Does Ivy Leage or any colleges really care if you went to a public or private school?

I'm a sophomore in a parochial private school and I want out (mostly because the school doesn't offer a wide range of programs because of a small student population and I think I'm getting ripped off). But I'm not sure if that would be beneficial to me or if it would hurt my chances of getting into an Ivy League College/University. If I didn't go into the school I'm in now, I would have to go to a public school (without prestige but a pretty wide range of clubs/activities).


I want an opinion on what you people think? It would also help if you tell me why and what perspective you're coming from (are you a teacher, college student, parent, Ivy student etc.).

Does Ivy Leage or any colleges really care if you went to a public or private school?
I think there are certain schools which will give you a "leg up" when getting into Ivy League colleges - but a parochial school (with a small student body, like you say) isn't one of them. Usually those schools would be the "prep" schools or exclusive, prestigious private schools.





I went to a parochial school for a number of years and I agree with you - the number of Honours and AP classes available was just pathetic. It would probably be a safer idea for you to go to a public school and stack on as many Honours/AP classes as you can. It will look a lot better (if you can maintain a high GPA, of course) than remaining in your parochial school with only a few AP classes.





Definitely make yourself well-rounded, though. GPAs and your SAT/ACT score isn't everything - students with 4.0's and perfect test scores can be rejected. You need to make yourself stand out and unique.
Reply:I think many private schools have better education than the public school system, but I have never heard of a person not getting into a school because they went to a public school. Most people go to public schools.
Reply:Private schools don't help you get into a good college unless their really prestigious private schools like Phillips Exeter Academy. I graduated from a very competitive public school and I feel that I got as good of an education if not better than a lot of the students at my college who attended private high schools. Coming from a public high school definitely doesn't put you at a disadvantage. If anything, I think it looks better if you come from a public high school because you're competing with more students so a high class ranking looks more impressive. I would definitely transfer to a public school if I were you, especially if your public school offers more programs and courses than your private school.





I know quite a few people who went to private schools that didn't even offer AP courses while the public schools did. Private schools are good in the sense that they may have smaller class sizes, but that doesn't mean the education you get there is necessarily better than in a public school system.





EDIT: Take a lot of AP courses. They not only look good on your transcript, but also prepare you for how fast college-level courses are paced. Plenty of people from my high school took regular classes and did well in them, but did horrible their first year in college because the pace was so much faster than they were used to.
Reply:There are 100 or so private schools in the US that will give you a significant advantage in gaining admission to an Ivy League school. From your description, your private school is definitely not one of them. So, your decision depends on the public school in your area. A quick, though imperfect, measure would be to compare the number of AP courses offered at your private school vs. the public school. If one has significantly more than the other, that one will probably give you a leg up in the admissions race (assuming you take as many of those AP courses as your schedule will allow and achieve A's in them). Ivy's generally look for someone who has taken the most difficult coursework offered by their high school in addition to having been a leader in several extracurricular activities (mere participation is not adequate). FYI, I'm an Ivy grad. They are great places to be at, but there are a lot of other schools--the elite liberal arts schools, for example--that can provide experiences of similar quality. Good luck!
Reply:If you went to a public school you would have a better oppurtunity to make yourself stand out, but if you're going to a well known private school and you are doing well just stick it out for two more years. If a college has two similar students they'll take the private school kid. Private schools are notorious for graduating well disciplined young adults because if you mess around (like at my old prep school) they expell you very quickly. Public schools differ. The local high school by my house graduates only about 60 percent of the original class and about twenty five percent of the graduates do not go to college. So it is not known, if it is it's not for a good reason. It's hard to stack on the AP and honors classes in private schools because the regular classes compare to honor classes in a public school. Stay at your private school because though it may be tough for you to do the work and there may be a limited amount of clubs the discipline and lessons you will have learned there will follow all your life. Also my sister and I basically had the same stuff on our apps and I got into great schools while she got into not so great schools.(sister went to that local high school)
Reply:Like Hello said, there are a select number of "feeder" schools (usually private schools that get a ridiculous number of kids into Ivies).....but you'd know it if you were at one, and it would have a very strong academic program.





As a general rule, you're better off going to a school with the strongest academic program....which is independent of it being public or private. I had the same decision and stuck with my public school since it offered more APs and other opportunities, and I was accepted into several Ivy's.





I'm involved in admissions at one of them and it's all very complex. We do take your school into consideration on multiple levels. First, it's about whether or not you've made the most of the opportunities you've been given at your school....eg if you only have 4 AP classes, is it because your school only offered 4 APs or is it because you only bothered to take 4 when your school offered 12. But on the flip side the quality of education at your school is taken into consideration....it's much easier to be at the top of your class at a craptastic school than at a tougher one, and at the end of the day you need to have a certain level of knowledge and skills to be able to succeed at an Ivy school. (And in part, this is where the SATs and other nationally-standardized exams comes in.)





Those are just a few ways school factors into it....but as you can see, it's more about the quality of the program and the level of education/preparation you receive and not whether it's public/private/parochial. There are amazing public schools just as there are horrific public schools, there are amazing private schools just as there are horrific private schools.