According to the WSJ, Collegiate School is Best Ivy Feeder

by | November 30, 2007 at 9:00 pm

No, actually that headline is totally false. It belongs to the more interesting article the WSJ should have written. But in any case Collegiate does have the highest percentage of students who enroll in either “Harvard, Princeton, MIT, Williams, Pomona, Swarthmore, the University of Chicago and Johns Hopkins” in case that motley group means anything to you.

In this article, which is clearly aimed at soliciting the self-satisfied clucks of its affluent readership, the WSJ employs what is possibly the most dubious methodology of all time in order to produce a fancy ranking of high-schools. See if this exercise makes any sense to you:

Weekend Journal looked at the freshman classes at eight top colleges — Harvard, Princeton, MIT, Williams, Pomona, Swarthmore, the University of Chicago and Johns Hopkins — and compiled a list of the students’ high-school alma maters. The survey ranked the high schools based on the number of students sent to those eight colleges, divided by the high school’s number of graduates in 2007, limiting the scope to schools that had senior classes of at least 50. The “success rate” column represents the percentage of students in each high-school’s graduating class that attended one of our chosen colleges.

Pomona, seriously? In any case, all of the usual suspects put in an appearance, NYC private schools (Collegiate, Trinity, Chapin, Brearley), New England boarding schools (Andover, Exeter, Groton, Deerfield), the famous magnet schools (TJ, that school in Illinois that’s like TJ) , and the schools that make local sense (Princeton High School) But there are also some schools nobody saw coming, like Daewoo Foreign Language High School, located in Seoul.

