GDS - Wow!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Congrats to these kids and others! Very happy for them - to be honest - mostly because they can now enjoy the rest of the year.

But folks, you cannot look from the outside and claim GDS did a great job or compare to other schools. There's often much behind the scenes that you do not know and that GDS has nothing to do with - VIP, legacy, sport, special EC. It is also the case that students haven't posted (at GDS and at other schools you are comparing) - at our school, many did not post until RD decisions were release and some kids never post.

“Behind the scenes” applies to every school, not just GDS. GDS isn’t the only school asking about parent legacy on the application.

Agreed - This is why I said "compare to other schools". It's the same for all of these schools. You cannot look at a list and compare across schools - OR assume it has anything to do with the school. The majority of these very high admissions tend to have a hook. Smart kids, but with hooks to get them over the line - it is not GDS that did a good job - even for unhooked. It's the kid or the kid's family.

This. It has almost nothing to do with GDS!!! you could put these same kids at Sidwell, STA, BCC, DCPS and they would have been admitted to the same colleges.

Why can't people understand this?

We know one of the Ivy admits. The kid is brilliant but the Ivy has as much to gain from the kid's parent's influence as the kid has to gain from the Ivy (based on who the parent is).

these are super smart kids, mostly born to incredibly influential and impressive parents. it's due to GDS molding rough clay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Congrats to these kids and others! Very happy for them - to be honest - mostly because they can now enjoy the rest of the year.

But folks, you cannot look from the outside and claim GDS did a great job or compare to other schools. There's often much behind the scenes that you do not know and that GDS has nothing to do with - VIP, legacy, sport, special EC. It is also the case that students haven't posted (at GDS and at other schools you are comparing) - at our school, many did not post until RD decisions were release and some kids never post.

“Behind the scenes” applies to every school, not just GDS. GDS isn’t the only school asking about parent legacy on the application.

Agreed - This is why I said "compare to other schools". It's the same for all of these schools. You cannot look at a list and compare across schools - OR assume it has anything to do with the school. The majority of these very high admissions tend to have a hook. Smart kids, but with hooks to get them over the line - it is not GDS that did a good job - even for unhooked. It's the kid or the kid's family.

This. It has almost nothing to do with GDS!!! you could put these same kids at Sidwell, STA, BCC, DCPS and they would have been admitted to the same colleges.

Why can't people understand this?

We know one of the Ivy admits. The kid is brilliant but the Ivy has as much to gain from the kid's parent's influence as the kid has to gain from the Ivy (based on who the parent is).

these are super smart kids, mostly born to incredibly influential and impressive parents. it's due to GDS molding rough clay.

Oops NOT due to GDS molding rough clay!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Congrats to these kids and others! Very happy for them - to be honest - mostly because they can now enjoy the rest of the year.

But folks, you cannot look from the outside and claim GDS did a great job or compare to other schools. There's often much behind the scenes that you do not know and that GDS has nothing to do with - VIP, legacy, sport, special EC. It is also the case that students haven't posted (at GDS and at other schools you are comparing) - at our school, many did not post until RD decisions were release and some kids never post.

“Behind the scenes” applies to every school, not just GDS. GDS isn’t the only school asking about parent legacy on the application.

Agreed - This is why I said "compare to other schools". It's the same for all of these schools. You cannot look at a list and compare across schools - OR assume it has anything to do with the school. The majority of these very high admissions tend to have a hook. Smart kids, but with hooks to get them over the line - it is not GDS that did a good job - even for unhooked. It's the kid or the kid's family.

This. It has almost nothing to do with GDS!!! you could put these same kids at Sidwell, STA, BCC, DCPS and they would have been admitted to the same colleges.

Why can't people understand this?

We know one of the Ivy admits. The kid is brilliant but the Ivy has as much to gain from the kid's parent's influence as the kid has to gain from the Ivy (based on who the parent is).

these are super smart kids, mostly born to incredibly influential and impressive parents. it's due to GDS molding rough clay.

Oops NOT due to GDS molding rough clay!

How about - it’s a bit of both. GDS’s CCO is mixed. You can see the complaints on the private school forum. These kids, however, have been encouraged to pursue their specific interests while being held to a high academic standard. Colleges like smart kids with pointy, well documented strengths. GDS overall does a good job of this and discouraging kids to be directly competitive with each other.

[Anonymous]

This should be tied to the application faqs on the private forum. What are the hooks to get into gds for preK? Legacies to ivies, vip parents, rich parents. Why do you think they ask you where you went to college?

[Anonymous]

“Yep. We can't give specifics about any of these kids here (or Jeff will delete the post for privacy reasons) but they all have something about them that randomly aligns with what the respective universities wanted or needed.
I could go down the list of names and probably tell you what it was about each kid (as I know many of them) got them accepted where they were accepted.”

