Walls GPA cut off

[Anonymous]

Do they say anywhere what the cut off is for applicants who make it to interview? I can’t find that data anywhere.

[Anonymous]

You won't find out until well after applications are due. It changes year to year. 2 years ago, it was a 3.87.

[Anonymous]

It depends on the applications-- they choose a cutoff that will make a manageable number of applicants.

[Anonymous]

And last year, lots of kids with 4.0s were not invited to interview. So don’t count on a high gpa as getting you through the first hurdle

[Anonymous]

https://www.myschooldc.org/sites/default/files/dc/sites/myschooldc/page/attachments/SY24-25%20SWW_Admission%20Process%20Rubric_Final.pdf

It says here that a minimum of 3.0 is required-- below that, don't apply. "The
recommendation letters for the top students with the highest GPA on a 4.0 scale (3.0 minimum required) will be reviewed and this will
determine who is invited to participate in an interview."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And last year, lots of kids with 4.0s were not invited to interview. So don’t count on a high gpa as getting you through the first hurdle

This. GPA had very little to do with who was interviewed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And last year, lots of kids with 4.0s were not invited to interview. So don’t count on a high gpa as getting you through the first hurdle

This. GPA had very little to do with who was interviewed.

Let’s not be too dramatic - GPA had a lot to do with it, but not everything. Teacher recommendations mattered too. My kid personally knows smart kids who were jerks to teachers who didn’t get in.

We don’t need to rehash all the imperfections of the admissions when demand is greater than supply, but saying GPA didn’t matter much isn’t accurate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And last year, lots of kids with 4.0s were not invited to interview. So don’t count on a high gpa as getting you through the first hurdle

This. GPA had very little to do with who was interviewed.

Let’s not be too dramatic - GPA had a lot to do with it, but not everything. Teacher recommendations mattered too. My kid personally knows smart kids who were jerks to teachers who didn’t get in.

We don’t need to rehash all the imperfections of the admissions when demand is greater than supply, but saying GPA didn’t matter much isn’t accurate.

Ok, my kid had a 4.0 and won the Deal "student of the month" 2 months of 6th grade and about 10 different end-of-quarter awards in 7th (top student in math and team VIP or several quarters as two examples) and she didn't get an interview with a 4.0. She is an extremely well behaved girl.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And last year, lots of kids with 4.0s were not invited to interview. So don’t count on a high gpa as getting you through the first hurdle

This. GPA had very little to do with who was interviewed.

Let’s not be too dramatic - GPA had a lot to do with it, but not everything. Teacher recommendations mattered too. My kid personally knows smart kids who were jerks to teachers who didn’t get in.

We don’t need to rehash all the imperfections of the admissions when demand is greater than supply, but saying GPA didn’t matter much isn’t accurate.

Apparently we do need to rehash the imperfections of the admissions when demand is greater than supply, because you obviously haven’t accepted the fundamental lesson of Walls admissions today, which is: because the number of intelligent and otherwise deserving kids outstrips the number of seats available, the fact that a kid is not accepted to Walls doesn’t mean anything at all about that kid. They might be very smart and otherwise very wonderful. Because admissions are highly random.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And last year, lots of kids with 4.0s were not invited to interview. So don’t count on a high gpa as getting you through the first hurdle

This. GPA had very little to do with who was interviewed.

Let’s not be too dramatic - GPA had a lot to do with it, but not everything. Teacher recommendations mattered too. My kid personally knows smart kids who were jerks to teachers who didn’t get in.

We don’t need to rehash all the imperfections of the admissions when demand is greater than supply, but saying GPA didn’t matter much isn’t accurate.

Apparently we do need to rehash the imperfections of the admissions when demand is greater than supply, because you obviously haven’t accepted the fundamental lesson of Walls admissions today, which is: because the number of intelligent and otherwise deserving kids outstrips the number of seats available, the fact that a kid is not accepted to Walls doesn’t mean anything at all about that kid. They might be very smart and otherwise very wonderful. Because admissions are highly random.

That doesn’t mean admissions is random. It means there are more very smart and otherwise wonderful kids in the applicant pool than spots available at the school. There is nothing you can do about that except open another application school. But when they do that (Bard, Coolidge early HS, etc.) it doesn’t get the same interest level.

[Anonymous]

PP again and just to note- I don’t think the interview should solely be based on GPA. A 3.8 versus a 4.0 in my mind is a pretty similar student.

