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Hello all,
My child is currently in 8th grade and will be going to Parsippany hills high school this year in fall.
He is high in grades( A) and is focused on mathematics( currently learning geometry). He is aiming to get into ivy league/top 20 colleges in US.
the challenging question i have is should we move to a reputed high school like Livingston or basking ridge where its better ranked, more challenging environment or continue to stay in current school?
is being in top 1% class rank in his high school a selection criteria in reputed college placement?
will he be lost in the smart crowd ( top 10% class rank) if he is in reputed high school?
The top colleges select students based on holistic methods, which is very opaque. Admissions committees do compare students from within the same high school against each other. If you think your child can graduate at the top of the class (valedictorian/salutatorian) then going to the higher ranked school is good. But it is not a guarantee of anything. But all things being equal (race, geography, financial aid, test scores) then having a higher class rank matters more.
Hello all,
My child is currently in 8th grade and will be going to Parsippany hills high school this year in fall.
He is high in grades( A) and is focused on mathematics( currently learning geometry). He is aiming to get into ivy league/top 20 colleges in US.
the challenging question i have is should we move to a reputed high school like Livingston or basking ridge where its better ranked, more challenging environment or continue to stay in current school?
is being in top 1% class rank in his high school a selection criteria in reputed college placement?
will he be lost in the smart crowd ( top 10% class rank) if he is in reputed high school?
Hello all,
My child is currently in 8th grade and will be going to Parsippany hills high school this year in fall.
He is high in grades( A) and is focused on mathematics( currently learning geometry). He is aiming to get into ivy league/top 20 colleges in US.
the challenging question i have is should we move to a reputed high school like Livingston or basking ridge where its better ranked, more challenging environment or continue to stay in current school?
is being in top 1% class rank in his high school a selection criteria in reputed college placement?
will he be lost in the smart crowd ( top 10% class rank) if he is in reputed high school?
The top colleges select students based on holistic methods, which is very opaque. Admissions committees do compare students from within the same high school against each other. If you think your child can graduate at the top of the class (valedictorian/salutatorian) then going to the higher ranked school is good. But it is not a guarantee of anything. But all things being equal (race, geography, financial aid, test scores) then having a higher class rank matters more.
Big fish small pond > Medium fish big pond
Agree with this. Going to a higher-ranked school district and making all the associated changes just in the hopes of a better college selection would be foolish IMO. Children can excel right where they are if they take advantage of all they can and, most importantly, show initiative and keep reaching for more. No need to turn your whole world around, increase pressure on all of you (especially your child), and spend crazy amounts of money on a house. Things like independent study, honors programs, research or extra-curriculars in Parsippany will all add up to more.
Agree with this. Going to a higher-ranked school district and making all the associated changes just in the hopes of a better college selection would be foolish IMO. Children can excel right where they are if they take advantage of all they can and, most importantly, show initiative and keep reaching for more. No need to turn your whole world around, increase pressure on all of you (especially your child), and spend crazy amounts of money on a house. Things like independent study, honors programs, research or extra-curriculars in Parsippany will all add up to more.
Agree 100%. I would also add that hopefully you kid already has friends/acquaintances in middle school that he/she/it hang spend time with. And probably at least some or most of those friends will go with him to high school. Moving to a new high school would mean that your kid doesn't know anyone and has to make new friends. That process is usually a lot harder in high school given the high pressure environment and course load. And I hope you agree that having friends and reasonable social life is also important for any teen going through high school... As long as that social life doesn't interfere with school work of course...
Doesn’t matter in the least.
By the 8th grade, you know who has real Ivy potential (Harvard, Princeton and Yale.)
So not true.............................
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