[Assam] TJ High School vs Harvard/MIT admissions etc

[umesh sharma]

my note below this quote:

***Book review - Harvard grad advised against Harvard/Stanford
http://www.amazon.com/Harvard-Schmarvard-Getting-Beyond-College/dp/customer-reviews/0761536957

"Elite private high schools and magnet schools do not have any advantages vs. other public schools in sending their students to the elite colleges. To the contrary, the author makes a case that they have a handicap. This is because one of the key factors within the Ivy league admission process is class rank. A student with a strong GPA in an average school will stand out, and earn a top class rank. The same student with the same GPA would be lost in a crowd of overachievers at a top private school. His class rank would be much lower, and will prevent him from being accepted at Ivy League schools. Along the same lines, top schools are not comfortable admitting a high number of applicant from any one high school. Thus, it is in your advantage to apply to the schools that your classmates do not apply to. If they all apply to Yale, apply to Princeton instead. This is tough, as it entails fighting the human herd instinct. But, it puts the probability of being accepted very much
 in your favor."

----------------------------------------------------

my note:

I was saying something like this to some students from TJ included - that all TJ students cannot get accepted to Harvard even though may (or may not be) better than all other applicants to Harvard --since class rank matters --- but that is a minor point -- SAT scores and school's reputation matter a lot.

In India I read an advertisement of one school which sent 107 students to the IITs (acceptance rate 1%  -- 3,000 selected out of 200,000 entance exam takers -toughest exam in the world) -becos the students did well in the entrance exam - ofcourse in US exam results are only one aspect (but a deciding factor - SAT scores decide whether you will  jump thru the first hoop/obstacle or not -- only later school name, GPA etc are cosnidered) . 

Ofcourse, it helps if you have applied to Oxford, Cambridge - as well as to Harvard -- not many fellow TJ students would apply there - so more likelihood of getting in (see book review below) - but perhaps they may not recognize SAT scores in UK -check websites of theirs. Thats I came to Harvard to study there- my first visit to US then.

  Thomas Jefferson High School (TJ)  is supposed to be the best high school in USA -- and they do send a bunch  to top schools: http://www.tjhsst.edu/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11194-2005Mar29.html (DC's top schools - TJ - nation's best) 


Any comments?

Umesh

PS: 
     

Umesh Sharma

Washington D.C. 

1-202-215-4328 [Cell]

Ed.M. - International Education Policy
Harvard Graduate School of Education,
Harvard University,
Class of 2005

http://www.uknow.gse.harvard.edu/index.html (Edu info)

http://hbswk.hbs.edu/ (Management Info)




www.gse.harvard.edu/iep  (where the above 2 are used )




http://jaipurschool.bihu.in/
       
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