What was it like to go to prep school?
Genuinely curious at those who went to Exeter, Andover, Groton, Choate, Dalton, the list goes on. There's obviously great college matriculation, everyone I know went to a T-20 or LAC and some schools sent 10s a year to HYPSM Chicago Columbia and more, but how was the high school experience for you? What was the transition like to college (were classes easier, harder? how was the social life? did you continue to hang out with people from your high school?) and do the stereotypes follow you in college?
I went to Exeter (all four years - there's definitely a difference) and now go to one of the colleges you mentioned (HYPSM/Chicago/Columbia). I think the experience is really what you make of it. For me, it was tough (classes 8-6 and clubs in the evening + 3-5 hours of homework), but I learned a hell of a lot there and really grew into my own. Coming from the west coast, I definitely learned a lot of the east coast type social etiquette you don't really see in the west/public schools (ie take your hat off indoors, thank teachers, blah blah blah). That REALLY helped out with networking in banking because I knew how to be respectful with senior people and all that. (Also, the alumni network in banking is strong. Everyone's spread out everywhere and always willing to help out, even if you didn't go to the same college. That's actually how I got my SA offer.) A nice thing though was doing that if I kept my grades up, scored well on the SAT/ACT, and had decent extracurriculars, I could go to a good college. I know some public school kids basically have to cure cancer to get into the Ivies so I definitely felt more like a "regular" kid so to speak. The transition to college was pretty seamless, though I go to a challenging school (you can narrow the list down to Princeton, MIT, or Chicago lol). I think a big thing was never feeling imposters syndrome or needing to "find myself" or whatever in college, because I'd done that already in high school and knew who I was and my own worth and shit. Classes were more work but the quality of discussions went down. Social life is good (lots of prep school alum in greek life who pull each other in). Don't really hang out with high school folks much (it's all friendly though) but am friends with quite a number of other prep school kids. There's definitely a stigma around going to Exeter so I don't broadcast it. If you see a dipshit in college still wearing Exeter gear, feel free rag on him a bit, he definitely deserves it.
I knew a guy at my undergrad (Northeastern/BU/BC/Georgetown/GWU) who went to Choate. I am a product of a middling public school so my undergrad made sense, him having gone to Choate, I was surprised. I have since looked at the colleges that these types of schools send kids to and absolute dogshit colleges like Bentley are on the list. What is up with that?
Here's the list for Phillips Exeter. American University? Endicott? Even BU, BC, Georgetown?
If I had paid $60k a year to go to high school and then matriculated into a school like BU/BC/Georgetown I would be ashamed of myself. Those are schools you can get into from a public school. Who are these kids, and why are they relegated to go to these schools?
I don't know a whole lot about this topic, but here's my take on it. If a kid is truly spectacularly stupid, how far can their background take them. They can pay their way into good extracurriculars, maybe pay their way into a GPA directly or through an expensive tutor, pay their way into an amazing SAT (through proxy, it's been done before), and pay for a lot of things. They don't have that grinder mentality that a public school kid can have, though. Everything thing was handed to them and having a goal simply meant asking for it. They didn't have to work incredibly hard and experience failure and deal with adversity, their lives were (relatively) easier. It doesn't always work out the way they want, though, because admissions officers aren't autistic and they can see through a lot of things.
I will say this, though, I think you're underestimating certain schools that you mentioned. Take Georgetown, for example. Only 16% of applicants get accepted, which is comparable to schools like USC, Berkeley, WUSTL, Carnegie Mellon, some of the top LAC's, Notre Dame, and Emory. Are any of these schools at the HYPSW level? No, for the most part, they aren't. However, these kids don't really have to go there. People go to elite universities for the branding and the network. Let's not forget that these kids probably already have powerful, extensive networks to tap into.
"Relegated to Georgetown" bruh
I mean, there's 350 kids in the graduating class - they can't all go to ivys. The real answer is that everyone doesn't get all As because it is near impossible (PEA literally has post-grad level math classes, the standard American History course is AP level, I could go on and on).
There are many people who attend who just struggle and get Cs at PEA - then they go to the schools you are talking about. You got As, they got Cs, you're at the same place - THATs the difference.
My GPA was (converted to 4.0 cuz PEA is out of 11) maybe like a 3.6ish - got offered half rides to Notre Dame and Duke.
Then there's also the Hockey Post Grads (PGs) who are targeting NHL play by going to BC/BU.
Anyone can get into any school from any school. Well over half of the students at Harvard went to public school. The same goes for Stanford, Yale, and Princeton. The same student will get into the same colleges from a top prep school as they would a public school. You are severely severely missing the point and advantages of attending a top tier private high school if you think that it is all about what college you go to.
Georgetown isn't on the same level as the other schools you described. It's at least a few levels above the others which are very middle of the road, whereas Georgetown is elite and difficult to get into.
But I agree with your point you fucked up if your parents 240k for you to go to HS and you go to one of those colleges.
Btw I didn't go to Georgetown, so I'm not biased, I went to HYPSMCC and graduated from an awful public school in the hood.
Sad BC noises, but +1 for the part about it being understandable coming from public school
This is very misguided. My high school (a top prep school that sent 25% of grads to Ivies, another 25% to great schools like Stanford, MIT, Chicago, Duke, Williams, NW, etc., and most of the rest to solid schools) still had plenty of kids who got say 2150 on the SATs, were middle of our class, and "only" went to Georgetown, USC, Tufts, or UMich. It still made sense for them to go to our school because, guess what? The experience was awesome, it probably still helped them get into a school in one tier higher, those are all solid colleges, and their parents could afford it. I don't look at them as not belonging or wasting their time.
