Feeders: not foul but fair

There’s no easy way to get into Harvard short of being related to someone very famous or having a parent who attended or taught at Harvard, not even by attending a supposed “feeder school.”

Feeder schools are high schools known for having a large number of their students get into elite colleges, with some having 15 students getting into Harvard alone. In fact, one out of 20 Harvard freshmen of the class of 2017 attended one of just seven high schools. 

Some people cry foul at these statistics and the Ivies for having favoritism, but it makes perfect sense that Ivy League schools accept students from the feeder schools. Many of the feeder schools, such as the famous elite boarding school, Philips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, are extraordinarily selective. Exeter, for instance, only has a 19 percent admission rate. Many feeder schools administer very difficult placement tests to find the best students possible.

In other words, most of the students from such schools are already exceptional. Thus, it makes sense that Ivy colleges would accept more students from these high schools. 

In addition, many of these high schools provide resources for their students so they can get a leg up in the college admissions race. The tuition for many feeder schools is in the tens of thousands annually, and as a result, the schools are well funded and provide many resources for students to use. 

Stuyvesant High School, a specialized high school with entrance exams in New York, the famed Harvard feeder, has almost 24/7 college counseling available during the college application season, resulting in students having stronger applications than many of their peers across the nation. They also offer advice on which tests or courses to take in order to get into exclusive colleges. 

Furthermore, many of these colleges are boarding schools similar to universities. Students there have already learned to take advantage of resources and activities, such as clubs or committees, similar to the ones at universities. In turn, these universities are more willing to accept these students since they know the kids will experience a smooth transition. 

While some people may say the situation is unfair, the students from feeder schools had to work exceptionally hard to get into the feeder schools in the first place. Colleges are simply rewarding these competitive applicants for putting in the effort and being stronger applicants than their peers from other schools. 

So stop whining about some high schools having a “special” relationship with colleges. Their students may just be smarter than you.