NMSF for DC

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For being such fancy privates these numbers aren’t impressive. TJ kicks the snot out of them.

Well TJ is an entirely different culture. It's test-prep central.

My kid is in 11th at NCS and the school doesn't offer the 9th grade PSAT. They did offer the 10th grade one but it was on a weekend and less than 1/2 of the class took it.
There is surprisingly little test prep going on by students now in 11th grade. Maybe 50/50 among my kid's friends?
Many kids my daughter knows are planning on taking the junior year PSAT cold (cold meaning they haven't done any SAT prep yet and have yet to take ANY SAT/ACT/PSAT, etc).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:St Albans trounces everyone by a mile.

5/71.

Of course STA has the highest NMSF/senior ratio by a mile. It’s a boys school.

NMSFs are disproportionately boys, and that’s especially true in DC, where the cut score for NMSF is sky high: roughly 2/3 of the DC winners this year (and last year, when the cut score was just as high) are boys.

If you add the NCS and STA numbers together, you get 9/141, which is still the best in town but much more in line with the ratios at the gender-balanced Sidwell and the disproportionately-female Walls.

“If you add the NCS and STA numbers together, you get 9/141, which is still the best in town…”

No, that’s not better than Sidwell’s 8/125.

Correct, they’re essentially tied. (And LOL at me making an arithmetic error in this context!)

NCS only has 2…so that’s 7/141…which is worse than 8/125.

Why are you combing STA and NCS? They're completely different schools with completely different curriculums--they just share land on the Cathedral Close.

I don't understand. The schools have entirely different curriculums.

Nonsense. NCS and STA don’t “just share land on the Cathedral Close.” They are brother/sister schools with a long history.

NCS and STA also have a formal coordinate program. “This allows students to take advantage of each school's outstanding teachers, state-of-the-art facilities, and diversity and depth of programs. And it significantly expands the academic and extracurricular options available to each young woman and man on the Close.”

Further, “coordinate opportunities increase when NCS [and St. Albans] students enter the Upper School. Nearly all art activities and classes are coordinate. English classes for grades 11 and 12 are coed, as are many elective classes.”

You're reading from the website. I have kids at the schools. There are no coed classes through 10th grade except for art. So kids taking the PSAT in Oct of 11th have not taken more than a month of any coed classes except for maybe photography or painting.

Then there are coed English classes beginning in 11th but enrollment in the opposite school's classes are extremely limited---4 kids max from the opposite school. My daughter is a junior and she and her friends were not able to get a STA class this year. Believe me, they tried.
They'll be seniors before they take a STA academic class--if ever.

Well, NCS should stop lying on its website. They’re making it seem like students will be able to have a fairly integrated, coed US experience. If that’s not the case, then parents should be aware.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For being such fancy privates these numbers aren’t impressive. TJ kicks the snot out of them.

Well TJ is an entirely different culture. It's test-prep central.

My kid is in 11th at NCS and the school doesn't offer the 9th grade PSAT. They did offer the 10th grade one but it was on a weekend and less than 1/2 of the class took it.
There is surprisingly little test prep going on by students now in 11th grade. Maybe 50/50 among my kid's friends?
Many kids my daughter knows are planning on taking the junior year PSAT cold (cold meaning they haven't done any SAT prep yet and have yet to take ANY SAT/ACT/PSAT, etc).

I would hope so. You're paying the exorbitant tuition so that your kid can get into college without testing!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For being such fancy privates these numbers aren’t impressive. TJ kicks the snot out of them.

Well TJ is an entirely different culture. It's test-prep central.

My kid is in 11th at NCS and the school doesn't offer the 9th grade PSAT. They did offer the 10th grade one but it was on a weekend and less than 1/2 of the class took it.
There is surprisingly little test prep going on by students now in 11th grade. Maybe 50/50 among my kid's friends?
Many kids my daughter knows are planning on taking the junior year PSAT cold (cold meaning they haven't done any SAT prep yet and have yet to take ANY SAT/ACT/PSAT, etc).

I would hope so. You're paying the exorbitant tuition so that your kid can get into college without testing!

Jealous?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For being such fancy privates these numbers aren’t impressive. TJ kicks the snot out of them.

Well TJ is an entirely different culture. It's test-prep central.

My kid is in 11th at NCS and the school doesn't offer the 9th grade PSAT. They did offer the 10th grade one but it was on a weekend and less than 1/2 of the class took it.
There is surprisingly little test prep going on by students now in 11th grade. Maybe 50/50 among my kid's friends?
Many kids my daughter knows are planning on taking the junior year PSAT cold (cold meaning they haven't done any SAT prep yet and have yet to take ANY SAT/ACT/PSAT, etc).

I would hope so. You're paying the exorbitant tuition so that your kid can get into college without testing!

Jealous?

Is your ego held aloft by money?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is this one student a typical result for GDS?

