What's a top-ranking school about? I would encourage my kid to go there only if she has the aptitude and desire. When top school graduates come out of school, can they keep themselves on the top and how?

Not everyone is a genius, and not every genius keeps her/his sharpness the whole life. Instead, people networking plays a much bigger (and hidden) role than lots of us thought. So going to school is not only about learning skills and knowledge; it's also about starting and establishing people networking, both lateral and vertical, which will help them along the way.

I like Lasertron's postings on "top schools demystified", and I especially appreciate the word "observe" he/she used. Observe and let the kid do stuff, and give her/him a hand/word when it's the right time.

For me who has learnt the hard way, it's most important to keep your child's *self-esteem* and not to abuse it. Therefore, I'd rather have my kid always stay among top 10% in her class in a not-so-high-ranking school than have her struggle around top 75% in a top-ranking school. --- I don't raise a Seabiscuit (the horse) if I don't have to.

Look how many successful people are top-school graduates anyways (see my ancient postings here on a Washington Post survey).