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College Preparatory School

School rating 4 / 5 by

6100 Broadway Oakland CA 94618 United States
Day
9th to 12th
Gender
Coed

Academic

College Preparatory School review by .

The teaching at College Prep was bar none. I really can not emphasize enough the amazing experiences I had with my teachers here. Even in the subjects I wasn't good at (I always struggled more in the maths and sciences) the teachers were always available to me for help. Additionally, they reached out to me when they saw I wasn't doing well. I was always successful academically before I came to College Prep, but it was challenging at first. They expect a lot from you, but they also give a lot back. I hadn't had to work exceptionally hard before attending CPS, and so it really was a challenge. In my four years, however, I really learned how to study. More than anything, CPS taught me how to be an excellent student. In college, the biggest difference between my peers and I was my understanding of how to read efficiently, study efficiently, time manage, etcetera. It's rare that I have to pull "all-nighters" or feel stressed out to an overwhelming degree in college because I was prepared for an immense workload and challenging situations. The school has incredible teachers- I particularly loved the english department- but I rarely had a teacher that I didn't like. At least when I attended (I graduated three years ago), english and math were probably their best subjects. However, science, history, and language were also pretty consistently excellent. The only areas that were sub-par were art (fine arts, dance, drama) and athletics. It is slightly hard to be in college classes after the experiences I had at CPS, however. At CPS, classes were never more than 20 students (and that's a high number). Discussion was encouraged and expected, and always added to my learning experience. One thing I found incredible about classes there was that I learned so much from my fellow students. It's inspiring to be in a group of people who are excited to contribute and participate. I didn't feel as though people participated (say, in english classes, which were some of my favorite) because they had to for a grade, but because they genuinely found something in the text illuminating or curious and wanted to discuss it. Even the classes that had to be more lecture based in nature (like history) were frequently broken up with group activity and discussion. Math classes spent at least half the time working example problems, so it wasn't just conceptual. It made it possible to grasp concepts and gave time to ask questions right away if something was confusing. Similarly, we sat in groups of four, and would frequently work on harder problems with our table.

College Counseling

I really enjoyed college counseling. I was ahead of all my friends at other schools....

Sample insights on college counseling

  • They have contacts at most of the major universities and feel perfectly comfortable picking up the phone and advocating for a student to get accepted somewhere they feel is a good fit for that student. However, these counselors are certainly not magic bullets. They cannot guarantee that a student will get into an Ivy League university...
  • For those wishing to move on to Oxford or Cambridge, the provision is second-to-none. In the months running up to application and interview, every subject faculty offers classes (often run by former Oxbridge tutors) exploring further areas of their subject as well as offering advice on personal statements, interview technique and more...

Admissions - Getting Accepted

I don't think CPS favored a particular type of student. About 10 people from my....

Sample insights on admissions

  • For the interview, dress conservatively. Try to be very clean and put together. Also, I was a tour guide for two years and at the end of every tour, we were asked to evaluate the candidate so if you think the tour is not apart of the process, you are very wrong. Ask questions and be interested. Also, tip for the parents: the kids speak on the tour. Do not ask their questions for them...
  • Most younger siblings have an easy time in the admissions process. I can only think of one case of a younger sibling not being admitted. About half of the students who entered with me had come from public schools. The remainder came from private K-6 schools, or had transferred from other New York private schools The Elizabeth Morrow School and St. Bernard were two of the larger feeder schools...

School Life

I had a wonderful experience at CPS socially. Although it would get occasionally boring, and somewhat repetitive, as the school is very small, I feel that I gained a confidence and assuredness in myself and my social skills that I would have at a more "traditional" high school. Most students are incredibly accepting and it was the first place I didn't stand out as nerdy, so I think it really helps people gain self-esteem. I saw a lot of people really come into themselves over the four year period, and there was really almost no issues with bullying or similar....

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