2024 Washington DC area College commits

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Prior poster at 11:33 is right. Almost every single kid getting into T20 schools is hooked. You can't see all of the hooks. Nobody has an all encompassing knowledge of legacy and other connections that families have. So many VIP parents are at Sidwell that admissions are massively affected by this factor. Private parents like to delude themselves that there is a big "Sidwell Advantage" in admissions, but in reality, the only advantages are family advantages of legacy, connections, total focus for years on college admission, and $ that the family would have anywhere. [b]I am very confident that these Sidwell kids getting into T20s would do just as well at BCC. They would get a 4.5 GPA and have 12 APs.

This is not a hook. 90% of private school kids at highly selective high schools in this country are the same.

[Anonymous]

Schools that do not calculate GPA tend to be doing worse than private schools that do calculate GPA on transcripts.

True outside DMV.

[Anonymous]

14:00 poster with 3.7 child in T10 college. I hope you give thanks for this miracle. What was the secret ingredient that led to success?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:14:00 poster with 3.7 child in T10 college. I hope you give thanks for this miracle. What was the secret ingredient that led to success?

DP. It is not a miracle for goodness sake. A 3.7 is not a low gpa.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hey Jeff, can you do a feature where you do the top ten most toxic threads of the year? This one is definitely in the lead spot for 2024 thus far.

+1 it’s down right pathological. A bunch of creepy stalkers.

Yet here you are. Don't read it if it is not helpful to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Schools that do not calculate GPA tend to be doing worse than private schools that do calculate GPA on transcripts.

True outside DMV.

Have heard some college admissions offices get annoyed when there is no GPA listed at all. Private schools think they are being coy when they do this.

Across the country, there has been a movement by private schools to move against and submit GPA where they can.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First, families shouldn't be sacrificing saving for college (or retirement) in favor of private school, unless the kid really does have needs that can't be met in public school.

Second, you don't know either. You specifically don't know what percent of full-pay kids at NCS/STA are full-pay now, but they're applying for FA at college. My hunch is that it's a very low percentage. You seem to think it's something like half of that 50+% figure somebody pulled out of their butt. I doubt it. For one thing, many families at these schools are really wealthy. For another thing, parents understand very well the admissions bump their kid gets by applying ED and full-pay, so they'll make it work if they can.

I'm not making any affirmative claim. It's presumptuous to say that private school families are more likely to be full pay than public school families in affluent suburbs though.

And there are plenty of posts in DCUM over the years suggesting that families make financial sacrifices to pay for private school. It's crazy that you don't see not having to pay private school tuition as making college more affordable.

Financial sacrifice = foregoing that new kitchen and that family trip to Venice. Of course some families are making this type of sacrifice, and good for them. What you refuse to talk about is the family that decides to forego college saving so they can pay Sidwell tuition, and that's a dumb mistake and probably represents very few families at the top DC privates.

How can you possibly argue that most Whitman families are on an equal financial footing with a full pay family at Sidwell? That's some bubble you live in.

How are full pay private school families with HHIs of, say, $400K or $500K better off savings wise than those whose kids go to Whitman and make the same amount?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First, families shouldn't be sacrificing saving for college (or retirement) in favor of private school, unless the kid really does have needs that can't be met in public school.

Second, you don't know either. You specifically don't know what percent of full-pay kids at NCS/STA are full-pay now, but they're applying for FA at college. My hunch is that it's a very low percentage. You seem to think it's something like half of that 50+% figure somebody pulled out of their butt. I doubt it. For one thing, many families at these schools are really wealthy. For another thing, parents understand very well the admissions bump their kid gets by applying ED and full-pay, so they'll make it work if they can.

I'm not making any affirmative claim. It's presumptuous to say that private school families are more likely to be full pay than public school families in affluent suburbs though.

And there are plenty of posts in DCUM over the years suggesting that families make financial sacrifices to pay for private school. It's crazy that you don't see not having to pay private school tuition as making college more affordable.