After the jump — the chart of schools, with juicy glosses like, “The school, founded in 1635, sent 25 kids to Harvard–more than any other high school on our list,” and “Many students at the Jewish day school spend a year in Israel before college, which the school says may affect its numbers in our survey.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HIGH SCHOOL    CITY    STATE/ COUNTRY    SENIOR CLASS SIZE    STUDENTS SENT IN 2007    SUCCESS RATE    CURRENT TUITION    COMMENT   
Collegiate School New York N.Y. 50 13 26.0% 29,100 Just over 600 boys make up the student body from Kindergarten through 12th grade at this small private school.
Brearley School New York N.Y. 51 12 23.5% 31,300 The all-girls school says on its Web site that it sent a total of 93 kids to the Ivy League in the last five years.
Chapin School New York N.Y. 58 13 22.4% 29,100 Kindergartners at this all-girls school learn creative writing; third-graders study yoga.
Polytechnic School Pasadena Calif. 87 17 19.5% 23,750 School sent 9 kids to Stanford last year, more than to any other college.
University of Chicago Lab Schools Chicago Ill. 113 22 19.5% 20,445 College counseling office recently hired a former University of Chicago admissions officer.
College Preparatory School Oakland Calif. 86 15 17.4% 26,850 School’s director of college counseling worked in the University of Pennsylvania admissions office for eight years.
Trinity School New York N.Y. 116 20 17.2% 30,120 School will celebrate its 300th birthday next year.
Phillips Academy Andover Mass. 327 52 15.9% 29,000* School says that about 10% of its students are from outside the U.S. and 35% are students of color.
Delbarton School Morristown N.J. 116 18 15.5% 23,600 Independent school for boys is led by an order of Benedictine monks; about 30% of students are non-Catholic.
Phillips Exeter Academy Exeter N.H. 317 47 14.8% 28,200* This year Exeter announced it will waive tuition for students whose family income is under $75,000.
Milton Academy Milton Mass. 184 27 14.7% 31,175* School requires seniors to take a course on transition to adult life. Students do mock college interviews
Groton School Groton Mass. 83 12 14.5% 31,530* Students are required to write two college essays summer before senior year, which are critiqued by faculty.
Daewon Foreign Language High School Seoul South Korea 78 11 14.1% 05,000 School is divided into two separate programs; one for students planning to attend university in South Korea, the other for those bound for U.S. colleges. Our class-size figure reflects the U.S.-bound track
Lawrenceville School Lawrenceville N.J. 239 33 13.8% 32,110* School sent 16 kids to Princeton last year; since 2003, it says it has sent 59 students there.
Kent Place School Summit N.J. 59 8 13.6% 26,818 Director of college advising worked in undergraduate admissions at Columbia and Georgetown universities.
Hunter College High School New York N.Y. 177 24 13.6% 0 The public school, administered by Hunter College, limits 7th grade applicants to kids who scored at least 90% in reading and math on standardized tests.
Rivers School Weston Mass. 74 10 13.5% 30,500 Applications to Rivers increased 20% over the past year, and ninth grade applications rose 27%, school says.
Saint Ann’s School Brooklyn N.Y. 76 10 13.2% 25,500 School has an arts-centered approach; poetry teacher starts working with kids as young as 5.
San Francisco University High School San Francisco Calif. 92 12 13.0% 28,725 Last year’s seniors scored about 10% higher on SATs than previous class, says director of college counseling.
Menlo School Atherton Calif. 139 18 12.9% 29,400 School offers a program that pairs kids with parents to discuss college, careers and community service.
St. Paul’s School Concord N.H. 150 19 12.7% 39,300 The boarding-only school now offers a “gut check” for seniors, with faculty reading college essays in three minutes, as a college admissions officer might.
Harker School San Jose Calif. 167 20 12.0% 29,894 Five studentsfrom Harker were selected as a youth delegation to the G8 conference in Germany this year.
John Burroughs School St. Louis Mo. 97 11 11.3% 18,575 School has one of the lowest tuitions of the U.S. private schools in our study. Midwestern schools generally cost less than those on the coasts.
Rye Country Day School Rye N.Y. 92 10 10.9% 27,500 (11-12th grades) School says that since 1996, 97% of kids taking the Advanced Placement BC Calculus course received perfect scores on the AP exam.
Korean Minjok Leadership Academy Gangwon Province South Korea 133 14 10.5% 16,000 School in South Korea’s Gangwon-do province requires students to speak only English for many classes.
Buckingham Browne & Nichols Cambridge Mass. 115 12 10.4% 31,440 School opened $26 million visual and performing arts center this year.
Princeton High School Princeton N.J. 299 31 10.4% 0 This year, school sent 19 kids to Princeton University, which is across the street from the high school.
Ramaz Upper School New York N.Y. 100 10 10.0% 20,000 Many students at the Jewish day school spend a year in Israel before college, which the school says may affect its numbers in our survey.
Stuyvesant High School New York N.Y. 674 67 9.9% 0 Selective public high school specializing in math and science says it sent 17 kids to Harvard last year.
Head-Royce School Oakland Calif. 81 8 9.9% 25,590 School opened a new building devoted to world languages this year, and recently added Mandarin classes
Regis High School New York N.Y. 125 12 9.6% 0 Tuition-free Catholic boys school says it drew more than 2,300 prospective students to recent open houses
Blake School Minneapolis Minn. 127 12 9.4% 19,900 Minnesota school has both alpine and nordic skiing teams.
Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy Aurora Ill. 203 19 9.4% 0 School requires kids to participate in an “intersession” in January, a break from regular studies with courses like “Exploring the Meaning of Life: Why It All Matters.”
Hotchkiss School Lakeville Conn. 172 16 9.3% 32,400* New headmaster is a former head of schools in Botswana and Wales.
Bishop’s School La Jolla Calif. 120 11 9.2% 24,400 A Bishop’s graduate won the Olympic trials in laser sailing-competing in a small single-handed boat-and will participate in the Olympics in China next year.
Thomas Jefferson High School For Science And Technology Alexandria Va. 428 39 9.1% 0 Competitive magnet school for science-minded kids sent 13 students to MIT this year.
Lakeside School Seattle Wash. 132 12 9.1% 22,160 Students can’t graduate without at least 80 hours of community service and a weeklong outdoor program.
Deerfield Academy Deerfield Mass. 188 17 9.0% 27,642* School asks parents to submit anecdotes about their kids to inform college counselors’ recommendation letters.
St. John’s School Houston Texas 122 11 9.0% 16,825 Students can take educational summer trips with faculty to places like Indian monasteries or the French Alps.
Boston Latin School Boston Mass. 381 33 8.7% 0 The school, founded in 1635, sent 25 kids to Harvard–more than any other high school on our list.

