FAQ: What is the "Big 3"? (or "Big 5", or "Big 10", etc)

[Anonymous]

I think there is agreement on the Big 2.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think there is agreement on the Big 2.

I would imagine the agreement you hear from your social network is different than the agreement I hear in mine.

[Anonymous]

What are your Big 2?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What are your Big 2?

St Albans/NCS and Potomac

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are your Big 2?

St Albans/NCS and Potomac

same for me.

[Anonymous]

St. Albans and Georgetown Prep.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have lived in Chevy Chase in Montgomery County, MD, for 13 years and have a 13yo and a 9yo yet had never heard of Potomac until I joined this forum this year. Potomac never even came up on the radar as we researched private schools for our two children. It has no national reputation at all. How can you call Potomac a Big 3 when the other schools usuallly referred to as Big 3 (or Big 2) have national reputations?

It's amazing how within a post about the fact that their really should be no "Big 3", you get posters who are bent on proving their school (assume GDS, Sidwell, or StA) is superior to others. Really, what is the point?

To these recent posters (or the same sock puppet poster) who is claiming never to have even heard of a school like Potomac and claiming it has no national reputation - you are simply just wrong. Here's some of the info you seek from 3rd parties (who I put a lot more credibility in than some anonymous posting on an anonymous forum).

The Washington Examiner - http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/40314672.html - lists the top tier schools in the DC area, Potomac included, and lists avg SAT scores which are consistent with the other schools listed

Worth Magazine http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/43718.page#295235 - lists the top 100 high schools for getting into an Ivy League school. Potomac listed as the #22 school in the country, behind #13 St Albans and #17 NCS, and ahead of #28 Sidwell, #42 Holton, and #43 GDS.

Matriculation stats can be found here - http://www.potomacschool.org/admission/applying-to-potomac/index.aspx


Now I'm not making a claim that Potomac is any better (or worse) than Sidwell, Cathedral, GDS, Maret, Holton, or others. I believe there are perhaps 5-10 top tier schools out there and "the best" really is a subjective choice based on the best fit for a given family (ie. a conservative, athletically inclined family would never rank GDS in it's top 3). However, to try and suggest that Potomac is not a top tier school is silly and misinformed.

Outstanding post. Thanks for doing this. It really cuts through the emotion and snobbery we have seen from many who self-promote on this thread.

[Anonymous]

By the way, in referencing the Examiner's article, St. Alban's average SAT score was listed at that time as "data not available". The actual number for school year 2008-09 was 1338.

[Anonymous]

Well said. I really think the Potomac posters are overly sensitive and obsessive. Potomac Parents, why does it bother you that so many of us are not familiar with your school? If you are secure with your school, why are you so preoccupied with getting affirmation from the rest of us? D.C. has so many good schools that it's very difficult to stand out. Potomac may not be one of the Big 3, but according to this thread, it's "hot stuff" in McLean. Frankly, you should be satisfied with that.

Anonymous wrote:Thank you, PP for posting the numbers for Potomac. I see now that it is one of the good schools in this area. I don't see, though, how one could, as a least a few PPs have tried to do, call Potomac one of the Big 3 or Big 2. I guess from your post I see that some people use the term "Big 3" to refer to the three schools their family deems the best for them. If these advocates for Potomac are using "Big 3" in that sense, I understand. Most people use the term, though, to refer to the schools that most people in the DC area to be the top schools. Under thsi definition I would consider it fair to call Potomac one of the "Big 10." What do you think? I think people are feeling hurt that their school is not regarded more highly by people on this thread, but if one is that sensitive on this topic, one should avoid threads titled "Big 3."

[Anonymous]

I have no stake in Potomacf -- no kid there -- nothing. But for anyone who researched all of the schools in the Greater DC area (which I would think any private school parent would) -- Potomac shows up in all of the books and all of the articles.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well said. I really think the Potomac posters are overly sensitive and obsessive. Potomac Parents, why does it bother you that so many of us are not familiar with your school? If you are secure with your school, why are you so preoccupied with getting affirmation from the rest of us? D.C. has so many good schools that it's very difficult to stand out. Potomac may not be one of the Big 3, but according to this thread, it's "hot stuff" in McLean. Frankly, you should be satisfied with that.