Randomly aligned with what the university needs? Not the kid. That was a pure ED as a legacy play. I just hope that the kid is happy and actually wants to attend. There was a lot of harsh parental pressure to get to this place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:GDS always has amazing outcomes, along with Blair in NJ.

GDS’ class of 2023 did NOT have amazing outcomes. The outcome was very meh. This year is looking very good for GDS’ class of 2024.

Clearly reaming out the CCO helps. Are you listening, Sidwell?

What are you talking about? Sidwell’s c/o ‘23 had excellent results (much better than GDS’ c/o ‘23). Sidwell only has two Instagram posts so far. I’m sure Sidwell’s c/o ‘24 is going to do as well (or better) than the c/o ‘23.

We shall see.

- Insider

Yes we shall.

-Sidwell parent of a current senior

Would be super happy if Sidwell is doing well too TBH. Any results you can share?

Aware of Harvard, Yale, Penn, Columbia admits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Actual Parent: here's what's posted on the Insta page in terms of top tier
Other kids may have gotten in places but have not posted yet.
3 harvard
2 cornell
1 princeton
1 penn
1 Columbia
1 Vanderbilt
This seems good but not Stellar
Let's see what happens tommorrow with Northwestern Etc

The true standard !!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Congrats to these kids and others! Very happy for them - to be honest - mostly because they can now enjoy the rest of the year.

But folks, you cannot look from the outside and claim GDS did a great job or compare to other schools. There's often much behind the scenes that you do not know and that GDS has nothing to do with - VIP, legacy, sport, special EC. It is also the case that students haven't posted (at GDS and at other schools you are comparing) - at our school, many did not post until RD decisions were release and some kids never post.

“Behind the scenes” applies to every school, not just GDS. GDS isn’t the only school asking about parent legacy on the application.

Agreed - This is why I said "compare to other schools". It's the same for all of these schools. You cannot look at a list and compare across schools - OR assume it has anything to do with the school. The majority of these very high admissions tend to have a hook. Smart kids, but with hooks to get them over the line - it is not GDS that did a good job - even for unhooked. It's the kid or the kid's family.

This. It has almost nothing to do with GDS!!! you could put these same kids at Sidwell, STA, BCC, DCPS and they would have been admitted to the same colleges.

Why can't people understand this?

We know one of the Ivy admits. The kid is brilliant but the Ivy has as much to gain from the kid's parent's influence as the kid has to gain from the Ivy (based on who the parent is).

these are super smart kids, mostly born to incredibly influential and impressive parents. it's due to GDS molding rough clay.

Oops NOT due to GDS molding rough clay!

How about - it’s a bit of both. GDS’s CCO is mixed. You can see the complaints on the private school forum. These kids, however, have been encouraged to pursue their specific interests while being held to a high academic standard. Colleges like smart kids with pointy, well documented strengths. GDS overall does a good job of this and discouraging kids to be directly competitive with each other.

This sounds like the conventional wisdom circa 1998: pointy kids with high grades get in to T10 schools. But today it's all about hooks, and extracurricular interests other than sports aren't hooks. Think rich legacies, recruited athletes, children of people who speak at World Economic Forum, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Congrats to these kids and others! Very happy for them - to be honest - mostly because they can now enjoy the rest of the year.

But folks, you cannot look from the outside and claim GDS did a great job or compare to other schools. There's often much behind the scenes that you do not know and that GDS has nothing to do with - VIP, legacy, sport, special EC. It is also the case that students haven't posted (at GDS and at other schools you are comparing) - at our school, many did not post until RD decisions were release and some kids never post.

“Behind the scenes” applies to every school, not just GDS. GDS isn’t the only school asking about parent legacy on the application.

Agreed - This is why I said "compare to other schools". It's the same for all of these schools. You cannot look at a list and compare across schools - OR assume it has anything to do with the school. The majority of these very high admissions tend to have a hook. Smart kids, but with hooks to get them over the line - it is not GDS that did a good job - even for unhooked. It's the kid or the kid's family.

This. It has almost nothing to do with GDS!!! you could put these same kids at Sidwell, STA, BCC, DCPS and they would have been admitted to the same colleges.

Why can't people understand this?

We know one of the Ivy admits. The kid is brilliant but the Ivy has as much to gain from the kid's parent's influence as the kid has to gain from the Ivy (based on who the parent is).

these are super smart kids, mostly born to incredibly influential and impressive parents. it's due to GDS molding rough clay.

Oops NOT due to GDS molding rough clay!

