I once calculated that only .2% of freshmen who start college every year head off to the Ivy League, but these eight schools still monopolize much of the national coverage of college issues.
The spotlight on the Ivy League has helped to make it nearly impossible to get into these eight schools, as well as a small group of other highly elite colleges and universities. Today, however, I wrote a college blog post over at CBS MoneyWatch that suggests a new hook for teenagers dying to get into these impenetrable schools.
I discovered the hook recently through David Montesano, a smart college admission strategist at College Match Educational Consultants. I’m sharing part of the interview, but please read the entire Q&A here:
A West Coast Ivy League Hook
Q. How can you increase your child’s chances of getting into the Ivy League?
A. Go West.
Specifically, send your son or daughter to a West Coast independent day school. Independent day schools located in or around tech areas like the Bay Area, parts of Los Angeles, San Diego and Seattle can play a significant role in paving a student’s path to one of America’s most selective colleges.
Q. Why are these areas hot among elite colleges and universities?
A. A new class of Ivy League students is starting to bubble up from the unique economic geography formed by a mixture of fresh ideas and money that is particularly present in the cities that line the West Coast. The top recruiting ground for college seems to be where parents have new economy jobs.
Q. Can you give me the names of West Coast schools that are enjoying great Ivy League success?
A. What is perhaps most interesting is that instead of the usual cadre of West Coast prep school suspects that for years dominated top college placement from the West Coast, a new crop of day schools for the techno elite have sprung up.
On closer examination of the list of West Coast feeder schools, the Bay Area dominates and the Silicon Valley is especially well-represented on the scoreboard of Ivy-level college placement.
Schools where parents, who work for a myriad of tech companies like Google and venture capital firms, like send their offspring include The Harker School in San Jose, Menlo School in Menlo Park and Crystal Springs Uplands School in Hillsborough….
Please read the rest of the Q&A by visiting my CBS MoneyWatch college blog.
Lynn O’Shaughnessy is the author of The College Solution, an Amazon bestseller, and she also write a college blog for CBSMoneyWatch and US News. Follow her on Twitter.