Hi there - Thanks for reaching out.  Though I serve families across the state, country, and even internationally, I am not as familiar with Bexley as I am with Chagrin Falls. Also, I believe many high schools are great at prepping kids for college AND please know that getting into the Ivy League schools (or any of the Top 30 or so colleges) is a challenge.  I work with many amazing students (perfect scores, extremely high GPAs, amazing research and ECs) who don't get in. And some who do  ... but there's never an easy or predictable path. Always start by looking for a great-fit college based on student interests, geography, size preference, etc. and develop a balanced list of Reach- Solid-Likely colleges.  Working with a college advisor like myself helps your student discern their interests, research options, develop a great resume, create a balanced college list, and apply to colleges.

That said, doing a bit of research on Bexley tells me a few things, in comparison to Chagrin Falls. Overall the two schools have very similar stats (ACT scores, teacher qualifications, course offerings, etc) and seem to have similar student outcomes. I bet both would be great choices and may depend on whether you prefer Columbus (our state capital) to Cleveland. I've lived all over the US (and internationnally)  and I personally like mid-size cities like CLeveland because they have the sports teams, and CLE has the lake!  That said I grew up in Cincinnati which is much more mild ... so get ready for cold winters here in the snow belt if you move to CF!

So here are a few things to know about Chagrin Falls  Exempted Village School (CFEVSD) district:

- Is a smaller district and town - it appears to be about 1/2 the size of Bexley.

- Has approximately 170 students per grade.  All students in K- 3 attend Guerney Elementary, grades 4-6 attend The Intermediate School, 7&8 attend the Middle School, and 9-12 attend CF High School.

                - As a note, the school district lines can be a little tricky. People can have a Chagrin Falls zip code/mailing address and NOT be in the Chagrin Falls School District.  People who live in the villages of Bentleyville, Moreland Hills, and South Russell could be a part of the CF schools. 

- Chagrin Falls is known for delivering a very academic curriculum, driven by an extensive AP course offering  of about 28 AP courses and of course many honors tracks .  

- The school prides itself on strong athletics (especially lacrosse, golf, volleyball, and a others) strong theatre and arts, and lots of great EC's - especially SPeech & Debate. 

- CHagrin Falls is also a very quaint walkable town built on actual "falls" which makes it a scenic "downtown" where we have a farmers market, adorable stores, and many cute events. The kids in the Intermediate, Middle, and High School love to "walk to town" after school and play at the MS/HS fields. 

If you want to learn more about working with a college advisor, feel free to contact me.

Best Regards,
Sheree Gravely

Hi John - It's a simple question with a complicated answer because each student and family is different and presents their own challenges to answering the question.  As a College Advisor, our job is to  combine getting to know the student and family,  with knowledge about the college application process and about many individual colleges.

 I start with a questionnaire that the student and both parents fill out separately which gives me an idea of their goals.  The student then completes Interest Inventories to help us understand not only their career interests but their personality traits and the environments and ways in which they learn best.

Then I help the student start researching all aspects of their interests and the resulting college choices.  Once they become empowered with the knowledge of how to achieve their goals and objectives, the college options quickly fall into place.

Each student and family requires a personalized approach given all kinds of factors such as the obvious ones like financial constraints, academic performance, career interests but even the less obvious factors like feel of the college, preference for geography, campus atmosphere, available resources, etc.  It's amazing to see how even students who seem very similar on the outside (grades, interests) can end up having very different lists.  By walking through our process, we hope that each student has a college list that makes their post high school career the catapult to a successful and happy life!

Let me know if I can answer any more questions!