FEATURE/Getting Inside America's Elite Colleges: What Every Parent Needs to Know

Business Wire, August 23, 2002

Feature Editors & Education Writers

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NEW YORK --(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 23, 2002

So, you want your child to attend an Ivy League school? If you think acceptance depends on his or her high school, you're on the right track. In its September 2002 issue, Worth magazine investigates the secrets of the top 100 high schools with the best records for getting graduates into the Ivy Elite -- Harvard, Yale, and Princeton.

For the study, Worth reporter Reshma Memon Yaqub reviewed four years of freshman classes at Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. Of the nearly 31,700 high schools in the country (21,000 public and 10,700 private), only 2% (930) had four or more students from their 1998-2001 graduating classes go on to study at Harvard, Yale, or Princeton.

These 930 schools were then ranked by the percentage of their graduating classes that each sent to the three colleges during the four-year period. The top 10 high schools with the best record were:

1. Roxbury Latin School, West Roxbury, MA

2. Brearley School, New York, NY

3. Collegiate School, New York, NY

4. Groton School, Groton, MA

5. Dalton School, New York, NY

6. Spence School, New York, NY

7. Horace Mann School, Bronx, NY

8. Winsor School, Boston, MA

9. Milton Academy, Milton, MA

10.Phillips Academy, Andover, MA

The data that was collected reveals a definite pattern -- private schools have a far better record of placing students at Harvard, Yale, and Princeton than do their public school counterparts -- 94 of the top 100 schools listed are private.

"Is there still clearly a pipeline from the top schools in the country to some of the top colleges? The answer is yes," according to Lloyd Peterson, a former senior admissions officer at Yale. The top private high schools as well as public schools with entrance requirements have a tremendous advantage - they already have a talented pool of students. Not to mention that parents who pay to send their kids to high school can most likely afford to pay the full college tuition as well.

Nearly half of the fifty states were represented by at least one high school on the list. In addition to the top 100 feeder schools, which were mostly private institutions, Worth also listed the top 50 public schools from the initial list of 930. To read the complete article and access the lists, go to http://www.worth.com/schools.> Worth, the monthly financial/lifestyle magazine edited for the high-net-worth market, reaches active investors with a median net worth of $1.2 million. The September 2002 issue is now available on newsstands.

    CONTACT: Capital Publishing/Worth Magazine
             Nancy Holmes, 212/230-0207
             or
             Stephanie Koenke, 212/230-0221

    KEYWORD: NEW YORK
    INDUSTRY KEYWORD: EDUCATION PUBLISHING
    SOURCE: Capital Publishing/Worth Magazine