National Merit Semifinalist for DMV Private Schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why don’t the T30 (Ivys, S, MIT, top SLACs, etc) simply fill their schools with these high performers rather than affirmative action for Whites and all the rest?

Because diverse student bodies offer a better undergraduate experience than one with only academic grinds. This coming from someone who was admitted to HYPS schools solely due to academics. I would've hated college if everyone were just like me. The experience was so much better being around peers who were stars in their own non-academic areas -- whether athletics, arts, etc. but could also hold their own academically.

I learned as much from them as from my professors.

You've have hated college if everyone were just like you and you were admitted to HYPS schools solely due to academics.

Do you support that your HYPS school did not admit you, and you went to a state college?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why don’t the T30 (Ivys, S, MIT, top SLACs, etc) simply fill their schools with these high performers rather than affirmative action for Whites and all the rest?

Because diverse student bodies offer a better undergraduate experience than one with only academic grinds. This coming from someone who was admitted to HYPS schools solely due to academics. I would've hated college if everyone were just like me. The experience was so much better being around peers who were stars in their own non-academic areas -- whether athletics, arts, etc. but could also hold their own academically.

I learned as much from them as from my professors.

You've have hated college if everyone were just like you and you were admitted to HYPS schools solely due to academics.

Do you support that your HYPS school did not admit you, and you went to a state college?

Do you also support that your HYPS school will not admit your kids, and they will attend to a state college?

[Anonymous]

Oh wow, I didn't realize the only two options in this world were HYPS and state college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What the hell are we paying all this money for?

The schools don't tell you that you can Prep for this test - most kids don't.

[Anonymous]

“Because diverse student bodies offer a better undergraduate experience than one with only academic grinds. This coming from someone who was admitted to HYPS schools solely due to academics. I would've hated college if everyone were just like me. The experience was so much better being around peers who were stars in their own non-academic areas -- whether athletics, arts, etc. but could also hold their own academically.”

Poppycock. PSAT is a low bar middle school academic test. Subject matter is elementary and middle school level. Not demanding in the least for bright high school students.

One does not need to be a grind to get NMSF or NMF….perhaps for your family members

Recent African ancestry
2 sons both NMSF and NMf
Both collegiate athletes and national award winners
They were never considered grinds by their peers and teachers

Is that profile diverse enough for your kind

Your shallow mind is riddled with false preconceived notions. Perhaps you are using your children as your metric for who is a grind and who is well-rounded.

Simpleton!

[Anonymous]

"I wonder whether posters making such a fuss over a simple middle school level test as if the exam was testing quantum mechanics (whoa, wow all those NMSF/NMF must be one dimensional grinds!!) are exercising inadvertent self-betrayal and revealing their own low IQ."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP here. I did not realize this was a scholarship program. I never meant to diminish the accomplishments of these students.

Lots of full rides to trustee programs at a variety of non-Top 20 schools use psat, nmsf, or act/sat cutoffs to apply.

[Anonymous]

PP asked "Why don’t the T30 (Ivys, S, MIT, top SLACs, etc) simply fill their schools with these high performers rather than affirmative action for Whites and all the rest?" You decided to hijack the discussion with a cool story bro-type rant.

And if the PSAT were as undemanding as you claim, the National Merit cut-off scores would be much higher. As would the median SAT scores at the so-called top colleges. How are bright high school students not all getting 1600s if the subject matter is "elementary and middle school level"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What the hell are we paying all this money for?

The schools don't tell you that you can Prep for this test - most kids don't.

My high school didn’t tell us anything about it, we just showed up in the cafeteria and were proctored the test. I was pissed to find out it could have used for more scholarship money or academic recognition, plus the verbal was worth double the math.

The kids that got it had older siblings and in-the-know parents. And likely took only 1 practice test a couple weeks before so knew the format and points system.

That said I have seen a dad quizzing vocabulary flash cards with a 12 yo at the airport. Fun stuff. Grooming them well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My high school didn’t tell us anything about it, we just showed up in the cafeteria and were proctored the test. I was pissed to find out it could have used for more scholarship money or academic recognition, plus the verbal was worth double the math.

Shame on your high school, but my impression was that this has been common knowledge for the last 30+ years, especially in the DC area.

