Here’s How Many Students NC Schools Place At Elite Universities

CHARLOTTE, NC — There are all kinds of rankings of high schools in the United States, with North Carolina schools usually making a strong showing. A new ranking of which schools are funneling the most students to three elite universities ranks one North Carolina school in the Top 50.

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."

SEE ALSO: NC Has 50 U.S. News Best Schools In The Country For 2018

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.

The only North Carolina school that cracked the top 50 in the U.S. was North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics (No. 25 overall and No. 1 in North Carolina), which sent 24 students to those three institutions during the period.

At the top of the national list was Thomas Jefferson High School in Alexandria with 79 students sent to Harvard, Princeton and MIT during the period, followed by Stuyvesant High School in New York, which sent 71 students, and Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, NH, at No. 3, which sent 70 students. Rounding out the top five were The Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, N.J., with 63 students, and Phillips Academy in Andover, MA, with 62 students.

Top North Carolina schools (private and public) based on how many students were sent to Harvard, Princeton and MIT:

• North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics (Durham), with a total of 24 sent to those three institutions
• Durham Academy (Durham), 13 students sent
• East Chapel Hill High School (Chapel Hill), 9 students sent
• Cary Academy (Cary), 6 students sent
• Chapel Hill High School (Chapel Hill), 5 students sent
• Charlotte Latin School (Charlotte), 5 students sent
• Providence Day School (Charlotte), 4 students sent
• Cardinal Gibbons High School (Raleigh), 3 students sent
• Forsyth Country Day School (Lewisville), 3 students sent
• Raleigh Charter High School (Raleigh), 3 students sent

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Top Charlotte area schools (private and public) based on how many they sent to Harvard, Princeton and MIT:

• Charlotte Latin Schools, with a total of 5 sent to those three institution
• Providence Day School, 4 students sent
• South Mecklenburg High School, 3 students sent
• Butler High School (Matthews), 2 students sent
• Charlotte Country Day School, 2 students sent
• Mallard Creek High School, 2 students sent
• North Mecklenburg High School (Huntersville), 2 students sent
• Providence High School, 2 students sent
• Woodlawn School (Davidson), 2 students sent
• Ardrey Kell High School, 1 student sent

Click here to visit PolarisList.

Also contributing to this story was Rich Kirby, Patch Staff

Image via Shutterstock