It’s down. Hard to know if it’s a blip but if you read the private school board there are rumors that GDS is moving in a less academic direction.

Majority of GDS kids sit out PSAT. So there is that. My DC didn’t even take the test. Most of his friends didn’t.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is this one student a typical result for GDS?

It’s down. Hard to know if it’s a blip but if you read the private school board there are rumors that GDS is moving in a less academic direction.

Majority of GDS kids sit out PSAT. So there is that. My DC didn’t even take the test. Most of his friends didn’t.

Curious why?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is this one student a typical result for GDS?

It’s down. Hard to know if it’s a blip but if you read the private school board there are rumors that GDS is moving in a less academic direction.

Majority of GDS kids sit out PSAT. So there is that. My DC didn’t even take the test. Most of his friends didn’t.

Curious why?

Probably because it rarely leads to any significant scholarship dollars and colleges don't really care about the NMSF designation.
It's really not emphasized at the private schools around here. Many kids don't take it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is this one student a typical result for GDS?

It’s down. Hard to know if it’s a blip but if you read the private school board there are rumors that GDS is moving in a less academic direction.

Majority of GDS kids sit out PSAT. So there is that. My DC didn’t even take the test. Most of his friends didn’t.

Curious why?

Probably because it rarely leads to any significant scholarship dollars and colleges don't really care about the NMSF designation.
It's really not emphasized at the private schools around here. Many kids don't take it.

Clearly many Sidwell, Potomac and STA kids take it…as well as all the Catholic school kids.

Your answer doesn’t really seem to make much sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is this one student a typical result for GDS?

It’s down. Hard to know if it’s a blip but if you read the private school board there are rumors that GDS is moving in a less academic direction.

Majority of GDS kids sit out PSAT. So there is that. My DC didn’t even take the test. Most of his friends didn’t.

Curious why?

Probably because it rarely leads to any significant scholarship dollars and colleges don't really care about the NMSF designation.
It's really not emphasized at the private schools around here. Many kids don't take it.

Clearly many Sidwell, Potomac and STA kids take it…as well as all the Catholic school kids.

Your answer doesn’t really seem to make much sense.

The anti-testing culture at GDS has gone farther than at any of the others. St. Albans still has some AP courses. Sidwell still offers the exams. GDS has no AP courses and, as of this year, they have stopped offering the exams. I’m sure the GDS people think it’s “private school culture,” but it’s really GDS culture.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is this one student a typical result for GDS?

It’s down. Hard to know if it’s a blip but if you read the private school board there are rumors that GDS is moving in a less academic direction.

Majority of GDS kids sit out PSAT. So there is that. My DC didn’t even take the test. Most of his friends didn’t.

Curious why?

Probably because it rarely leads to any significant scholarship dollars and colleges don't really care about the NMSF designation.
It's really not emphasized at the private schools around here. Many kids don't take it.

Really? I thought colleges actually do find it meaningful.

(I was one and I definitely think it helped get me in)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is this one student a typical result for GDS?

It’s down. Hard to know if it’s a blip but if you read the private school board there are rumors that GDS is moving in a less academic direction.

Majority of GDS kids sit out PSAT. So there is that. My DC didn’t even take the test. Most of his friends didn’t.

Curious why?

Probably because it rarely leads to any significant scholarship dollars and colleges don't really care about the NMSF designation.
It's really not emphasized at the private schools around here. Many kids don't take it.

Really? I thought colleges actually do find it meaningful.

(I was one and I definitely think it helped get me in)

Many colleges care about the NMSF designation, and some offer significant scholarship dollars for those who earn it.

The GDS poster is wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is this one student a typical result for GDS?

It’s down. Hard to know if it’s a blip but if you read the private school board there are rumors that GDS is moving in a less academic direction.

Majority of GDS kids sit out PSAT. So there is that. My DC didn’t even take the test. Most of his friends didn’t.

Curious why?

Probably because it rarely leads to any significant scholarship dollars and colleges don't really care about the NMSF designation.
It's really not emphasized at the private schools around here. Many kids don't take it.

Really? I thought colleges actually do find it meaningful.

(I was one and I definitely think it helped get me in)

Many colleges care about the NMSF designation, and some offer significant scholarship dollars for those who earn it.

The GDS poster is wrong.

I'm not actually a GDS parent.
On the college board here, posters are always going on that the NMSF designation does not mean much to colleges. I don't know why but I've read it on DCUM many times.

Here are the only colleges that offer money for the "finalist" designation (not semifinalist but finalist which requires a further essay and selection): https://www.collegetransitions.com/dataverse/national-merit-scholarships
Most (of this already limited pool) give $500-2000 per year. It's not big money.
Alabama is the exception but GDS students are generally not attending Alabama.

[Anonymous]

DC numbers are sad compared to MD and VA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC numbers are sad compared to MD and VA.

That is because the DC cutoff is set to the highest in the country be design.