i see thats one of the main reasons i want to consider going to a private school like i currently go to a top 90 public school and so thinking about going to a top 20 (private) would give me a bit of advantage in terms of ec's nd cocurriculars cause when it comes to grades and ranking i feel like that smth I have to put in the work for regardless of the school but ec's could benefit from going to a school that puts emphasis on it and has a wide range of it. My school has like around 4 clubs and that too barely anyone goes too and in terms of sports they do have them but since i moved from overseas in the middle of the year (term 2) i never got a chance to try out for any of them.
Private schools are amazing. Let me put it into perspective. Lots of people look down upon the co-curriculars that you need to do and the amount of sports and activities that private school kids take on. But in reality as "ceebs" as it seems, these are always fun to do. It's a culture you never knew you could enjoy.
I was similarly accepted into many of the top selective schools (Jr, NSB, Baulko), but their culture around being a well-rounded individual never fascinated me. We are talking about some of the smartest kids in the state but my issue is "that's all". Like legit that's all they have (obviously I think times are changing and we see a lot of all-rounders fostered at selective schools). But these outliers usually have to create their paths -> sport outside of school, rep level sport and it can be hard to push yourself. At my current school, I found I can balance academics and also IMPORTANTLY have other things to "fall back on".
Like I play lots of sports and do many co-curriculars, and if I just brutally mess up a test, I can just go and have a bash on the tennis courts and take my mind off it. The stress relief I've gained is unmatched. You feel in control of life. What happens conversely at a selective school is I would go home and just feel useless and not know what to do. I kinda think of my lifestyle the same way as you think about economics and investing (stick with me here). Many times not everything you partake in will be at its "perfect" level. For instance, I may burnout in academics, or hit a slump in my sport. What you want to do is "diversify" what you do in life. Similar to your investments. And be able to fall back on the things that ARE going well.
And additionally, I find the academic level at these schools is still better than many selective schools. Because you must understand some of the smartest kids at private schools are products of scholarships from these selective schools. I'm talking about international level olympiad students and so forth. And as a result many of these kids go overseas to top Ivy's (stanford, harvard etc) because their applications just look stacked. The reason private schools rank low is because of a tail end. But I never complain about ranking because I know if you stay at the top -> where you will usually stand if you really care about academics at these schools, the level is in my opinion better than most selective schools. But importantly I like the fact that everyone in the school is unique and good at their own aspects. It makes you drive to achieve the best potential in what you want to do.
So where I stand may be biased on private schools. But yeah they are pretty good. It may be daunting to enter one. I know was scared. But once you're there it doesn't seem like there is a better option. I implore anyone who does want to avoid private schools because of these abundance of co-curricular options to rethink their passion. I mean sure its great to get the coveted .95 at a selective school. But you will genuinely regret not trying other things in life. And most of the time, you'll realise with good time management that .95 is attainable at any private school you want. But with that you carry better connections, better people and a better sense of purpose after school.
Please note that I don't think private school kids are elitist. But you will find that many of the kids are genuinely good people to get along with. I find myself being able to hold a conversation with anyone in my school or grade, regardless of our similarities (academics, sports). It's just a better community that these school foster in my opinion. It still fascinates me how some selective school kids are unbeknownst to some of the kids in their grade. You will find inclusion very easy at these school.
