Arlington: 2018 college admissions

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in the Yorktown zone, and based on the dynamics I see in my neighborhood, these statistics don't concern me. Most of my neighbors are not drowning in money like some people want to believe of 22207, they are people who stretched their budgets a bit more to buy a smaller house on a smaller lot than they could have gotten in Fairfax but who wanted shorter commutes for more family time and better overall quality of life. These same people tend to prefer UVa and similar over Ivies for college because they see it as a better value and thus a better route for setting their kids up for a good quality of life later (lower debt burden after college = less pressure and more flexibility). Yes, Ivies are great, but not the be-all and end-all that someone should bankrupt themselves over. Their kids are more like to apply early to UVa and forego Ivy applications if they get in even if they could be competitive for Ivies. Not everyone fits that mold, of course, but I've also seen a trend for the families who are really gunning for Ivies to put their kids into private school early on (or if they can't afford private move to Fairfax in the hopes of getting into TJ, because they don't want to drive their kid from Arlington to TJ and then back the other way for work every day) because they feel that will maximize their chances. What this leaves is an applicant pool from Yorktown that is somewhat self-selecting and less likely to strive for Ivy for the sake of Ivy.

So why 138 applications from Yorktown to Ivies last year? It's not the number of applications that is low, but the number of admissions.

Public schools elsewhere in the Mid-Atlantic and elsewhere in the DMV fare much better. APS has really done a poor job with YHS.

Those applications also likely are not 138 kids but multiple applications from a smaller set of kids so you can't tell what the actual % admitted to at least one Ivy is.

It looks like it was 118 applications (not 138) and three acceptances to 2 schools (Cornell and Penn). It's possible that only two Yorktown students were admitted to those schools.

Given North Arlington demographics and how often people claim to move from DC for the schools, there's no way that isn't a disappointing outcome.

Why does moving "for the schools" = my kid must go to an Ivy? Some people really don't care. Or some might care a little but are in that spot where they can't afford those schools but make to much to get financial aid so they figure it's not worth applying when their kid will be fine at a strong state school or a lower-tier private that gives great merit aid (IME this is a lot of Arlington families). But those who do care a LOT about Ivy admission find it impossible to believe that others don't think it's super important. So this is an argument that will circle around endlessly.

Oh, the typical Arlington rationale when something doesn't come out on top like in Arlington's self-delusion.

And, again, you illustrate the bolded point. My kids had/are having a happy experience at W-L, one is already at a college that is a good fit for him, I'm not concerned about their future, and I like my community and my commute to work. I know it's really hard for you to believe but I seriously don't give a crap about the Ivy admission rate and I don't care what HS "comes out on top." I'm happy if those who do think that is the most important thing about a HS move elsewhere and dial down the HS pressure here.

This indivual clearly has a financial interest predicated on others sharing his/her perspective.

[Anonymous]

We live in Arlington, love the schools, and I spend absolutely no time reading threads about schools in other systems, much less CREATING threads about them.

It’s kind of mind boggling that people do this. Is it mental illness? Lack of contentment?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We live in Arlington, love the schools, and I spend absolutely no time reading threads about schools in other systems, much less CREATING threads about them.

It’s kind of mind boggling that people do this. Is it mental illness? Lack of contentment?

+1

It’s definitely pathetic.

[Anonymous]

Keep in mind that the major APS enrollment bump (aka families who moved to APS for the schools) is just starting to enter middle school. So who knows how those numbers will change in the future. And lots of the kids in our ES have parents who attended Ivies (or places like Stanford, Duke, etc.) who may have a legacy advantage when they are old enough to apply.

[Anonymous]

Interesting how everyone is ignoring the post that demonstrated without question that the numbers being reported by the magazine are wrong.

[Anonymous]

More interesting is that the TC troll who started this thread as been completely ignored.
Don’t Nobody care about TC.


Or they should have started a thread comparing TC to Wakefield. That would have at least made sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Interesting how everyone is ignoring the post that demonstrated without question that the numbers being reported by the magazine are wrong.

I think most everyone understands that the magazines have ballpark figures, not exact figures. People can still draw conclusions from those ballpark figures.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Interesting how everyone is ignoring the post that demonstrated without question that the numbers being reported by the magazine are wrong.

I think most everyone understands that the magazines have ballpark figures, not exact figures. People can still draw conclusions from those ballpark figures.

And the conclusions is:

Nobody even bothers with TC Williams.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: More interesting is that the TC troll who started this thread as been completely ignored.
Don’t Nobody care about TC.


Or they should have started a thread comparing TC to Wakefield. That would have at least made sense.

I think you've hit on a point the OP was making---nobody speaks highly of TC and people tend to praise Arlington. Looking at these stats, though, I can't see why anyone would move from Alexandria in search of better schools in APS. Just doesn't seem worth the effort.

[Anonymous]

Just curious, is "Legacy" really a guarantee admission? So, what one must do to earn a spot in "legacy"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just curious, is "Legacy" really a guarantee admission? So, what one must do to earn a spot in "legacy"?

Depends on many factors. But for example, DH went to an Ivy, does some volunteer work for them but not loads, we donate every year but not more than a couple hundred dollars, we had three DCs apply in the last 6 years each of whom had the right grades, scores, recs, ECs, etc. and all three were waitlisted. A polite no under the circumstances. Just for fun number 4 will likely apply to see if she gets the same result.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just curious, is "Legacy" really a guarantee admission? So, what one must do to earn a spot in "legacy"?

Depends on many factors. But for example, DH went to an Ivy, does some volunteer work for them but not loads, we donate every year but not more than a couple hundred dollars, we had three DCs apply in the last 6 years each of whom had the right grades, scores, recs, ECs, etc. and all three were waitlisted. A polite no under the circumstances. Just for fun number 4 will likely apply to see if she gets the same result.

up the donation ten fold and she's a lock. and you know that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Interesting how everyone is ignoring the post that demonstrated without question that the numbers being reported by the magazine are wrong.

I think most everyone understands that the magazines have ballpark figures, not exact figures. People can still draw conclusions from those ballpark figures.

Ballpark? I don't think so. Another example is VCU. According to the magazine, 394 Arlington public school students applied and 244 got in, for an admit rate of 62 percent. Yet, according the SCHEV, only 288 from the whole county, including privates, applied -- and 86 percent got in. That's a huge discrepency.

Similarly, the magazine says 285 applied to William and Mary and 143 -- over FIFTY percent -- got in, while the magazine says 251 applied applied from publics and only 88 -- 35 percent -- got in.

Then there's JMU. SCHEV says 337 applied and 73 percent got in. The mag says 386 applied and 55 percent got in.

Finally, for good measure, Washington & Lee, the top private school in VA. SCHEV says 21 applied and 3 got in. The magazine says 22 applied and only 1 got in.

The numbers are't even ballpark.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like Arlington residents should stop buying copies of some glossy magazine that tries to hype Arlington as a place to live, but often falls flat on its face.

[Anonymous]

For good measure, here's George Mason:

SCHEV: 269/191 (71 percent accepted)

Magazine: 405/220 (54 percent accepted)

BIG difference