[Anonymous]

Once you are above that year’s GPA cutoff (and it ain’t a 3.0), it appears to be entirely random. If the school has a rubric they use to choose students, they don’t share it. I wouldn’t either when that rubric results in rejecting students like the one above. So, to anyone outside the school’s admissions process, it’s a crap shoot. By the time high school rolls around, a lot of people are tired of DCPS always, always being a lottery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And last year, lots of kids with 4.0s were not invited to interview. So don’t count on a high gpa as getting you through the first hurdle

This. GPA had very little to do with who was interviewed.

Let’s not be too dramatic - GPA had a lot to do with it, but not everything. Teacher recommendations mattered too. My kid personally knows smart kids who were jerks to teachers who didn’t get in.

We don’t need to rehash all the imperfections of the admissions when demand is greater than supply, but saying GPA didn’t matter much isn’t accurate.

Apparently we do need to rehash the imperfections of the admissions when demand is greater than supply, because you obviously haven’t accepted the fundamental lesson of Walls admissions today, which is: because the number of intelligent and otherwise deserving kids outstrips the number of seats available, the fact that a kid is not accepted to Walls doesn’t mean anything at all about that kid. They might be very smart and otherwise very wonderful. Because admissions are highly random.

That doesn’t mean admissions is random. It means there are more very smart and otherwise wonderful kids in the applicant pool than spots available at the school. There is nothing you can do about that except open another application school. But when they do that (Bard, Coolidge early HS, etc.) it doesn’t get the same interest level.

It’s not about having enough seats. All the kids I know left out of Walls landed on their feet and are doing well in high school.

All I am asking you to concede is that when “there are more very smart and otherwise wonderful kids in the applicant pool than spots available at the school,” that means that some of the kids who did not get into the school are still “very smart and otherwise wonderful.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And last year, lots of kids with 4.0s were not invited to interview. So don’t count on a high gpa as getting you through the first hurdle

This. GPA had very little to do with who was interviewed.

Let’s not be too dramatic - GPA had a lot to do with it, but not everything. Teacher recommendations mattered too. My kid personally knows smart kids who were jerks to teachers who didn’t get in.

We don’t need to rehash all the imperfections of the admissions when demand is greater than supply, but saying GPA didn’t matter much isn’t accurate.

Apparently we do need to rehash the imperfections of the admissions when demand is greater than supply, because you obviously haven’t accepted the fundamental lesson of Walls admissions today, which is: because the number of intelligent and otherwise deserving kids outstrips the number of seats available, the fact that a kid is not accepted to Walls doesn’t mean anything at all about that kid. They might be very smart and otherwise very wonderful. Because admissions are highly random.

That doesn’t mean admissions is random. It means there are more very smart and otherwise wonderful kids in the applicant pool than spots available at the school. There is nothing you can do about that except open another application school. But when they do that (Bard, Coolidge early HS, etc.) it doesn’t get the same interest level.

It’s not about having enough seats. All the kids I know left out of Walls landed on their feet and are doing well in high school.

All I am asking you to concede is that when “there are more very smart and otherwise wonderful kids in the applicant pool than spots available at the school,” that means that some of the kids who did not get into the school are still “very smart and otherwise wonderful.”

yep. My 4.0 kid did not even get a Walls interview. Was interviewed (for an hour+ each time) and admitted to GDS, Sidwell, NCS and Maret. Now attends one of these on some aid. All is well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And last year, lots of kids with 4.0s were not invited to interview. So don’t count on a high gpa as getting you through the first hurdle

This. GPA had very little to do with who was interviewed.

Let’s not be too dramatic - GPA had a lot to do with it, but not everything. Teacher recommendations mattered too. My kid personally knows smart kids who were jerks to teachers who didn’t get in.

We don’t need to rehash all the imperfections of the admissions when demand is greater than supply, but saying GPA didn’t matter much isn’t accurate.

Apparently we do need to rehash the imperfections of the admissions when demand is greater than supply, because you obviously haven’t accepted the fundamental lesson of Walls admissions today, which is: because the number of intelligent and otherwise deserving kids outstrips the number of seats available, the fact that a kid is not accepted to Walls doesn’t mean anything at all about that kid. They might be very smart and otherwise very wonderful. Because admissions are highly random.

That doesn’t mean admissions is random. It means there are more very smart and otherwise wonderful kids in the applicant pool than spots available at the school. There is nothing you can do about that except open another application school. But when they do that (Bard, Coolidge early HS, etc.) it doesn’t get the same interest level.

Coolidge EC only takes 25 kids. And when you look at the test scores of Bard you'll see why people aren't interested.