Prep schools differ in admission standards

So you're a boys high school basketball player who has been advised to attend a prep school because you need to improve your grades or test scores, or because you'll have the opportunity to play in front of more college coaches.

Before you give notice to your high school coach that you're packing up and heading back East, there are some things you should know.

Prep schools that are known for being basketball powerhouses fall under two categories.

There are four-year private schools such as Oak Hill Academy, Mt. Zion Christian Academy and Montross Christian Academy. Then there are post-graduate prep schools such as Maine Central Institute, St. Thomas More and Winchendon School.

Oak Hill Academy is one of the few four-year schools that are boarding schools while almost every post-graduate school is a boarding school.

Four-year schools operate the same way public high schools do by adhering to the admissions and athletics guidelines of each state.

For example, in Nevada if you turn 19 before Sept. 1, you are not allowed to compete in public high school sports. The same rules apply to kids who attend the private Meadows School in northwest Las Vegas.

Kids who have already met graduation requirements for their high schools are not allowed to transfer to a four-year prep school, even if their grades don't qualify for acceptance into a Division I college.

Post-graduate prep schools differ from regular prep schools because they offer a fifth year of school.

These schools will admit kids who already have graduated from high school, but the additional year will not count towards improving their grade-point average. So if you've graduated with a 1.5 GPA and think that spending a year at a school like MCI will help boost that number, forget it.

"The kids who attend the post-graduate prep schools normally have completed or attended four years of high school," national high school recruiting expert Bob Gibbons said. "The majority of instances are kids who are partial qualifiers academically, meaning they have a high-enough GPA, but haven't got the test score to match.

"Or if they fell in that small number who have chosen not to graduate and have chosen to improve their GPA. It amounts to a fifth year of high school without losing any college eligibility."

At post-graduate prep schools, if you're 20 or older, you can play during the regular season but you can't compete in postseason play.

But just because you can drain 3-pointers like the Indiana Pacers' Reggie Miller or have a crossover dribble like Allen Iverson of the Philadelphia 76ers, don't think you're a lock to transfer.

Most schools have tough admissions standards and all applicants -- including star basketball players -- must go through a rigorous screening process.

"We put them through a committee and look at each file and see if a kid will fit our school profile and what we're trying to do as a school," said Clint Williams, director of admissions at MCI. "The focus here at MCI is academics.

"They are the priority. We definitely treat everybody on a equal basis with regards to admission and financial aid. We do deny a lot of kids the opportunity because they're not qualified academically so to speak."

Prep schools aren't cheap, either.

Many can cost from $10,000 to more than $20,000 a year and only a few offer athletic scholarships.

"We give financial aid solely based on need," Oak Hill head coach Steve Smith said. "Almost every player does get some money, but the rest is up to them."

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