Anonymous wrote:Thank you, PP for posting the numbers for Potomac. I see now that it is one of the good schools in this area. I don't see, though, how one could, as a least a few PPs have tried to do, call Potomac one of the Big 3 or Big 2. I guess from your post I see that some people use the term "Big 3" to refer to the three schools their family deems the best for them. If these advocates for Potomac are using "Big 3" in that sense, I understand. Most people use the term, though, to refer to the schools that most people in the DC area to be the top schools. Under thsi definition I would consider it fair to call Potomac one of the "Big 10." What do you think? I think people are feeling hurt that their school is not regarded more highly by people on this thread, but if one is that sensitive on this topic, one should avoid threads titled "Big 3."

I don't think the Potomac posters are being sensitive at all - seems like they are being much more rational and not trying to promote themselves over others. I've not seen one Potomac poster claim their school is better than another. These posters are simply pointing out that not everybody in every area of DC agrees with the relentless promotion of St Albans, Sidwell, and GDS as some kind of unanimous consensus top 3. The issue is not just about defending the perceptions of one particular school, but of all other top schools like Maret, Holton, Potomac, Landon, SSSAS, Norwood, etc.

The real question here is why certain posters feel this obsessive need to constantly promote their school as one of the 2 or 3 best in town?? What insecurities are they feeding by needing to feel some warped sense of superiority because of what school their kid happens to attend. If these posters were so secure with themselves and their schools, why EVER use a term like BIG 3???

What I find on this forum is that parents from certain schools always seem to be the ones who are preoccupied with rankings... "my school is better than your school". I have a feeling these are the same parents who are preoccupied with things like "my house is bigger than your house" or "my car is nicer than your car" or "my Ivy League school is better than yours" or "my handbag is more expensive than your handbag". These parents are concerned about LABELS...and so for them, BIG 3 is just another label that's important to their own self worth and self identifty.

To each her own... but for me I'd rather associate myself with people who don't spend their time trying to prove their label (school/house/car, etc) is better than someone else's. I'm more impressed with people (like the Potomac posters) who say "yeah, there are a lot of good schools in the area and each has it's own relative strengths and weaknesses. You should check them all out and decide what's a best fit for your family"

[Anonymous]

Does anyone have any tips on how to get your child into one of the Big 3? And just to clarify, I'm referring to Sidwell, NCS/STA and GDS. Thanks in advance!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone have any tips on how to get your child into one of the Big 3? And just to clarify, I'm referring to Sidwell, NCS/STA and GDS. Thanks in advance!

You really have a problem. I suppose someone who is as obnoxious as you seem to be could use all the help they could get!!

[Anonymous]

Which Big 3 school specifically are you looking for input on? Potomac? Georgetown Prep?

[Anonymous]

NMSF% Pres Scholar Semi% Pres Scholar Candidate% SAT Average College Success Rate Sidwell 15.31% 2.19% 9.62% 1400 14.29% St. Albans 14.51% 1.32% 7.92% 1350 14.42% NCS 11.75% 0.65% 10.44% 1394 14.09% Holton 8.58% 0.00% 2.45% 1350 7.23% GDS 7.77% 0.43% 4.75% 1343 11.40% Potomac 7.61% 0.00% 1.90% 1324 6.57% St. Anselm's 7.35% 0.00% 2.94% 1351 6.47% Maret 5.37% 0.00% 6.71% 1372 9.61% Stone Ridge 3.90% 0.00% 1.30% CESJDS 3.69% 0.00% 1.84% 5.12% Landon 3.64% 0.00% 0.61% 1289 6.35% G-Prep 3.56% 0.00% 0.00% 1292 4.44% G-Visi Prep 2.52% 0.00% 0.84% 1254