List: Twin Cities Schools Sending Students To Elite Universities

TWIN CITIES, MN — There are all kinds of rankings of high schools in the United States, with Minnesota schools usually making a strong showing. A new list ranks top schools that are funneling the most students to three elite universities.

The new website, called PolarisList, now offers a new way to rank high schools, by the number of students the school sent to Harvard, Princeton and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology between the years 2015 to 2017.

PolarisList, founded by Harvard College alumnus Sai To Yeung, is his attempt "to demystify the education planning process for families across the country, and across all socioeconomic levels."

In the site's methodology, Yeung explains why those three universities were selected to anchor the ranking:

We decided to focus on Harvard, Princeton, and MIT based on a combination of their selectivity and their accessibility to lower income students.

Selectivity is important to us because it means these schools have their pick of the lot when it comes to applicants. If a high school is able to send students to one of these three schools, it means that the school has created an environment to support high achieving students, whether it's in academics or extracurriculars.

Accessibility is just as important to us because we believe a college is only as good as its student body, and a student body is at its strongest when it encompasses a diversity of experiences. According to U.S. News and World Report, these three schools are among the colleges with the highest percentage of students receiving Pell Grants, which are most often given to undergrads with family incomes below $20,000. This means that these schools all offer generous financial aid that make it possible for all students to attend without significant burden.

Here are the top Twin Cities schools sending students to Harvard, Princeton and MIT:

Edina Senior High School

• Harvard: 6
• Princeton: 8
• MIT: 2

The Blake School

• Harvard: 3
• Princeton: 4
• MIT: 2

Wayzata High School

• Harvard: 3
• Princeton: 3
• MIT: 3

Mounds View Senior High School

• Harvard: 2
• Princeton: 1
• MIT: 1

Eagan Senior High School

• Harvard: 0
• Princeton: 1
• MIT: 2

Eden Prairie Senior High School

• Harvard: 1
• Princeton: 2
• MIT: 0

St. Paul Academy - Summit

• Harvard: 1
• Princeton: 2
• MIT: 0

Stillwater Area High School

• Harvard: 2
• Princeton: 0
• MIT: 1

Break School

• Harvard: 1
• Princeton: 0
• MIT: 1

Cloquer Senior

• Harvard: 2
• Princeton: 0
• MIT: 0

Eastview Senior High School

• Harvard: 1
• Princeton: 1
• MIT: 0

Hopkins Senior High School

• Harvard: 2
• Princeton: 0
• MIT: 0

Minnetonka Senior High School

• Harvard: 0
• Princeton: 0
• MIT: 2

Prior Lake High School

• Harvard: 1
• Princeton: 1
• MIT: 0

Providence Academy

• Harvard: 2
• Princeton: 0
• MIT: 0

Henry Sibley

• Harvard: 1
• Princeton: 0
• MIT: 0

Woodbury Senior High School

• Harvard: 1
• Princeton: 0
• MIT: 1

Academy of Holy Angels

• Harvard: 0
• Princeton: 1
• MIT: 0

Benilde-St. Margaret’s School

• Harvard: 1
• Princeton: 0
• MIT: 0

Central Senior High School

• Harvard: 0
• Princeton: 0
• MIT: 1

Champlin Park High School

• Harvard: 0
• Princeton: 0
• MIT: 1

Mounds Park Academy

• Harvard: 0
• Princeton: 1
• MIT: 0

New Life Academy

• Harvard: 0
• Princeton: 0
• MIT: 1

Northfield Senior High School

• Harvard: 1
• Princeton: 0
• MIT: 0

Orono Senior High School

Harvard: 1

Princeton: 0

MIT: 0

Rosemount Senior High School

• Harvard: 1
• Princeton: 0
• MIT: 0

Shakopee Senior High School

• Harvard: 1
• Princeton: 0
• MIT: 0

Southwest Senior High School

• Harvard: 0
• Princeton: 1
• MIT: 0

St. Louis Park Senior High School

• Harvard: 0
• Princeton: 1
• MIT: 0

International School of Minnesota

• Harvard: 1
• Princeton: 0
• MIT: 0

Click here to view the entire list.

Also contributing to this story was Rich Kirby, Patch Staff.

Image via Shutterstock