OH! Did I mention that my sons' achievements were accomplished by going to California public schools? You know the horrendous schools that are always in the news? Cannot figure out for the life of me why we would have paid a college tuition to send them to private school when they could accomplish all they did in public school! Upshot: one is going Ivy League and the other Cal State (and thanks to all of his AP classes with his minimum score of a four, he is entering his freshman year as a sophomore, yes a sophomore. All those AP classes in high school gave him college credit!). Take that public school naysayers!
From my one son's journey to go a to top tier private university, the only SoCal private school that appeared to have any impact on admissions to these private schools was Harvard Westlake. The other private schools had the same rate of admittance as the public schools. I am sure Harvard Westlake's pull is skewed based on legacy. Where other private schools would have two or three students accepted/going to top-tier universities, Harvard Westlake has 15 to 20. I see an ROI on even though it is $30k+ a year.
Th edge has nothing to do with APs and IB programs. I believe the edge has to do with legacy in addition to the idea that if you can pay $30+k a year to send your kid to high school, then you will not need financial support when your child goes to university and you are dealt a bill of $56k.
The one thing I have discovered in this year of private school applications and with a child who is in the top two percent of the country, a National Merit Scholar Finalist, the top SAT score at his high school (and in our District), 11 AP classes (nine with a five, the others with a four) which makes him a National AP Scholar, three years volunteering at the hospital, one year on a sport, four years tutoring, all honors/AP classes except for auto safety, Boys State, a Reagan Presidential Scholar, and Leadership in Washington, DC, is that none of this appears to have made any difference.
He did not have legacy. He did not create a solar power program at the high school. He did not help build orphanages in Central America. He did create a system to feed the homeless both here and in Africa. (Some of the credentials of the local top scholarship winners!) He was just an excellent and dedicated student. And, this was not enough.
He was not accepted by Stanford, Harvard, Princeton, MIT or Yale. Based on the rate of acceptance at WHS, the only student who was accepted to every school applied to was Native American and deserving of this. Being a white male or female is a huge disadvantage. Being Asian male or female is a huge disadvantage. I heard a piece of information that I am not sure I believe, but if your father is a doctor, it's a huge disadvantage. Perhaps, the whole system proffers nothing but disadvantages to students who are the best and brightest. That they succeed is a credit to their tenacity and belief in themselves.
So, no, the playing field is not remotely level. His children will have the legacy advantage (Most of the Ivy Leagues have a special admission phone number based on legacy.) Getting into a top university is an unbelievable hurdle. I did not realize how impossible it was until my son was rejected everywhere.
Granted he did get into his top choice and his top program. Why? Who knows!
I guess it all boils down to where one's child wants to go to university. The public schools out here had a tremendous amount of students going to UCLA, UC San Diego, Berkeley and UC Davis. Same with the Cal State system. Even the Cal State schools now have wait lists and are realizing they can be more competitive. The prognosis to get into a California school becomes more competitive each year. Do not even apply to UCLA without a 4.0...actually a 4.2. Due to the budget crisis, the UCs are accepting more and more foreign and out-of-state students because they make more off them. The trickle down effect of the competitive nature of getting into university is making seemingly lackluster schools have a certain cachet.
It is insane.
I thought that my boys would be fine waiting until sophomore year to investigate colleges. We should have done it in middle school. Regardless of what the universities say in their politically correct manner, grades, SAT scores, extracurricular activities (and I am serious about the orphanages, solar energy systems, farming, working in free clinics, and building houses) matter. And, these extracurriculars have to be out of the box. When the most brilliant math mind at ny sons' high school--who is ranked number three mathematically in the country--does not even get into CalTech there is something wrong with the system.
If one's child has their sites on a top five university, then the resume needs to be built now. These schools are looking for global leaders and that is what they expect them to be going after now. They need to speak at least one additional language to English. They have to be prepared to represent that top university on an international scale and to be prepared to enter the high-stakes world of globalization where they will be expected to be the rising stars of the future. These students are the future.
The competition is crazy, the cost unreal and the stress insane.
The AP scores are in and it's time to brag. One son received five 5s this year. That's a total of nine 5s and two 4s over the course of high school...most of which were in math and science. He's met a lot of requirements at UPenn! My other son received two 4s and one 5 this year, and four 4s the other years. He has met... all his English, math, and science requirements at CSUN and is entering as a sophomore!
This has me thinking...My son is going to the University of Pennsylvania in the fall in its Management and Technology dual degree program. They accept 50 students worldwide. They will receive an engineering degree and an economic degree from Wharton. Of the six kids attending from Cali, all went to public schools, and four from LA Unified. Take that public school naysayers!
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