How admissions to top universities in the US really works as revealed by a simple comparison between one of NYC's top public high schools (Stuyvesant HS) and one of NYC's top private high schools (Horace Mann School). A short thread with some basic descriptive statistics 👇👇
At @StuyNY, a public magnet school where nearly half of students qualify for NYC's free or reduced price lunch program (<$50K for a family of 4 with NYC cost-of-living), the middle 50% of SAT scores are 1490-1560. See: stuy.enschool.org/ourpages/auto/…
At @HMSchool, a private school where tuition is $60k/year (and where 85% of families pay the full tuition cost), the middle 50% of SAT scores (summing the interquartile ranges for each section) are 1380-1540. See: resources.finalsite.net/images/v163733…
At Stuyvesant HS, the top college destinations are NYU, SUNY Stony Brook, CUNY-Hunter College and SUNY Binghamton. See: tophscollege.blogspot.com/2021/09/stuyve…
At the Horace Mann School, more than 1/3 of students are admitted to an Ivy League university and the top college destinations are Cornell, UChicago, Columbia and Georgetown. See: horacemann.org/alumni/alumni-…
Could some of this be explained to differences in the ability to pay tuition at private colleges? Yes, probably. But consider that nearly all top private colleges are need blind. At Cornell, e.g., the average size of a tuition grant is ~ $43K, 70% of the cost of tuition.
For reference, at SUNY where tuition is $17K, the average tuition grant was $13K. This means that for a qualifying student, Cornell will cost approximately $18K/year and SUNY will cost $4k/year. So the prices are different but not nearly as different as the sticker prices.
The purpose of this thread is not to argue that the SAT exam should be the sole arbiter of college success. But is it right that the Horace Mann students have so much more to offer top colleges than the students who attended public school? Maybe. But not a case I'd want to make.
The comparison is striking. Even among kids who uniformly score in the top 1-3% on national exams, wealthy families have established a unique means to convert merit into admissions success, therefore transmitting this particular type of cultural capital to their children.
Of course, there is nothing wrong with a degree from SUNY and a large share of these public school kids will go on to attend top graduate programs and/or excel in challenging careers. This is not intended to be a plug for 'elite' institutions, just a comment on admissions.
If you believe I have misused any of the figures cited above, please comment here. There is some further nuance but I'm skeptical that there is enough further nuance to substantively change the conclusion that I've offered.
Post-script: Since many have wondered about whether this is driven by applicant preferences: At HM, 35% of the class attends an Ivy League university (+ Chicago, Stanford, MIT). At Stuy, the most recent figure is 18%. Hat tip @UpzoneH
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