92% of the Columbia HS Class of 2015 is heading to college

The rate of graduates going to college was one of the reasons we chose to move to Maplewood. In our previous town, the rate was lower. I thought it might have an influence on my kids. They were headed into 9th and 6th grades, respectively.

DaveSchmidt said:
Something about "the far-flung University of California, Berkeley," tickles me.

I wonder why UC Berkeley is more far flung than Occidental

cleg said:
79% to 4 year schools when you back out the 87 who are going to CC. I am not judging but they are different things.

There's so much wrong with this statement. First of all they aren't different things because the percentage relearned those continuing education post high school. Second, there are so many reasons why one would CHOOSE the CC route. As many states it could be for financial reasons, but even more so the CC route is attractive to those who aren't sure what they want to make in and don't want to commit to a 4-year institution that might not offer their future major. The education received at county is no worse than the education received during the first two years at a state school.

dg64 said:

DaveSchmidt said:
Something about "the far-flung University of California, Berkeley," tickles me.

I wonder why UC Berkeley is more far flung than Occidental ">

Or Reed?

This year in particular, was a fiercely tough year for CHS students trying to get into top schools(Georgetown, Northwestern and popular publics etc) Quite a few very high achieving CHs seniors were disappointed that they did not get into their first choice schools, despite being well matched on paper. Our kids compete for spots against each other as well as other high performing Northern NJ school districts. Lots of kids are going to their second choice, perfectly fine school or their more affordable school once the financial aid packages came. As for those not enrolling this year, I know one who is taking a gap year to pursue musical recording internship opportunities, another very bright girl who is taking a year to focus on her dream of modeling. Numbers don't tell you that while CHS is not perfect, it offers students the chance to be well prepared for college, not just academically but as socially conscious, thoughtful people and community college is a very smart choice for some kids for a variety of reasons, just as taking a year off is a wise choice for others.

dg64 said:

DaveSchmidt said:
Something about "the far-flung University of California, Berkeley," tickles me.

I wonder why UC Berkeley is more far flung than Occidental ">

I believe it is a matter of historical record that more Americans have wanted to fling the former, or at least farther.

deborahg said:
+2
I came from an elitest university background (Yale undergrad, Columbia grad) but have been "schooled" through a career in state college administration. The kids who manage to overcome financial hardship and work two jobs to get themselves through college are the real academic heroes in my book. Many CHS graduates fall into that category -- and many do not. All 92 percent of them deserve high praise.

+10

campbell29 said:

apple44 said:
Nice to see a varied list including liberal arts, science and arts-focused schools, and some students willing to branch out a bit geographically.
With acceptance rates at some Ivy schools approaching 5%, and looking more globally for students, it's not reasonable to expect a large number of students getting there from here. And arguably some of the schools on this list - Northwestern, UC Berkeley, Amherst, Oberlin and others - are as or more competitive than some of the Ivies and all of the "seven sisters" which VG chose to reference.
Agree some are choosing CC as a stepping stone to a higher-priced 4-year. Hard to blame them as virtually every media story about colleges over the past few years has been about high costs and low returns.
Another subject, but arguably public schools such as TCNJ should be choosing more students from CHS, but in the bid to be more "national" in reputation, they are saying no to very talented and able NJ students and forcing some to look out of state.

I was reading yesterday, I think, in the NY Times as to how a household headed by college graduates makes $58,000 more PER YEAR than a household headed by non-college graduates. So, even if you go to an expensive college you are ahead of the game pretty quickly than if you had not attended. Most white collar jobs these days with a good career trajectory require a college degree, so without one, you will have a hard time.
There is also a big push for the larger State flagship universities to recruit from out of state to push up their stats in order to be ranked higher, and to close funding gaps. Since states have been cutting funding to universities, many have decided to make up the gap by getting out of state students who will pay more than in state students. This in turn means that talented in state students get turned away.
It would be interesting to know how many of the students who attend CC actually go on to finish a four year degree, and how many take a few classes and eventually drop out. I don't know how good community colleges are at retention and getting students into 4 year programs.

Easy enough to look up: http://www.nj.gov/highereducation/statistics/PubCollData.shtml

Retention (full time students):

ECC: 58%

CCM: 73%

For comparison, Rutgers NB 92%, Montclair 81%, TCNJ 91%, UC Berkley 96%

+3. Congrats to the class of 2015

mjh said:

deborahg said:
I just don't even know what to say to this. Even taking your 79 percent, it is one of the highest in the country for a racially diverse, public school. The national average is 42 percent. The only schools I know with much higher percentages are overwhelmingly wealthy and white.
All I am trying to do is salute a whole bunch of high performing kids. "Embarrassment" seems like the wrong word in every possible way.

