Q:  My son is a junior at a high school in Queens.  He is an excellent student and would like to go to a prestigious college.  But his high school is huge and the college counselors don't have much time for each student.  On the other hand, my cousin's son goes to a prep school near Washington DC, and my cousin says their college counselors are known for getting kids into the best colleges.  What chance does my son have competing against applicants like that?

A:  I went to a very large high school myself, in Queens, many years ago.  There were about 1500 students in my graduating class.  Now I work at a private school, and yes, there is a vast difference in the amount of individual attention teachers and counselors are able to give to students.  But statistics confirm that students in each setting are successful in the college admissions process.

Going to a private school in itself does not guarantee acceptance to any college; nor does attending a large urban public school in itself, assure rejection.  Applicants are looked at in the context of their school environment, so your son will not be competing against his cousin.

I recently attended an admissions information session at an Ivy league university.  The admissions rep pointed out that if they accepted students who were all exactly the same in background and qualifications, the freshman class would be pretty boring.  To keep their school vigorous and stimulating, they admit students who come from a wide variety of schools, communities, and ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds who bring an array of interests and talents to campus.  To do this, they recruit widely at both public and private schools.  Colleges really do reach out, some more effectively than others. <!--more-->

As a result, the applicant pool for colleges and universities with national reputations is quite varied (I am not speaking of state universities which, regardless of how strong they are academically, tend to attract state residents).  Take a look at Yale: 55% of their current freshman class comes from public high schools.  At Amherst College, 58% of the freshmen are from public schools; in fact 62% of the applicants from public schools were admitted to Amherst, as compared to 31% of the private school applicants. These facts are not secret!  You can find similar information on any college's website, if you look into the "freshman profile" stats.  You can see that coming from a large urban high school does not -- in itself -- eliminate one's chances in the competition.

I keep using the phrase "in itself" because ultimately it comes down to individual qualifications and how they may dovetail with a college's enrollment goals. The talented violinist from a public school is going to be more desirable than the chess champion from the prep school if, that year, a college is seeking string players to build up its orchestral program.

How do applicants bring themselves to the attention of admissions officers?  At a small private school, the college counselors are expected to advocate for their students with the admissions offices.  Over the years, a relationship of trust develops between secondary schools and admissions offices.  Colleges come to see that applicants from certain high schools are very well-prepared and, once admitted, are successful on campus; that strong track record, in turn, helps future applicants from that same high school. Perhaps that has happened at your cousin's school; worthy applicants are steered to certain colleges, they do well there, and over time the school has developed a reputation as a "feeder" institution.

Let's be realistic -- when there are two college counselors working with a senior class of 50 students, they have the time to write extensive, detailed letters of recommendation and they are able to send e-mails and make phone calls on behalf of their seniors.  When there are three college counselors responsible for a senior class of 800, that kind of attention is less likely.  But, it is not impossible.  When I worked in admissions, I often read detailed, helpful letters of recommendation from counselors at large public schools; and if I had the time, I would sometimes follow up by phoning them for more information.

On the other hand, getting phone calls or e-mails from counselors at smaller schools was no guarantee that their students would be admitted.  And too many of those contacts could become annoying and actually be a turn-off.  Perhaps the call or note would call more attention to something in their applications, but those calls or notes did not "get them in."   No counselor has that power.  Ultimately, acceptance comes down to an applicant's individual merit and how his qualifications match the needs of the colleges that particular year. Admissions officers, not counselors, have the final say.

Your son may have to work somewhat harder to get noticed in the applicant pool.  If his college counselor is so overloaded that he or she simply cannot do the kind of advocacy that a private school counselor can manage, then he can still work, with that counselor, on an overall strategy.  In my next column I will address this issue -- "How I make my application stand out?"

By the way, I note that you refer to colleges that are "prestigious" and "best" -- please try not to shop by brand name but by "best fit" for your son's interests and needs  But that's another column, too!