Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Usually the smart people all go to Private Schools.
In average, 15% of the graduating seniors of the top private schools go to attend Ivies+MIT+Stanford+top liberal arts college.
But on this island, many parents rather spend their money on a new Lexus or BMW than sending their kids to receive a quality education.
This comment prompted me to look up the cost to attend HPA on Big Island. $49K a year for high school, which buys a lot of car! The school is just a bit selective too.
That's an impressive stat for Hawaii private school graduates. My daughter is at one of the Ivies back east and she has made two new friends from Hawaii, both of whom did indeed attend private high school in the state. Don't know about their elementary years though.
Here in Alaska our local public schools provide a fine education through high school, contrary to CaliRestoration's sweeping claim that all of them are bad.
HPA on Big Island is a boarding school. So the cost may have included room and meal.
On Oahu it ranges between $20,000-30,000 with the better two charging students in the mid-$20K. But these two are not the most expensive.
In Mainland, most public schools are funded by property tax but Hawaii is not. So as a home owner, I saved on property tax and paid tuition for my kids' private school education.
IMO it is still a good deal since homeowner pays 6-12 years private school tuition while saves on property tax for the entire life span.
My daughter is at one of the Ivies back east and she has made two new friends from Hawaii, both of whom did indeed attend private high school in the state.
My daughter was also admitted into one of the Ivies. During her year seven students were admitted from Hawaii. They were respectively from Punahou, Iolani and Kamehameha School.
No students from Public School and the other Private Schools were accepted.
(Kamehameha School is catered to students that have at least 1/8 Hawaiian Blood. The tuition is very affordable.)
I would not say Hawaii's Private Schools are the best. In East Coast, it is very common for half or 2/3 of the graduating senior class from Private Schools going into Ivies.
And their tuition is much higher. $40-50K. Comparably Hawaii's are quite low.
I wonder if any other school had restrooms that were kinda rundown. I remember when moved here from the mainland i was shocked at how bad the boys restroom at school is here,compared to where i grew up on the east coast and when i complained they paid it no mind.
My daughter was also admitted into one of the Ivies. During her year seven students were admitted from Hawaii. They were respectively from Punahou, Iolani and Kamehameha School.
No students from Public School and the other Private Schools were accepted.
(Kamehameha School is catered to students that have at least 1/8 Hawaiian Blood. The tuition is very affordable.)
I attended an Ivy League school and serve on the alumni ambassador team out here in Honolulu; we interview all applicants from Hawaii applying to my school. I've seen similar statistics, with most admitted students to my school being from either Punahou, Iolani, Kamehameha, or Sacred Hearts. That said, one public school student was admitted last year, too. From what I can recall, most of the applicants we get are also from private schools, so I think this is a "problem" of the applicant pool to be honest and not necessarily that public school students are being rejected wholesale (if the same is true for the other Ivies).
Last edited by prospectheightsresident; 03-23-2019 at 12:23 PM..
I would not say Hawaii's Private Schools are the best. In East Coast, it is very common for half or 2/3 of the graduating senior class from Private Schools going into Ivies.
And their tuition is much higher. $40-50K. Comparably Hawaii's are quite low.
Its not quite that high. The top 14 private schools by percentage of graduating classes being admitted to Ivy League schools average a 33% acceptance rate, with the top school (Trinity School in Manhattan) having a 40% acceptance rate. Don't get me wrong, this is very high/good, but not quite half or 2/3. https://www.thestreet.com/story/1332...versities.html
I had a friend who attended college with me. We grew up on the same block. He attended Dalton School in Manhattan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalton_School I attended a large public high school in Brooklyn. While more (and a higher percentage) of graduates from his school were accepted to Ivies vs. my school, way more students (both in total and as a percentage) seemed to be applying to Ivies at his school vs. my school (note, I don't doubt that, on average, more students as his school were qualified to attend such schools vs. students at my school) were not being accepted. In fact, there were numerous students who were attending PennState. While PennState is ultimately a good school (I'm not knocking it and am far from a snob) and these kids are going to be fine no matter where they attend college (this is probably true for any student whose parents can afford to spend $50,000 a year on secondary school tuition), I did find it laughable that their parents spent all this money and they were going to a major state school (from talking to my friend, their parents weren't all too happy either, but these kids weren't accepted to any "better" schools), whereas I received a "free" public education and was going to the Ivy League.
That said, one public school student was admitted last year, too. From what I can recall, most of the applicants we get are also from private schools, so I think this is a "problem" of the applicant pool to be honest and not necessarily that public school students are being rejected wholesale (if the same is true for the other Ivies).
The competition is fierce among students at private schools nationwide for slots at the top colleges, but I suspect that the best candidate in Hawaii would be a student with very high test scores and an impressive class load from a public school. They've achieved, despite their demographic challenges.
In other words, a national merit semi finalist from Hilo High would probably have a better chance of getting into Harvard than one from HPA. Pretty sure that coming from Alaska or Hawaii ups the odds.
In other words, a national merit semi finalist from Hilo High would probably have a better chance of getting into Harvard than one from HPA. Pretty sure that coming from Alaska or Hawaii ups the odds.
Maybe - maybe not. Except your odds of being a National Merit Semifinalist are extremely low if you go to Hilo High School especially when you consider one high school on Oahu produced more than half of the 2019 National Merit Semifinalists - lets not kid ourselves, it would not surprise me if in most years, no Hawaii Public School students are accepted to Ivy League Schools solely on academics.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