+2
While it's important to continue to strive for improvement, this is an impressive result and one to be proud of.

Thanks for this, Lisa, well sai

lisanolet said:
This year in particular, was a fiercely tough year for CHS students trying to get into top schools(Georgetown, Northwestern and popular publics etc) Quite a few very high achieving CHs seniors were disappointed that they did not get into their first choice schools, despite being well matched on paper. Our kids compete for spots against each other as well as other high performing Northern NJ school districts. Lots of kids are going to their second choice, perfectly fine school or their more affordable school once the financial aid packages came. As for those not enrolling this year, I know one who is taking a gap year to pursue musical recording internship opportunities, another very bright girl who is taking a year to focus on her dream of modeling. Numbers don't tell you that while CHS is not perfect, it offers students the chance to be well prepared for college, not just academically but as socially conscious, thoughtful people and community college is a very smart choice for some kids for a variety of reasons, just as taking a year off is a wise choice for others.

Losing track, but I think that's a net +3.

I went to a lily-white, upper-middle-class, high-performing public high school. In fact, the district was most recently #1 among public high schools in NJ. We averaged about 90-92% college attendance, with a few of us attending Ivies. But, we had less than 2% of students economically disadvantaged. Columbia has over 25% in that category. So remind me exactly why we should be "embarrassed" with the percentage attending college considering how many kids are starting without the advantages provided by a comfortable financial situation?

apple44 said:
Yep. +1

deborahg said:
I just don't even know what to say to this. Even taking your 79 percent, it is one of the highest in the country for a racially diverse, public school. The national average is 42 percent. The only schools I know with much higher percentages are overwhelmingly wealthy and white.
All I am trying to do is salute a whole bunch of high performing kids. "Embarrassment" seems like the wrong word in every possible way.

In addition, there are many attending state schools as out-of-state students, which are often tough to get into. I'm thrilled to see someone going to my alma mater, UNC Chapel Hill - GO HEELS! - which last year accepted only 18% of its out-of-state applicants.

But also one to Duke, so the universe's balance is restored.

DaveSchmidt said:
But also one to Duke, so the universe's balance is restored.

Blech. I skipped right over that. =)

But, yes, it's even hard to get into the University of New Jersey at Durham.

Here are some statistics for Columbia HS and some other area schools from the data put out by the state for 2013-14 (not the year the Village Green was reporting on, but probably similar). This shows enrollment 16 months out from graduation along with some demographics of the high schools:

SOMa (Columbia HS): 85% enrolled post-secondary (79% of them in 4-year schools); 62% of students non-white; 26% qualify for free or reduced price lunch (FRPL) based on family income

Millburn: 87% post-secondary (97% of them 4-year); 26% non-white; 2% FRPL

Springfield (Dayton HS): 84% post-secondary (77% of them 4-year): 35% non-white; 13% FRPL

Livingston: 89% post-secondary (92% of them 4-year); 32% non-white; 2% FRPL

Chatham: 93% post-secondary (92% of them 4-year); 13% non-white; 2% FRPL

Montclair: 85% post-secondary (87% of them 4-year); 53% non-white; 25% FRPL

Summit: 84% post-secondary (90% of them 4-year); 29% non-white; 16% FRPL

West Orange: 79% post-secondary (68% of them 4-year); 81% non-white; 38% FRPL

Edited: tried to remove a quote that didn't really belong there.

I think it's great! I know of at least three bright kids in last year's class who took gap years for various reasons.

deborahg said:
I just don't even know what to say to this. Even taking your 79 percent, it is one of the highest in the country for a racially diverse, public school. The national average is 42 percent. The only schools I know with much higher percentages are overwhelmingly wealthy and white.
All I am trying to do is salute a whole bunch of high performing kids. "Embarrassment" seems like the wrong word in every possible way.

Yep. +one more than whatever we're up to.

muppet said:

oakland2 said:
@deborahg - you're spot on about the kids working 2 jobs to put themselves through college. But they are likely the exception not the rule and has nothing to do with whether we as a community should be satisfied with and bragging about a mere 79% for 4-year college rate.

