Dennis Alvarez2, do you have the data on how many kids from a single grade took the SATs and which universities they enrolled in? It’s on that last slide, 17 in Series Vol. 3
Yeah, they've made it pretty clear to us multiple times: if your priorities are dialed in, there’s zero need to touch the list. Though, you might still see some shifts elsewhere, and suddenly you find yourself stuck somewhere you didn't expect...
Look, there’s some interesting data here. For instance, students from certain elite prep schools almost exclusively funnel into economics or a few other predictable paths—it's a bit one-dimensional. Meanwhile, kids from smaller, more diverse public schools end up exploring everything from STEM to the arts... I’d argue the latter might actually be superior because it provides a much broader foundation rather than forcing everyone into a single mold.
Some people are preoccupied with the gender ratio in the classroom...
Then there's the discrepancy between GPA and standardized test scores. Take a high-end academy where the average math grade in junior year is a 2.9, yet they score a 3.5 on the SATs. It suggests the professors are incredibly tough graders, even if the students ultimately master the material...
The people around me are driving me crazy; they can't understand why I'm not getting in, but they forget some of these folks enrolled years ago when the bar was much lower... The computer technician role—back in 2017, you only needed 67 points, but this year it looks like it'll hit 77. That's quite the jump...
Dennis Alvarez2 said:🤣 It really comes down to this: the ultimate responsibility for a child's education rests squarely on the parents, which means they have the final say in whether or not to follow their child's specific interests or even their level of ambition.
You likely believe that the "child's right to an education" is a right held by the child themselves, though I suspect the reality is somewhat more nuanced than that. 🤦 Of course parents are going to discuss this privately, at the office, and right here on the forum—it’s only natural. I have always had a soft spot for these kinds of articles that attempt to label entire generations as incompetent or incapable, especially when their supposed "logical arguments" invariably begin with "when I was younger." 🥱 I can't say for certain what kind of household you grew up in, but looking back at my friends from middle and high school, I don't recall ever meeting a family that didn't constantly discuss their child's academic future. Just as a quick disclaimer, though, I graduated from high school quite some time ago, yet those discussions remained the primary topic of conversation throughout seventh and eighth grade, just as they did during our junior and senior years.
Even today, kids spend a significant amount of their time discussing these matters, and you see them debating where they want to go for college as early as seventh grade, not to mention all those intense conversations about their high school ambitions.
Dennis Alvarez2, my comments stem from pure frustration... at home, we spend more time discussing where a child *can't* get in than where they can. 🤣
Yes, digital mining is just wonderful. You can see exactly where kids are heading with those degrees... though there’s always an outlier, someone from a top prep school who ends up at MIT or Harvard University instead 😁
wanderingbadger77 said:Over at that high school in Chicago, freshmen and sophomores get 5 hours of math. Juniors and seniors get 6.
It’s the same in LA. Almost every high school lets you choose between a standard curriculum or specialized tracks—more math and computer science, a foreign language focus, or just extra math.😉
But those elite prep schools😁 basically hand out passing grades just to ensure kids get into their preferred colleges...☕
Exactly, even those students competing at the county or national levels mostly end up at places like Miami or Caltech... I’m sure the professors there are brilliant, but they also deal with actual wunderkinds who have been hyper-focused on competitions their whole lives.
Honestly, they should just take some average student and see how they fare at the national level.😛
At the end of the day, it all comes down to the kid... if they enroll in a less rigorous high school and actually put in the work, they'll outperform an average student from a top-tier prep school any day.
Michelle Nelson4 replied that the minimum score required just to apply for the program at Isaac Newton
I'll have more than that, we'll see... unlikely I'd make it into Computer Technician, maybe some other major, but probably not that either
Other schools like Tesla, General Electric, and the like have similar graduation scores. They aren't bad, but hardly anyone gets into MIT, which says a lot
Joseph Martinez4 said:Could you tell us a bit about where you went and what the experience was like? Like, what did you actually see or hear?
"We" are looking at enrolling next year, but we are totally flying blind when it comes to the technical schools—we don't really have anyone to ask for the real scoop.
We visited a few technical schools, and both faculty and students agree—head to Ruđer, they're the gold standard 😁😁😁
Private schools have started setting entrance thresholds too. Looking at this enrollment page, several private high schools have a cutoff of 65. Those are some pretty decent students... I guess they used to accept lower scores, but their ratings probably take a hit if the kids can't pass the SATs later on.
By the way, the computer technician program at Ruđer has a threshold of 72 points.😉
Have you attended any Open House events at the schools you're eyeing? We visited three technical high schools recently and found them quite insightful; being able to consult directly with the faculty and students provides invaluable perspective. To me, the most critical factor is gauging the overall atmosphere to see if it truly resonates with your child—what suits one student might be a poor fit for another. If your preferred schools haven't held their Open House yet, I highly recommend going...
We have finally established our application priorities and decided which school 🙂 prefers.
Michelle Nelson4, I suppose this forum isn't really intended for the younger crowd 😁 but given how much we obsessively debate everything here... frankly, I’m already exhausting myself with all this anxiety over admissions, which is mostly unnecessary 🍿 Once he actually starts school, things will likely settle down and he'll be fine, simply because he doesn't know any better 😛
Parents today are far more involved and stressed than previous generations were. Back then, kids just enrolled in the local public school 😁 and if it proved too difficult after the second grade, they'd just transfer to an easier academy (or so I heard from some old-timers)
Carol Kelly3 said:Maybe it's because teachers used to actually do their jobs without making everything about themselves. Nowadays, parents end up doing the teaching and stepping into territory they shouldn't be in. It's kind of sad, really.
Give it a rest. Professors aren't all the villains you imagine, and let's be honest, not every middle schooler is some kind of genius...
This thread is specifically about high school enrollment and the secondary education system. Keep your personal grievances to yourself...
Personally, I'm most concerned about those vocational tech programs—the heavy-duty trade schools. There's bound to be more chaos there than in a traditional prep school. You get kids enrolling who could easily handle a private academy, but I worry about the culture... we might see a lot of bullying...
mellowskipper, true enough, but over here, every mom in the suburbs is already losing her mind over school enrollments while most kids couldn't care less... just saying
In my opinion, the worst part is how active this thread is—high school discussions happening on a parenting subforum... that says everything we need to know. I’ve tried asking questions in high school threads where actual students or alumni post, but there's absolutely nobody there...
It used to be that parents barely knew which school their kid was heading to, and most kids handled the whole process themselves... nowadays, we're fighting their battles for them, obsessing over GPA and admissions... that's why this isn't working.😢
Kate Jackson4, I feel your pain. It’s the same story here in NYC; take NASA, for instance. Last year, you needed a 76.11 just to qualify as a computer technician.
If we weren't living in NYC, 50 points would probably be plenty... 🤣
I suspect they set that threshold specifically to protect themselves regarding students with disabilities; it gives them plausible deniability if those students fail to meet the requirement.
Because honestly, a threshold is completely meaningless if you're setting it at 60 while everyone is actually enrolling with a 75.