Financial sacrifice = foregoing that new kitchen and that family trip to Venice. Of course some families are making this type of sacrifice, and good for them. What you refuse to talk about is the family that decides to forego college saving so they can pay Sidwell tuition, and that's a dumb mistake and probably represents very few families at the top DC privates.

How can you possibly argue that most Whitman families are on an equal financial footing with a full pay family at Sidwell? That's some bubble you live in.

How are full pay private school families with HHIs of, say, $400K or $500K better off savings wise than those whose kids go to Whitman and make the same amount?

generational wealth, investing, etc....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Schools that do not calculate GPA tend to be doing worse than private schools that do calculate GPA on transcripts.

True outside DMV.

Sidwell does not calculate/provide a GPA on high school transcripts. Sidwell students have done/do/will do very well in college admissions. Please save your “worry” for those that are more deserving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Schools that do not calculate GPA tend to be doing worse than private schools that do calculate GPA on transcripts.

True outside DMV.

Sidwell does not calculate/provide a GPA on high school transcripts. Sidwell students have done/do/will do very well in college admissions. Please save your “worry” for those that are more deserving.

I agree with you. Can you include your actual report card? How do you send your report card to colleges in addition to transcripts?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First, families shouldn't be sacrificing saving for college (or retirement) in favor of private school, unless the kid really does have needs that can't be met in public school.

Second, you don't know either. You specifically don't know what percent of full-pay kids at NCS/STA are full-pay now, but they're applying for FA at college. My hunch is that it's a very low percentage. You seem to think it's something like half of that 50+% figure somebody pulled out of their butt. I doubt it. For one thing, many families at these schools are really wealthy. For another thing, parents understand very well the admissions bump their kid gets by applying ED and full-pay, so they'll make it work if they can.

I'm not making any affirmative claim. It's presumptuous to say that private school families are more likely to be full pay than public school families in affluent suburbs though.

And there are plenty of posts in DCUM over the years suggesting that families make financial sacrifices to pay for private school. It's crazy that you don't see not having to pay private school tuition as making college more affordable.

Financial sacrifice = foregoing that new kitchen and that family trip to Venice. Of course some families are making this type of sacrifice, and good for them. What you refuse to talk about is the family that decides to forego college saving so they can pay Sidwell tuition, and that's a dumb mistake and probably represents very few families at the top DC privates.

How can you possibly argue that most Whitman families are on an equal financial footing with a full pay family at Sidwell? That's some bubble you live in.

How are full pay private school families with HHIs of, say, $400K or $500K better off savings wise than those whose kids go to Whitman and make the same amount?

generational wealth, investing, etc....

Assuming facts not in evidence.

We are a private school family making about that much and have typical assets. How are we better off financially committing $100K post-tax per year on something that public school families with similar HHIs aren’t spending?

[Anonymous]

True that there is no GPA on Sidwell transcripts, but all of those A minuses don't look good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:12:59 poster-half of kids at Sidwell probably have either a major hook or they are top 10-15% of class. The hooks are not always obvious.

Saying the hooks are not always obvious as evidence that everyone is hooked. What amazing logic.

You wouldn't have guessed that my white DD was hooked. Not by legacy or something obvious like athletics. No, by an ED that was conducted outside of school in which DD got state and national recognition.

Guess what? Your kid wasn’t hooked.

If you define a hook as anything that got your kid into a top school then of course every kid is hooked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Schools that do not calculate GPA tend to be doing worse than private schools that do calculate GPA on transcripts.

True outside DMV.

Sidwell does not calculate/provide a GPA on high school transcripts. Sidwell students have done/do/will do very well in college admissions. Please save your “worry” for those that are more deserving.

I agree with you. Can you include your actual report card? How do you send your report card to colleges in addition to transcripts?

Why would a Sidwell student send their report card? There’s no GPA on the report card either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:True that there is no GPA on Sidwell transcripts, but all of those A minuses don't look good.

Yet Sidwell is still managing to send over half of its graduating seniors to T25 colleges. 🤔
If the colleges don’t mind “all those A minuses,” you shouldn’t either.