bethesda Magazine, from what are considered among some of the best public high schools around, are very sobering.

Agreed. And, Whitman wasn't the school that seemed to have best results. That was also surprising.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, while I may know nothing about the ten Sidwell kids going to Yale, you are never going to convince me that the majority did not have any kind of family connection or hook.

"Seldom right, but never in doubt"

Sorry if the truth hurts. Sidwell is full of well connected families and Ivy League legacies. That none of the ten Yalies have any? Laughable.