Who defines the Big 3?

[Anonymous]

and what is it based on, other than being the most expensive and trying to "keep up with the Jones'".

[Anonymous]

about 10 moms who stay on this board 24/7 and feel the need to justify to someone -- anyone -- the $$ they are spending to send their kids to the most expensive (but far from the best) private schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:about 10 moms who stay on this board 24/7 and feel the need to justify to someone -- anyone -- the $$ they are spending to send their kids to the most expensive (but far from the best) private schools

Mwhaahah!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:about 10 moms who stay on this board 24/7 and feel the need to justify to someone -- anyone -- the $$ they are spending to send their kids to the most expensive (but far from the best) private schools

SAHMs who can volunteer b/c of a large inheritance that makes life cushy or a husband bringing in the bucks

Really - think about it: Money talks. And when you have the means, you have the time to invest in promoting your school's image. It's really NOT unlike some of the public schools in the wealthier areas where parents run the schools. It boils down to money.

A woman working two jobs to make ends meet doesn't have the time to sit on a board, nor can she afford the time to join the PTA to do some fundraising.

So who defines the Big 3? definitely not a member of the working class

[Anonymous]

The people around here with the most time on their hands. Personally I vote for replacing the Big Three with the Fab Four. Then everyone's happy (except, of course, for people whose happiness depends on excluding others, but do we have to worry about them?).

[Anonymous]

Sorry about the rejection letter.

[Anonymous]

What rejection letter?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:about 10 moms who stay on this board 24/7 and feel the need to justify to someone -- anyone -- the $$ they are spending to send their kids to the most expensive (but far from the best) private schools

SAHMs who can volunteer b/c of a large inheritance that makes life cushy or a husband bringing in the bucks

Really - think about it: Money talks. And when you have the means, you have the time to invest in promoting your school's image. It's really NOT unlike some of the public schools in the wealthier areas where parents run the schools. It boils down to money.

A woman working two jobs to make ends meet doesn't have the time to sit on a board, nor can she afford the time to join the PTA to do some fundraising.

So who defines the Big 3? definitely not a member of the working class

People who live in NW DC in certain neighborhoods plus some from nearby sections of Bethesda/Chevy Chase. The assumption is Beauvoir is an easy feed to NCS and STA and Sidwell and GDS are k-12. Once into either of the 3 and you're done until college for the vast majority. It is easier to compete/influence admissions at the very early grades than when hard objective measurements come into play for admissions like grades, SSAT, actual sports teams, actual instruments played. Then some schools get really bothersome [like STA] and regard themselves as more than a neighborhood school and admit all sorts of undesirables from places like Virginia. All know they have a couple of old fridges out back behind the chicken coop.

[Anonymous]

And, 8:30, whom do you choose to designate the Fab Four? Besides, I think that name is already taken by those guys from Liverpool....

[Anonymous]

You're kidding...really? I didn't just make it up?

[Anonymous]

9:00, as tarty as this whole post is, you do make a point that I had never thought about.... are the so-called big 3 schools that you mention the only ones that go (or feed) pre-K through 12, straight through? So maybe that's the appeal, and why parents of kids at these schools use that ridiculous moniker, even though we all know there are many other equally strong private schools around that don't offer all of the grade levels.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:about 10 moms who stay on this board 24/7 and feel the need to justify to someone -- anyone -- the $$ they are spending to send their kids to the most expensive (but far from the best) private schools

High Five!!

[Anonymous]

Are you proposing a new classification?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:9:00, as tarty as this whole post is, you do make a point that I had never thought about.... are the so-called big 3 schools that you mention the only ones that go (or feed) pre-K through 12, straight through? So maybe that's the appeal, and why parents of kids at these schools use that ridiculous moniker, even though we all know there are many other equally strong private schools around that don't offer all of the grade levels.

For what it's worth, the only place I have EVER encountered the term "Big 3" is on DCUM. And at least for parents who have kids at those schools, it's used as a shorthand which allows you to reveal not-too-much info, not in a bragging way (As in, "my child is at a Big 3, and this is how admissions worked for us", not "my Big 3 child has already been accepted for Harvard, even though he's only 8).

[Anonymous]

How about using "highly competitive" as a substitute term? It both sums up the admissions process and refers to the least attractive aspect of high school life at these schools!