From 2022–2024, Horace Mann sent sixty graduates to the University of Chicago. From 2020–2024, more than thirty graduates from Deerfield matriculated to Brown University and Yale University, respectively. From 2019–2024, thirty-six Dalton graduates enrolled at Cornell.
In light of these staggering matriculation statistics, many assume that an elite private high school is a ticket to a top college—so much so that they’re willing to pay upwards of $375 an hour for private consultants to prepare their kindergarteners for admission to schools like Dalton, Chaplin, or Spence. With small class sizes and dozens of students admitted to the Ivy League every cycle, the data seems to suggest that attending such a school dramatically improves a student’s odds of admission.
In reality, it’s not quite that simple.
While a prestigious secondary school can offer significant benefits for the admissions process—including extensive support networks, in-depth college counseling, and noteworthy academic rigor—it can also place a student in a more competitive applicant pool. This means that admissions officers will likely scrutinize an applicant from an elite private school more than they would one from a lesser-known public school.
Before you set your sights on Phillips Exeter, here’s what you need to know about how your choice of high school can impact your chances of admission to a top college:
The Pros: Rigor, Resources, and Reputation
Elite private schools such as Hotchkiss School, Andover, Choate Rosemary Hall, and Riverdale Country School are renowned for their academic rigor, small student-to-faculty ratios, and exceptional resources—qualities that likewise distinguish the Ivy League schools.
In some cases, the similarities between the Ivy League and prestigious secondary schools are not coincidental, but the result of deep historical ties. Many of the most elite secondary schools in the U.S. were founded with the explicit purpose of preparing young students for study at Ivy League institutions. Hotchkiss School in Connecticut was born out of Maria Harrison Bissell Hotchkiss’ discussions with Yale President Timothy Dwight V with the explicit intention of preparing young men to attend Yale. Lawrenceville, likewise, was founded by Presbyterian minister Isaac Van Ardsdale Brown as a school that would channel well-qualified students into Princeton University.
Regardless of any shared roots, Ivy League and other top schools value the fact that the academic culture at these institutions prepares students for the demands of rigorous, collegiate coursework.
“Ivy League admissions officers are deeply familiar with these institutions and are eager to admit their graduates into their college classrooms,” says Erin Cao, Senior Mentor at Command Education and a former Columbia admissions officer. “They know these graduates will step onto campus wholly prepared for the Ivy League experience.”
In addition to the academic preparation, private schools’ smaller class sizes afford students more personalized support and guidance from teachers and college counselors. Likewise, because these schools often boast multimillion dollar endowments, students benefit from a wealth of resources, from cutting-edge facilities to forward-thinking technology. Phillips Exeter, for instance, houses a library with over 390,000 volumes and a collection of Medieval manuscripts, as well as an observatory with a 0.70m PlaneWave CDK-700 Corrected Dall-Kirkham telescope. Groton’s Campbell Performing Arts Center features “a fully equipped scene/paint shop, a costume shop, a trap and orchestra pit level, a full fly, a 65-foot fly loft, Equity-level dressing rooms, and a computerized box office,” as well as state-of-the-art theater equipment for performers, technicians, and stage directors. Andover’s Gelb Science Center features a seismometer, a molecular biology research laboratory, and an observatory.
A student interested in STEM at one of these schools might have access to high-level research opportunities, state-of-the-art lab equipment, and mentorship from faculty with advanced degrees. While this access alone is not enough to distinguish a student, it can provide the basis for a student to build an impressive sustainability-focused passion project, excel in a robotics competition, publish original research, or patent their own unique invention, all of which would elevate their applicant profile in the eyes of admissions officers.
The Cons: Cutthroat Competition
However, precisely because of the abundant resources, rigorous curricula, and extensive support that these schools offer, standing out against one’s peers is an incredibly challenging task. Not only are more students from prestigious private schools applying to the Ivy League, but the students who are applying from these schools are the best of the best—simply listing a brand-name boarding school on your application will not impress admissions officers.
“For students who attend public school, it’s easier to be a big fish in a small pond,” says Cao. “While an Ivy League school might accept five from Horace Mann and only one from a public school in Virginia, the student from a public school will not have to do as much to demonstrate that they have taken advantage of opportunities, made an impact on their communities, and pursued their passions in and outside of the classroom. A student from a rural public school who would wow admissions officers might be an average applicant from Lawrenceville.”
Because challenging academics, competitive extracurriculars, and community service are the baseline at elite private schools, students have to be considerably more creative to explore and articulate their guiding interests in engaging and eye-catching ways.
It is also worth noting that an elite private school is not the right fit for every type of learner—if a student struggles academically or thrives in less traditional learning environments, they might struggle with the traditional academic culture of a private or boarding school—and earning less than stellar grades is a quick way to negatively stand out from their peers in the application process.
Ultimately, students and families should pursue a high school on the basis of fit, rather than brand name. While an elite private school may offer students a wealth of resources and opportunities that benefit them in the admissions process, college admissions success boils down to how a student takes advantage of the opportunities wherever they may be. Whether you’re attending Exeter or your local public high school, it is imperative to discover and hone your interests through creative, original, and community-enhancing initiatives both in and outside of the classroom.
Originally published on Forbes.