 

(Full disclosure: various editors attended Andover and Ramaz)

 

 
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  • yale prep

    The WSJ ranking is bullshit. When I was looking at schools out of prep school, I looked at the top Ivies (arguably Harvard, Yale, and Princeton). I also looked at other Ivies (Penn and Brown) and a hand-full of equivalents and “little ivies” like Middlebury, Bowdoin, and Amherst. I’d say my experience was typical for a prep school senior.
    Why would any objective methodology include schools like MIT, Pomona (honestly, what the fuck?), Swarthmore, UChicago, or Johns Hopkins? The only students from my school that went to those colleges were people who couldn’t get into Yale. But apparently Yale is not worthy of the WSJ top eight.

    I’m fairly certain that if the WSJ had used the usual methodology (Ivy League + MIT and Stanford), Collegiate would still come out close to the top, and the usual list of prestigious private schools would follow: Andover, Exeter, St. Paul’s, Groton, Trinity, Rox Lat, Deerfield, Hotchkiss, etc.
    St. Paul’s, for instance, sends most of its students to Harvard (26), Stanford (25), and Yale (21), but only 3 to Pomona (a major hit for the college office, I’m sure). Likewise, last year Andover sent students to Harvard (22), Penn (13), and Yale (12), but only 1 to Swarthmore (for shame!). Too bad Yale, Stanford, and Penn didn’t make the WSJ list this year.

    Also, h ’06, I hate you.

  • wheres dalton?

    this ranking is retarded. if they wanted the best of the best, they wouldve done all the ivies, not freakin u chicago and JHU. to the people who call collegiate middle class, you’re a. retarded, and b. a douchebag. back in the day i went to dalton, and i have nothing but respect for collegiate. but im shocked that Dalton and Horace Mann got shortchanged so badly in this BS ranking. Dalton sends about 10 percent of its class each year to PENN alone!! so these rankings mean jack shit.

  • wheres dalton?

    this ranking is retarded. if they wanted the best of the best, they wouldve done all the ivies, not freakin u chicago and JHU. to the people who call collegiate middle class, you’re a. retarded, and b. a douchebag. back in the day i went to dalton, and i have nothing but respect for collegiate. but im shocked that Dalton and Horace Mann got shortchanged so badly in this BS ranking. Dalton sends about 10 percent of its class each year to PENN alone!! so these rankings mean jack shit.

  • wheres dalton?

    this ranking is retarded. if they wanted the best of the best, they wouldve done all the ivies, not freakin u chicago and JHU. to the people who call collegiate middle class, you’re a. retarded, and b. a douchebag. back in the day i went to dalton, and i have nothing but respect for collegiate. but im shocked that Dalton and Horace Mann got shortchanged so badly in this BS ranking. Dalton sends about 10 percent of its class each year to PENN alone!! so these rankings mean jack shit.

  • 29k

    Your post just smacks of hypocrisy. I’m incoherent? When YOU argue that there is no such thing as a quantitative measure of achievement? How about words known or math problems done right?

    When you have a school where the median score is in the top 1/2 of the 99th percentile on standardized tests… those are elites. They are quantifiably good students. The end. That is what collegiate was.

    You are welcome to continue to feel better than us for various reasons particular to your geography and upbringing– but you are in a minority. The market, society, does not reflect your radical ideas. We believe that there is a system by which we can judge merit. Colleges try to be fair about it.

    The fact is you can’t fill a school entirely with poor people. To reduce it to a rich/poor scenario is a kind of misguided rabble rousing populism (especially in the ivy leauge forum LMAO). Collegiate kids, those of us who aren’t on financial aid (about 25% of the upper school), are rich kids in competition as much with upper middle class suburbians as anybody else. And there the argument gets really dull doesn’t it? Who’s to say a private school kid is so much advantaged over a kid from a top public school district in say Chappequa New York?

    And as to do I “deserve” to go to Columbia? What a stupid question for you to pose. Do you deserve to go to your college? The question should be answered pretty easily: have you succeeded. Did you turn out to be a dud, surpassed by the public school kids once given a chance, or do you remain at the top? The fact is I’ve done well here. I can tell of quite a few prep schoolers who’ve fallen to the middle of the pack. That’s the real test of if admissions were correct in making a decision, but to an extent this is always the case. Often it is more extraordinary with public schoolers who end up not finishing their education, where some middle class yuppie would have almost certainly gotten by with B+s. It’s a rough science. Nobody’s claiming perfection, except you.

