Quote:
Originally posted by DeltAlum
Finally, in terms of highly regarded high schools making a difference. I think it's a regional thing. If you go to college reasonably close to home, they will have heard of your school. Same thing when you're looking for the first job. It doesn't hurt to be a graduate of a highly regarded school.
If you're a couple thousand miles away from home, though, it means little or nothing -- unless, of course, you run into someone who came from your hometown/area.
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Having just observed the college search process with my daughter and her friends, I can tell you that coming from a highly regarded high school is a double-edged sword. All other things being equal, it is clearly easier to get into the University of Illinois if you go to a school that is not so heavily populated with the high caliber students that attend schools like the Glenbrooks.
For example, University of Illinois admits students according to Class Rank and ACT scores. If you have a high ACT score, they expect you to have a corresponding high class rank. Problem is that high percentage of kids at such schools have high test scores, so their class rank is not so hot. I've heard of lots of kids who had 30's and 31's on their ACTs and all A's and B's being denied admission to UIUC. They call it the New Trier effect, but it hurts lots of kids in the area. Schools away from Illinois that have had North Suburban kids attend before seem to have more regard for the competition these kids dealt with in high school and many don't hold the class rank against them.
I do not expect the fact that my kids went to a highly regarded public high school to give them any tremendous benefit in terms of name recognition. I do expect that they will be well-prepared for college, from both an academic and co-curricular standpoint. They have learned how to learn and they've learned how to find their niche and be involved. They have a solid foundation from which to build a successful life, not just from a material point of view. I wish I'd had the high school experience they have had. None of the things that happened in the forest preserve on May 4 changed the things, that in my mind, make the Glenbrooks a good place to send your kids to school.
I jumped into this thread to defend the district against some early criticism that the school should do more. I knew that once they had all the facts, they would do the right thing. While public relations might not be their strong suit, I do believe that every action they took was in the interest of all the students, including those that caused the embarassment in the first place. I'm still proud to be a Glenbrook mom.