culture at GDS high school?

[Anonymous]

Our educational consultant recommended we consider applying to GDS high school for our daughter. What is the culture among parents and students? Is it very competitive?

[Anonymous]

It's competitive, yes, but not any worse than what she'll experience when she gets to Harvard.

[Anonymous]

How high is her IQ?

[Anonymous]

Cutthroat

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our educational consultant recommended we consider applying to GDS high school for our daughter. What is the culture among parents and students? Is it very competitive?

Why did they recommend gds over all others? It’s a good option for lgbtqia or very quirky students, since there is a large critical mass amongst staff and students. It also runs the upper school like a college. Get through the core in two years and take whatever electives you want plus a couple more required classes. But if your kid is mature enough to select well and do hard work, that can pay off. You can go very narrow junior year onward.

[Anonymous]

I’d would add, since they run the upper school like a college, if you want to coast by and are t bothered by the go getters, they won’t be on your back about coasting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our educational consultant recommended we consider applying to GDS high school for our daughter. What is the culture among parents and students? Is it very competitive?

Why did they recommend gds over all others? It’s a good option for lgbtqia or very quirky students, since there is a large critical mass amongst staff and students. It also runs the upper school like a college. Get through the core in two years and take whatever electives you want plus a couple more required classes. But if your kid is mature enough to select well and do hard work, that can pay off. You can go very narrow junior year onward.

How can that be when gds students, like all other college bound students, still need to take 4 years of English, 4 years of math, etc.?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our educational consultant recommended we consider applying to GDS high school for our daughter. What is the culture among parents and students? Is it very competitive?

Why did they recommend gds over all others? It’s a good option for lgbtqia or very quirky students, since there is a large critical mass amongst staff and students. It also runs the upper school like a college. Get through the core in two years and take whatever electives you want plus a couple more required classes. But if your kid is mature enough to select well and do hard work, that can pay off. You can go very narrow junior year onward.

How can that be when gds students, like all other college bound students, still need to take 4 years of English, 4 years of math, etc.?

Read the Course Study yourself. the point was you can choose from tons of electives to fulfill whatever is required, especially after the core required classes are done. Your other English lit classes can be very very narrow, if you wish.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our educational consultant recommended we consider applying to GDS high school for our daughter. What is the culture among parents and students? Is it very competitive?

Why did they recommend gds over all others? It’s a good option for lgbtqia or very quirky students, since there is a large critical mass amongst staff and students. It also runs the upper school like a college. Get through the core in two years and take whatever electives you want plus a couple more required classes. But if your kid is mature enough to select well and do hard work, that can pay off. You can go very narrow junior year onward.

How can that be when gds students, like all other college bound students, still need to take 4 years of English, 4 years of math, etc.?

Read the Course Study yourself. the point was you can choose from tons of electives to fulfill whatever is required, especially after the core required classes are done. Your other English lit classes can be very very narrow, if you wish.

I think we have different definitions of narrow. If you are a math person, you cannot take only math and science classes junior and senior year. If you are a English/humanities person, you still have to take math and science. You can still only take 1-2 electives a year. Being able to choose your senior year English class doesn't make the entire curriculum narrow, even if that English class is focused on one particular theme.

But, yes, there are lots of electives and that's great.

[Anonymous]

A good fit for smart “alt” kids: stoners rather than drinkers, lots of LQBTQ kids, quirky kids.

[Anonymous]

Ignore most responses here, OP. As you can see, GDS tends to attract snarky posters.
GDS high school does not have the cutthroat culture like at StA or NCS. Teachers might be excellent, average or not so good lol.
The poster who said about the high school being run like a college is right. You can look up their courses choices online.
GDS tries to be all inclusive due to its raison d’être and history.

Do you have apecific questions?

[Anonymous]

I have to say the troll here is going beyond snark to mocking a school for supporting its LGBT students and staff (which is policy and practice for all of the DC independent schools). And by equating those students and staff with "very quirky," whatever that means, the poster is trying to portray the students and staff as outside academic or social norms.

I'm guessing this entire chain is one troll ping ponging.. Maybe Jeff can let us know.

[Anonymous]

I have to say the troll here is going beyond snark to mocking a school for supporting its LGBT students and staff (which is policy and practice for all of the DC independent schools). And by equating those students and staff with "very quirky," whatever that means, the poster is trying to portray the students and staff as outside academic or social norms.

I'm guessing this entire chain is one troll ping ponging.. Maybe Jeff can let us know.

[Anonymous]

NP. my daughter is a freshman. Pretty mainstream as are her friends. You will have a mix of ppl. Some chill and some cut throat. One parent was recently reported to the counselor bc she was trying to play a game by starting a nonprofit and saying her kids did it. This was in the context of resume padding. But that was unusual at gds. my daughter works hard but has a busy social life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP. my daughter is a freshman. Pretty mainstream as are her friends. You will have a mix of ppl. Some chill and some cut throat. One parent was recently reported to the counselor bc she was trying to play a game by starting a nonprofit and saying her kids did it. This was in the context of resume padding. But that was unusual at gds. my daughter works hard but has a busy social life.

Wtf? Spill more deets?