Sidwell Obsession
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Anonymous
| Not to change this thread, but we were looking at applying to some of the NE boarding schools, and were surprised to see that the application fee at Andover is $30. That, compared to these Montessori applications for PRESCHOOL that are $100 each. What does that say about DC? |
Anonymous
| Funny pp...it says the boarding schools need apps and the pre-schools will soak you every time. |
Anonymous
| I just checked Exeter and it is $50. Still surprised. I would have expected $100-$150. |
Anonymous
Since when does someone expressing a preference of one school over another deserve this type of a small league response? Is this poster so weak of heart and mind, insecure and defensive for responding is this fashion? Buck-up lady. Wash your gullet with hydrogen peroxide. |
Anonymous
Your bush league comments deserve no more. Grow up, son. |
Anonymous
Just look at the college admissions stats for Exeter/Andover, etc. and compare them with Sidwell. And look at the facilities and course offerings that those schools have compared to Sidwell (the NE schools have multiple gyms, pools, ice rinks, fields upon fields, college-level laboratories, entire buildings devoted just to music, tons of art studios and their own galleries on site, boat houses for rowing, etc.). PP isn't being a "jackass" but is just stating fact. There are not really any private schools in the DC area that can compare or compete with that, even due to space constraints. That's not to say that one cannot get a good education at the DC day schools. But it's like comparing apples and oranges. I personally would never send my kid to live away at age 14. The PP who was a day student was lucky to have the best of both worlds. |
Anonymous
PP is a jackass because his post -- off-topic and posted 3 days after this thread had died -- was just a crow of "Hey, look at me! I'm better than all of you bitches!" And he writes like an insecure 15-year-old boy, which is probably appropriate. Andover is an excellent school, but PP is a total ass for bragging about it in that way. I also think you're wrong to agree with PP that DC schools cannot stack up to NE boarding schools. You mentioned college admissions stats, so let's look at those. Marticulationstats.org tracks matriculation rates to "top" & "strong" colleges; here are the numbers: Andover 62%/79% = average 70.5% NCS 57%/78% = average 67.5% Groton 57%/76% = average 66.5% Exeter 56%/76% = average 66% Deerfield 50%/76% = average 63% Milton 51%/70% = average 60.5% St Albans 51%/67% = average 59% Maret 45%/72% = average 58.5% Choate 45%/69% = average 57% The top DC schools certainly have numbers comparable to top boarding schools. Even when you look at Ivy or HYPMS admissions (which I think is an unfair contest because of geography issues), those DC schools are certainly in the same ballpark as these top-end NE boarding schools, and even best a few of them. Similarly, if you look at other academic measures -- like National Merit Semifinalist numbers, Presidential Scholar numbers, reported SAT averages, performance on AMC math contests -- several DC schools are completely comparable with the NE boarding schools, and score better than many. And that's not even looking at magnet schools like Blair and TJ, which certainly play in this same academic league. When you talk about numbers of ice rinks and size of buildings, I completely agree with you that there's no comparison. But I think we'd agree that it's apples-to-oranges, since the boarding schools are building campuses meant to house students 24-7 in fairly remote locations. Schools in urban areas don't really have a need to supply those things. It's sort of like looking at a $500,000 mansion on five acres in Cleveland Ohio, and wishing you could get the same bargain in Cleveland Park. Not going to happen, and it's not because Cleveland Ohio is better than Cleveland Park. To be clear, I'm not trying to take anything away from these boarding schools. They're all excellent places to get an education. And I'm glad PP appreciates how fortunate he was to live close enough to Andover to attend as a day student. But it's just inaccurate to say DC schools "pale in comparison." |
Anonymous
| The poster is right. STA and NCS are really the only schools in the area in the same ballpark as some of the elite boarding schools in the NE in regards to matriculation to top colleges. As a whole, the private school scene in DC/MD/VA cannot compare to schools like Andover and Exeter. Not even close. |
Anonymous
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Ditto.
The poster calling folk a jackass for expressing an opinion is simply a paranoid and neurotic weakling. |
Anonymous
Understandably, STA was modelled after Endicott Peabody's, Groton School. |
Anonymous
| I guess I can see why people would be obsessed with Sidwell. It's a great school! |
Anonymous
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Would like to know where the PP got his statistics and how accurate they are. Also you have to consider the size of the graduating classes matriculating at these top colleges and universities. Andover at 70 percent is the equivalent of probably 15-20 students going to EACH Ivy, Stanford, MIT, Berkeley, Georgetown, etc. Whereas at STA, NCS and Sidwell it's probably one or two students, depending on any year.
Also the NE boarding schools have a leg up BC of their impressive athletics and arts programs. Ivys recruit heavily there for sports like crew, lacrosse, ice hockey, music, etc. I am an Exeter grad and was middle of the pack academically and scored in the 80th percentiles on the SAT. But I was a talented musician and varsity athlete (crew) so I was able to get into Princeton because of those things aside from academics. The Exeter name and rep made the difference since my scores and grades were B+ range. The Exeter reputation made the difference for me. Even with my athletic and music background I don't think a DC dayschool could have landed me at Princeton. |
Anonymous
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To the PP...if you were a Varsity level crew athlete with that type of musical ability, then yes, a local DC Day School (most of them and the publics have crew) public or private probably would have worked for you. Indeed, it is possible, even probably that you would have been an A or A- student with the same extracurricular credential.
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Anonymous
| 07:07 - I doubt it. |
Anonymous
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I am the poster who was a day student at Andover. I'm sorry if my earlier comments classified me as a "jackass." I didn't mean to come off that way. Heck, I was an Andover "townie!" I went to Andover with no legacy, and was in public school up until grade 9. My other siblings went to public schools.
The point I was trying to make is that this board is riddled with all kinds of petty competitive school-related infighting. Parents putting down one DC day schools over another, competing with each other for spots for their 3-year-olds trying to plot which feeder Pre-K program will get them into Sidwell or whatever. I was merely trying to point out that there are other options which some would say are superior to the microcosm that is DC private schools. I still maintain that Andover/Exeter/St. Pauls and many of the NY and NE private schools are both academically and extracurricularly superior to pretty much all of the DC day schools. There is no Andover or Exeter equivalent in DC, period. Sidwell is the only school that comes close, which explains why the last two presidents who had elementary/middle-school-aged children all went to Sidwell. To the PP who went to Exeter, I understand where you are coming from. Andover was a similar experience for me and many of my classmates. I was also middle-of-the-pack grades-wise (Andover grades on a scale of 1-6, with 6 being the highest, and my average was a 4.5). However, I was very involved in theater and studio arts, so I was able to attend Brown. I attribute Andover's network and relationship with college admissions in large part to my acceptance at Brown. I fully believe my Andover attendance made the difference for me, too. |