Three named Presidential Scholors from the area (Montgomery, Mobile: 2013, high schools)

[LCTMadison]

And TWO are from Bob Jones.....wow, that is pretty darned impressive. These are the only three Alabama students named, out of only 141 nationwide. The third is a Randolph student.

3 Huntsville, Madison students named U.S. Presidential Scholars | al.com

[guxu]

Bob Jones is CRAZY this year. Normally top colleges like Harvard and Princeton only accept several (less than five) students from the whole Alabama state. This year, at least two Bob Jones students were admitted to Harvard. At least another two Bob Jones students were admitted to Princeton. I over heard some MIT admitted students too.

[pennquaker09]

Originally Posted by guxu

Bob Jones is CRAZY this year. Normally top colleges like Harvard and Princeton only accept several (less than five) students from the whole Alabama state. This year, at least two Bob Jones students were admitted to Harvard. At least another two Bob Jones students were admitted to Princeton. I over heard some MIT admitted students too.

More than 5 kids from Alabama get into to Harvard in a year. I would imagine you'd find 5 in North Alabama alone because of Grissom, Huntsville High, Randolph, Florence, Bob Jones, etc.

The thing is, there are so many kids from Alabama that could get in if they only applied. A lot of people here have this idea that they can't afford it, but if you're a middle class family and you send your kid to Harvard or Princeton, you'll probably end up paying less than sending them to Alabama or Auburn.

I'd like to say that getting 4 kids into Harvard and Princeton is a big deal. But at some schools, that's the norm. It's all in the culture and the strength of the college counseling.

[RatSnake]

It is also a mindset that is heavily influenced by the parents.

But there is nothing absolutely wrong with staying local as far as colleges go though ... but if the opportunity beckons ...
I've met some parents - their college bound kids went out of state.
Some I've known - their college bound kids got full ride - and stayed local.

[Madmom2000]

Originally Posted by pennquaker09

More than 5 kids from Alabama get into to Harvard in a year. I would imagine you'd find 5 in North Alabama alone because of Grissom, Huntsville High, Randolph, Florence, Bob Jones, etc.

Florence? I'm not sure I ever heard of Florence in the mix with the other four.

[pennquaker09]

Originally Posted by Madmom2000

Florence? I'm not sure I ever heard of Florence in the mix with the other four.

I know that in the past, when Florence had two high schools, one of them, Bradshaw, had a stellar rep in the college admission circles. But even just encountering them at competitions (scholars bowl, Science Olympiad, etc) they were pretty smart. If my memory serves me, they beat some of the schools that people always mention as being, "the best."

My mother does alumni interviews for Harvard and she used to get quite a few Florence kids. Maybe because she's originally from Florence? I'd have to ask her about it now.

I did recruitment for Penn when I was there and I talked with a lot of kids from Alabama. Most of the higher achieving kids were from Northern Alabama. A few from Auburn, Mobile, and Montgomery. But not near as many the north. I had a list of schools that I recruited from because in the past, those schools had strong applicants. Florence had better kids than Hoover where I went to school. And, that is hard for me to say because I am a Buccaneer to the core.

[RatSnake]

Yes - Florence has a good school system.
In recent science olympiads that I've attended, they've managed to hold their ground against Randolph.