[Anonymous]

PP asked "Why don’t the T30 (Ivys, S, MIT, top SLACs, etc) simply fill their schools with these high performers rather than affirmative action for Whites and all the rest?" You decided to hijack the discussion with a cool story bro-type rant.

And if the PSAT were as undemanding as you claim, the National Merit cut-off scores would be much higher. As would the median SAT scores at the so-called top colleges. How are bright high school students not all getting 1600s if the subject matter is "elementary and middle school level"?

Not sure how to respond if you have never looked at the PSAT subject material. Very elementary my dear friend, elementary. Do not pull out your grey hairs over a disadvantage you had because schools did not spoon feed you and your children. Parents reviewing spelling and vocabulary with their children in the airport must really get under your skin due to the supreme advantage that child is getting years ahead of a middle school PSAT test. Oh me or mi what is the world coming to!

What will you angst about when your child is in college or grad school when some kids read 10 to 20 times faster. Oh me oh mi the same kids were being read to in the airport by their parents. Oh boy, so unfair, the school did not tell me about reading!

What next?

[Anonymous]

That said I have seen a dad quizzing vocabulary flash cards with a 12 yo at the airport. Fun stuff. Grooming them well.

Oh mi oh my time to call the police and HYPSM admission officers because this Dad is working quietly with his child instead of letting the monster disturb the peace while running and yelling all over the airport with his lacrosse stick begging for food!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

That said I have seen a dad quizzing vocabulary flash cards with a 12 yo at the airport. Fun stuff. Grooming them well.

Oh mi oh my time to call the police and HYPSM admission officers because this Dad is working quietly with his child instead of letting the monster disturb the peace while running and yelling all over the airport with his lacrosse stick begging for food!

Not sure your cross point. It’s clear the parents are the driving force of a child’s potential and success, not a Wash DC private school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

PP asked "Why don’t the T30 (Ivys, S, MIT, top SLACs, etc) simply fill their schools with these high performers rather than affirmative action for Whites and all the rest?" You decided to hijack the discussion with a cool story bro-type rant.

And if the PSAT were as undemanding as you claim, the National Merit cut-off scores would be much higher. As would the median SAT scores at the so-called top colleges. How are bright high school students not all getting 1600s if the subject matter is "elementary and middle school level"?

Not sure how to respond if you have never looked at the PSAT subject material. Very elementary my dear friend, elementary. Do not pull out your grey hairs over a disadvantage you had because schools did not spoon feed you and your children. Parents reviewing spelling and vocabulary with their children in the airport must really get under your skin due to the supreme advantage that child is getting years ahead of a middle school PSAT test. Oh me or mi what is the world coming to!

What will you angst about when your child is in college or grad school when some kids read 10 to 20 times faster. Oh me oh mi the same kids were being read to in the airport by their parents. Oh boy, so unfair, the school did not tell me about reading!

What next?

If, according to you, the PSAT's "[s]ubject matter is elementary and middle school level. Not demanding in the least for bright high school students," why is grinding via rote memorization even necessary for an 11th grader to achieve a NMSF-qualifying score?

P.S. I did grind my way to HYPS and a big NMF-related scholarship from my mom's company despite having no verbal aptitude whatsoever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What the hell are we paying all this money for?

The schools don't tell you that you can Prep for this test - most kids don't.

My high school didn’t tell us anything about it, we just showed up in the cafeteria and were proctored the test. I was pissed to find out it could have used for more scholarship money or academic recognition, plus the verbal was worth double the math.

The kids that got it had older siblings and in-the-know parents. And likely took only 1 practice test a couple weeks before so knew the format and points system.

That said I have seen a dad quizzing vocabulary flash cards with a 12 yo at the airport. Fun stuff. Grooming them well.

Our HS downplayed it on purpose to the kids. They do this for whether to take AP exams too. They think it's taking the pressure off the kids, but what it does is not fully inform them. Even worse, parents who don't know better and trust the school find out later that they didn't get the full picture. There are nuances involved and the school shouldn't be skewing the story this way.

I happened to be "in the know" on the PSAT but let my kid decide. They had already taken ACT and had a great score. I didn't feel the need to add pressure.

After the "messaging" from school and already having a preference for the ACT over the SAT, it's no surprise my child decided to do no prep at all. They'll be fine and I am ok with these decisions (ours and our child's). But I think the school does a disservice to other families who didn't the full picture so they could make an informed decision.