On the other hand, we had 10-15 kids every year going to schools ranked maybe 75-150+ in US News, and for them I kinda questioned why they needed to shell out $40k/year to go to prep school. They're allowed to do it since they can afford it, but just didn't make a ton of sense to me.
also interested
I went to a northeast prep school (not one you listed) and a top 15 UG (not one you listed). We had 4 kids at my UG from my high school year, and ~30 at the schools you listed (class size was in the 100-150 range).
Classes were very challenging, and I'd argue more intellectually engaging at times in high school, but definitely more work in college. My classmates in college were relatively poorly positioned for the transition, and my high school classmates mostly found it relatively easy also at their respective colleges.
Overall, high school was a blast and I'd say had a lot of similarities to college with main differences being lodging (I was a day student in high school) and having a major/course of study.
I went to one abroad that is equally prestigious as the ones on your list. My school provided me a good network that I continue to utilize and I would say my closest friends are those that I have known since I was 6. We (batch of 120 / class) entered this prep school at 6 and left at 18 for college. I played a lot of sports there which was a lot of fun.
The good thing socially in college was that my prep school had a few alumni at the college i enrolled into. So from day 1 I was socially acclimated and was hanging out with seniors and my own classmates. I knew where all the parties were happening so it helped me adjust very well. The only person who hated me was my RA
I went to a top prep school in the Bay Area/LA (top 20 nationally)
Classes are hard of course, but anyone with a little bit of effort and drive can get at least a 3.8+. I prefer the challenging small (8-10 ppl) classes. The critical thinking and discussion FAR exceeds what I do at a T20 college nowadays. The best part is that you don't realize how smart you and your classmates are until one day sophomore year everyone gets 1400+ (literally 80% of the class) on their PSAT (its out of 1500). I got a 34 on my ACT without studying a single bit.. I did one full practice test a week before and walked out of the test thinking I got a 36.. This was not uncommon, our average ACT was a 33.6- and for promising students 34 is the bare minimum.
In terms of colleges, since we are on the west coast our top schools were Stanford, USC, and Berkely. (Stanford reserved spots for around 10% of our students, USC and Berkeley reserved for 12%.) We then would send probably around 1-2 kids to each ivy/duke/mit every year. All in all, around 55% of the class would go to one of these "top 20" universities. There is competition though, because you are competing against many legacies/board members and the # of spots are so rigid. It creates a toxic environment where people get jealous. Typically, unless you are top of the class or have legacy, you will end up at WashU, USC, Williams, Vanderbilt, etc..
Socially its amazing. My friends and I went to 4 continents our senior spring alone (no joke), but I understand how this creates a "class divide" between the well off kids and kids on financial aid. Not animosity per say, everyone was friendly at school but more in terms of outside of school parties and hangouts. Because of this adventure, I formed ironclad friendships with kids I know will be very successful and ambitious- and know their well off parents very well. (very well off if u know what I mean)
Some of it is still stupid-kids calling lawyers if police crash party, and a subtle obsession with wealth and success. But all in all, Im glad to have grown up in this environment.
You will end up at Williams, Vandy, Georgetown, USC etc if you have a 3.85+ and a 34 with solid ECs and no legacy
Can confirm, lmao. I fit the bill.
were most of your prep school friends from well-off families? you mentioned several billionaires. or were most of them upper middle class whose parents saved to put them through it? how do you think growing up around that wealth has shaped you? honestly can't imagine dropping 50k/year or whatever crazy number for high school, but your experience sounds sick.
God, Im really ashamed to admit this but no, of my 10 or so closet friends none were "upper middle class." I had 'school" friends who were but no best friends.. If you are paying 50,000 for a private education a year your parents are making at least 2M and live in a 3-4M house. I would say only 3 of those people were below 20M, (not that I actually know but just guessing). I could tell these people would be shellshocked when they flew private with another friend. All my friends were very good people though, humble, and didn't talk about money or flaunt it in gaudy ways. (unlike east coast friends at Choate/Deerfield who would drop 5k on bottle service like it was no ones business). They all were very ambitious as well- they don't like to live off their parents and want to be successful in their own way.. Growing up around this level of wealth is stupid, (as my friend puts it, Living in Great Gatsby) but as long as you stay humble and ambitious Id say its a good thing. I still work 16 hours a day at my internship like everyone else, I just know what's waiting on the other side if you are successful..
A LOT of kids spin out on the east coast under the pressure.. not really in the west. Addiction, suicide, getting expelled. East coat vs West Coast well off kid culture is crazy different
I went to a Prep School in Mass (Day school, think ISL) and it seemed pretty normal until I got to college (top LAC, think NESCAC). When you're in the environment where teenagers show up in Ranges, Bentleys, and Beamers everyday then things like travelling internationally with your friends and spending every week during the summer on the Cape and Islands seemed kind of average and normal. The weird thing in college was learning how out-of-the ordinary those things actually were and that it wasn't 'relatable' conversation. That rep followed me for a while (I also went away to my parent's vacation home for a wedding on the second week of freshman year which didn't help) but it goes away the more you're around non-Prep kids. With college everyone from my school branched out a lot and went in different directions, many kids had already moved out of Mass and just stayed where their new school was, but some of those who are still around I see a bunch but definitely less than public school friends see their old classmates. Class-wise, I think it actually got easier, at least in college when you have 8h of homework in one day its stuff you actually want to study. All-in-all, it's definitely a big shift and I'm happy I had the experience of Prep School but also happy college brought me back to the real world.
Didn't know Groton was that famous maybe bc it's in Middlesex county?
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