How about - it’s a bit of both. GDS’s CCO is mixed. You can see the complaints on the private school forum. These kids, however, have been encouraged to pursue their specific interests while being held to a high academic standard. Colleges like smart kids with pointy, well documented strengths. GDS overall does a good job of this and discouraging kids to be directly competitive with each other.

So you're going tell me that the kid whose sibling and both parents attended the same Ivy would have just slid into a life of mediocrity had he attended Sidwell or (god forbid) Jackson Reed? Thank goodness he was so inspired at GDS that his four years lifted him up into his own Ivy acceptance!

Or the kid whose parent is on a faculty at another top 10 university (and who site on the admission's commmittee for that school's most illustrious graduate program?) Well thank goodness that kid discovered his passions at GDS because he/she too was almost certainly destined for failure if he/she had attended STA/NCS or Montgomery Blair.

Listen, this cohort kids is super, super smart. But they were also born into some pretty sweet situations. I wouldn't even call it being born on third base. More like being born having hit a home and sitting in the clubhouse drinking the post-game beer.
GDS has almost nothing to do with any of it .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Congrats to these kids and others! Very happy for them - to be honest - mostly because they can now enjoy the rest of the year.

But folks, you cannot look from the outside and claim GDS did a great job or compare to other schools. There's often much behind the scenes that you do not know and that GDS has nothing to do with - VIP, legacy, sport, special EC. It is also the case that students haven't posted (at GDS and at other schools you are comparing) - at our school, many did not post until RD decisions were release and some kids never post.

“Behind the scenes” applies to every school, not just GDS. GDS isn’t the only school asking about parent legacy on the application.

Agreed - This is why I said "compare to other schools". It's the same for all of these schools. You cannot look at a list and compare across schools - OR assume it has anything to do with the school. The majority of these very high admissions tend to have a hook. Smart kids, but with hooks to get them over the line - it is not GDS that did a good job - even for unhooked. It's the kid or the kid's family.

This. It has almost nothing to do with GDS!!! you could put these same kids at Sidwell, STA, BCC, DCPS and they would have been admitted to the same colleges.

Why can't people understand this?

We know one of the Ivy admits. The kid is brilliant but the Ivy has as much to gain from the kid's parent's influence as the kid has to gain from the Ivy (based on who the parent is).

these are super smart kids, mostly born to incredibly influential and impressive parents. it's due to GDS molding rough clay.

Oops NOT due to GDS molding rough clay!

How about - it’s a bit of both. GDS’s CCO is mixed. You can see the complaints on the private school forum. These kids, however, have been encouraged to pursue their specific interests while being held to a high academic standard. Colleges like smart kids with pointy, well documented strengths. GDS overall does a good job of this and discouraging kids to be directly competitive with each other.

So you're going tell me that the kid whose sibling and both parents attended the same Ivy would have just slid into a life of mediocrity had he attended Sidwell or (god forbid) Jackson Reed? Thank goodness he was so inspired at GDS that his four years lifted him up into his own Ivy acceptance!

Or the kid whose parent is on a faculty at another top 10 university (and who site on the admission's commmittee for that school's most illustrious graduate program?) Well thank goodness that kid discovered his passions at GDS because he/she too was almost certainly destined for failure if he/she had attended STA/NCS or Montgomery Blair.

Listen, this cohort kids is super, super smart. But they were also born into some pretty sweet situations. I wouldn't even call it being born on third base. More like being born having hit a home and sitting in the clubhouse drinking the post-game beer.
GDS has almost nothing to do with any of it .

No, not like they hit a homer and are sitting in the clubhouse. Someone else hit that homer and they just ran the bases. This is what GDS looks for when they admit kids. So much for their diversity goals. They just perpetuate the status quo, starting with 5 yr olds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, my white male son at ACHS got into Yale. And we didn't pay 250,000 for HS.

As a fellow ACHS parent of a current senior , I say congratulations! That’s wonderful to hear. (This is quite an enlightening board…kinda wish I’d never ventured back years after having kids!)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pretty much every kid got into an Ivy or at least Duke.

or some other "ivy" of the south

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, my white male son at ACHS got into Yale. And we didn't pay 250,000 for HS.

As a fellow ACHS parent of a current senior , I say congratulations! That’s wonderful to hear. (This is quite an enlightening board…kinda wish I’d never ventured back years after having kids!)

What is ACHS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pretty much every kid got into an Ivy or at least Duke.

or some other "ivy" of the south

No

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there an Insta thread like that for Walls?

Yes, but it hasn't been updated yet with yesterday's decision results. Looks like many schools haven't done so.

The schools don't run these site, the kids do.

And some schools' populations are more discrete.

I’ll take the discreet kids anyday.