Here are some statistics for Columbia HS and some other area schools from the data put out by the state for 2013-14 (not the year the Village Green was reporting on, but probably similar). This shows enrollment 16 months out from graduation along with some demographics of the high schools:
SOMa (Columbia HS): 85% enrolled post-secondary (79% of them in 4-year schools); 62% of students non-white; 26% qualify for free or reduced price lunch (FRPL) based on family income
Millburn: 87% post-secondary (97% of them 4-year); 26% non-white; 2% FRPL
Springfield (Dayton HS): 84% post-secondary (77% of them 4-year): 35% non-white; 13% FRPL
Livingston: 89% post-secondary (92% of them 4-year); 32% non-white; 2% FRPL
Chatham: 93% post-secondary (92% of them 4-year); 13% non-white; 2% FRPL
Montclair: 85% post-secondary (87% of them 4-year); 53% non-white; 25% FRPL
Summit: 84% post-secondary (90% of them 4-year); 29% non-white; 16% FRPL
West Orange: 79% post-secondary (68% of them 4-year); 81% non-white; 38% FRPL

Interesting. Doesn't sound embarrassing to me... simply just a reflection of the racial and socio-economic breakdown of the district. If the two-year number is low, it sure isn't by so much as to make it a glaring issue.

I'm from a very poor (many children, a dad who didn't finish HS) and going to a CC was a huge thing to me.

College was not part of my family culture. It's not part ofeveryone's, even if the kids want it.

There's a lid for every pot, says my mom, and that applies to kids and colleges. That means that there's a good fit out there, though it's a journey to find it. That journey does not lead directly to the Ivy League. And why would it? That's EIGHT colleges -- and it excludes every other part of the country and some pretty heavyweights there -- MIT, anyone? Cooper Union? RISD? It also excludes ALL of the women's colleges AND the historically-black colleges.

And, not for nuthin' in our wonderful community, CHS proudly sent kids to all of the above: the Ivies, the amazings-across-the-country, the women's colleges, service academies, historically-black colleges and a big fat shout out to the bold, brave kids who left the country. We got them too, as well as community colleges…

Yay CHS!

MarciaW said:
and a big fat shout out to the bold, brave kids who left the country.

My nephew's in Berlin with Bard. Go, CHS!

Damn! How did I overlook the TWO kids who are at the Culinary Institute, top in its field.

What I'm saying is that this list reflection the glorious diversity of our kids' talents, their wide, wild dreams of adult life, and a community that says, "Go for it!" We don't make cookie-cutter kids here, and these lists reflect both where the kids come from and where -- all over the place -- they're headed.

(Oh, and Caltech….nice!)

MarciaW said:
Damn! How did I overlook the TWO kids who are at the Culinary Institute, top in its field.
What I'm saying is that this list reflection the glorious diversity of our kids' talents, their wide, wild dreams of adult life, and a community that says, "Go for it!" We don't make cookie-cutter kids here, and these lists reflect both where the kids come from and where -- all over the place -- they're headed.
(Oh, and Caltech….nice!)

Agree with this. It's not the numbers that are impressive (or embarrassing) but the diversity of paths CHS graduates take (though I have to admit that I'm hearing about some of these universities for the first time.)

Does anyone know the graduation rate and then what the number of kids going to college is when you factor in those that did not complete high school? I would also be interested in knowing the graduation rate of CHS grads from college. 92% is an impressive number for going on to college but it is not the full picture unless you factor in the dropout rate as well.

DaveSchmidt said:
It's a continuing challenge, not an embarrassment, but I think it's worth keeping in mind that the figure is probably closer to 82 percent of the Class of 2015 cohort if dropouts are accounted for.

ETA: The graduation rate the last several years, if memory serves, has ranged from a low of 85 percent (an apparent outlier) to 91 percent. I think the state posts the latest rates in December, so the 2015 figure won't be available for a few more months.

DaveSchmidt said:

DaveSchmidt said:
It's a continuing challenge, not an embarrassment, but I think it's worth keeping in mind that the figure is probably closer to 82 percent of the Class of 2015 cohort if dropouts are accounted for.

Thanks - did not see that.

Please tell me we are not holding our schools accountable for the dropout rate.

I should hope not. But we seem to be holding them accountable for other negative impacts of socio-economic factors, so it's not exactly a stretch if someone chooses to do so.

tjohn said:
Please tell me we are not holding our schools accountable for the dropout rate.

Speaking for myself, I can't tell you that. While acknowledging the serious, daunting difficulties, I don't see why the district should be satisfied with its graduation rate. But that's another thread topic.

The "non-white" numbers are deceiving since they largely refer to Asian Americans in many of the towns. Just saying.