f95toli said:
I think it depends on where you live. I admitt I am not at all familiar with the situation in New York, but I would assume it is not much different from the situation in any major city. Here in London the differences between "normal" and "good" schools are significant, and there is a lot of competition. The problem has -from what I've been told- been getting worse over the past few years.
Fundamentally, it has to do with the fact that your chances of getting into a good university are much higher if you go to a good school (primarily because they do a better job at preparing you for the exams, the average grades are much higher at e.g. expensive private schools than in normal state schools). The reason why at matters at an early age is that good schools tend to recruit their students from other good schools: it is for example difficult to get into a good secondary school unless you went to a good primary school; which means that you first have to get into a good primary school etc.
Well in the spirit of full disclosure, I'm not familiar with the situation in NYC either. I agree that it's a step-process, but I don't think it needs or CAN realistically begin with toddlers. I am familiar with the UK however, and as Machiavellian as the USA can be, your school system is harsh. The focus on exams (reviews... I forget the idiom) is intense, whereas the USA is more into standardized testing. I don't know that one is better...
Still, I understand that getting into a good HS depends on your achievements and placement in preparatory school, and universities most definitely recruit based on that. Having said that, I find it difficult to imagine that a pricey pre-school is somehow a part of that process. Your child needs a good education, much of which happens at home, and have a good work ethic. That's not something you're going to get while a kid is still figuring out how to reach for something without wiggling their toes instead.
f95toli said:
Note that "good school" here means a school where most of the students succed in getting into a good school in the next stage; it does not mean that those schools are actually better at teaching their students maths etc. This is quite obvious when you look at the statistics: the majority of the students at the top universities here in the UK went to "good" schools (often expensive private schools), but the students who attended "normal" (or even "bad") state schools are more successful once they are actually studying at university.
Oh yes, it's all about access and opening doors, but once the door is open the destination is rather similar, if not identical. It's much the same in the USA, with the addition of more idiots due to patronage and 'legacy' at a school, and those few who through money and tutors manage to get by.
I have to be honest, I met some people in HS and College that shouldn't have been entrusted with a lifetime of flipping burgers. The exceptions to the rule are galling, and everywhere. I suspect that a "good" pre-school is more a function of institutional extortion than practical advantages.
f95toli said:
This latter agrees with my (limited) experience, where I work we accept summer students (usually 2nd year) from many different universities; I have on several occasions come across students from very good universities who where clearly not very bright (not stupid either, just not as bright as you would expect) and presumably attended schools who simply were good at preparing them for exams; and I frequently come across students from less well-known universities who are really good.
The problem is of course that the student who went to the well-known university will have a huge advantage when he/she starts looking for work. So yes it does matter.
Oh it matters, but there has to be a point at which you begin to look at a kid. I just find it hard to believe that someone who goes to a good JHS/HS is going to be haunted by not attending 'Sie Uber Kindergarten, und pre-school', you know? If you're really bright, you'll nail the standardized teats (usually, barring some learning disabilities) without significant prep... and if you're not... well... not going to change.
Then, we have the Japanese system, which takes the UK/Euro system and refines it to a near-Orwellian system of placement. There, I can believe that you're compared from birth.
Still, given the USA, and NY... I'd guess this is a status issue, not a practical one, even within the rubric of getting into a 'proper school'.