    Oh and by the way, I also placed into Hunter College public high school too in middle school. I took the exam, along with 20,000 other New Yorkers and got in. Could have gone there for free… but decided to have my parents pay 100,000 for me to go to collegiate instead.

    They thought it was a better school, so didn’t mind really.

  • 29k

    Your post just smacks of hypocrisy. I’m incoherent? When YOU argue that there is no such thing as a quantitative measure of achievement? How about words known or math problems done right?

    When you have a school where the median score is in the top 1/2 of the 99th percentile on standardized tests… those are elites. They are quantifiably good students. The end. That is what collegiate was.

    You are welcome to continue to feel better than us for various reasons particular to your geography and upbringing– but you are in a minority. The market, society, does not reflect your radical ideas. We believe that there is a system by which we can judge merit. Colleges try to be fair about it.

    The fact is you can’t fill a school entirely with poor people. To reduce it to a rich/poor scenario is a kind of misguided rabble rousing populism (especially in the ivy leauge forum LMAO). Collegiate kids, those of us who aren’t on financial aid (about 25% of the upper school), are rich kids in competition as much with upper middle class suburbians as anybody else. And there the argument gets really dull doesn’t it? Who’s to say a private school kid is so much advantaged over a kid from a top public school district in say Chappequa New York?

    And as to do I “deserve” to go to Columbia? What a stupid question for you to pose. Do you deserve to go to your college? The question should be answered pretty easily: have you succeeded. Did you turn out to be a dud, surpassed by the public school kids once given a chance, or do you remain at the top? The fact is I’ve done well here. I can tell of quite a few prep schoolers who’ve fallen to the middle of the pack. That’s the real test of if admissions were correct in making a decision, but to an extent this is always the case. Often it is more extraordinary with public schoolers who end up not finishing their education, where some middle class yuppie would have almost certainly gotten by with B+s. It’s a rough science. Nobody’s claiming perfection, except you.

    Oh and by the way, I also placed into Hunter College public high school too in middle school. I took the exam, along with 20,000 other New Yorkers and got in. Could have gone there for free… but decided to have my parents pay 100,000 for me to go to collegiate instead.

    They thought it was a better school, so didn’t mind really.

  • 29k

    Your post just smacks of hypocrisy. I’m incoherent? When YOU argue that there is no such thing as a quantitative measure of achievement? How about words known or math problems done right?

    When you have a school where the median score is in the top 1/2 of the 99th percentile on standardized tests… those are elites. They are quantifiably good students. The end. That is what collegiate was.

    You are welcome to continue to feel better than us for various reasons particular to your geography and upbringing– but you are in a minority. The market, society, does not reflect your radical ideas. We believe that there is a system by which we can judge merit. Colleges try to be fair about it.

    The fact is you can’t fill a school entirely with poor people. To reduce it to a rich/poor scenario is a kind of misguided rabble rousing populism (especially in the ivy leauge forum LMAO). Collegiate kids, those of us who aren’t on financial aid (about 25% of the upper school), are rich kids in competition as much with upper middle class suburbians as anybody else. And there the argument gets really dull doesn’t it? Who’s to say a private school kid is so much advantaged over a kid from a top public school district in say Chappequa New York?

    And as to do I “deserve” to go to Columbia? What a stupid question for you to pose. Do you deserve to go to your college? The question should be answered pretty easily: have you succeeded. Did you turn out to be a dud, surpassed by the public school kids once given a chance, or do you remain at the top? The fact is I’ve done well here. I can tell of quite a few prep schoolers who’ve fallen to the middle of the pack. That’s the real test of if admissions were correct in making a decision, but to an extent this is always the case. Often it is more extraordinary with public schoolers who end up not finishing their education, where some middle class yuppie would have almost certainly gotten by with B+s. It’s a rough science. Nobody’s claiming perfection, except you.

    Oh and by the way, I also placed into Hunter College public high school too in middle school. I took the exam, along with 20,000 other New Yorkers and got in. Could have gone there for free… but decided to have my parents pay 100,000 for me to go to collegiate instead.

    They thought it was a better school, so didn’t mind really.

  • 29k

    Various errors above… can’t seem to edit. Can you fix posts here?

  • 29k

    Various errors above… can’t seem to edit. Can you fix posts here?

  • 29k

    Various errors above… can’t seem to edit. Can you fix posts here?

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