What kind of a high school is 85% male? That's a bit unusual, no? My post was a bit sarcastic, I've done quite well considering I mostly avoid my college of study and have been heavily occupied in two organizations plus our center for leadership and community service, and the music scene of the city at large. You are right though, it is all about the extracurriculars. Much easier to find people of common interests while still having them come from a diversity of genders, sexualities, cultures, etc.
Yeah, it's a tiny private school with some pretty serious privilege issues. It's 90% white, 85% male, etc., probably due to a combination of the surrounding area, the high tuition, and the stated mission (school for the gifted - not that white males tend to be more gifted, but I wouldn't be surprised if white males were more often designated gifted).
Ah, we have a high school like that back home and I recently worked about a mile away from Phillips Academy. Talk about privileged. But you know, I'd like to think that while they're not exactly melting pots, that places like those set a person up to go almost wherever they would like, and open up a lot more doors down the road. I'd think a lot of it has to do with socioeconomic standing as well.