2024 Washington DC area College commits

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well knock me over with a feather.

Sidwell* only accepts kids who have great test and/or academic chops plus legacy/athletic/national-level ED/connections. That is, Sidwell only accepts the kids who are best positioned to get into T25s before they even walk through Sidwell's doors. Then these same kids apply ED because their parents can afford to. And, lo and behold, they get into a T25.

Is anybody surprised by this? The real question is, what is Sidwell's value added here? Would the same kid have had the same results coming from BCC? (Yes, you can talk about academic preparation, but that's a whole 'nother debate, and this thread is about college admissions.)

* Not to rag on Sidwell, but folks here seem to be using it as shorthand for top DC privates.

Do you really believe this is true? It's not.

PP here and of course I believe it. My kid was accepted at a top 3 and I can tell you all about kids’ stats, national-level EC, and our own diplomas.

[Anonymous]

National Cathedral School
https://www.instagram.com/cathedral2024/?igsh=MXU2MnAyczJqd3BucA%3D%3D

Sidwell Friends School (SFS)
https://www.instagram.com/sidwellseniors2024

DeMatha
https://www.instagram.com/dematha24seniors/

Maret
https://www.instagram.com/maretfrogs2024

Georgetown Day school (GDS)
https://www.instagram.com/gdsseniors2024

Holton Arms
https://www.instagram.com/holtonarms2024

Landon
https://www.instagram.com/landonseniors24

Potomac School
https://www.instagram.com/pmacdecisions2024/

Georgetown Visitation ("Visitation"/ "Visi")
https://www.instagram.com/v1s1collegedecisions2024/

Madeira
https://www.instagram.com/madeiradecisions24/

Washington International School ("WIS")
https://www.instagram.com/wisclassof2024/

Flint Hill
https://www.instagram.com/flinthilldecisions24

Edmund Burke
https://www.instagram.com/burkeseniors/

Field
https://www.instagram.com/fieldgrads.2024/

Bullis School
https://www.instagram.com/bullisseniors24/

Sandy Springs Friends School (SSFS)
https://www.instagram.com/ssfs24seniors

St. Stephens and St. Agnes School (DC)
https://www.instagram.com/sssasdecisions2024/

St. Andrews Episcopal School (SAES)
https://www.instagram.com/saes24decisions

Connelly School of the Holy Child (Holy Child)
https://www.instagram.com/hcseniors24

The Academy of the Holy Cross ("Holy Cross")
https://www.instagram.com/ahc_seniors24/

St. John’s College (high)
https://www.instagram.com/sjc2024seniors

The Heights
https://www.instagram.com/heights24.seniors

Oakcrest School (Vienna,VA)
https://www.instagram.com/p/C0r5TMhxQTo/?igsh=ZXFqZ3V0aWYzeXB0

Stone Ridge
https://www.instagram.com/srseniors24/

Waldorf (Note Waldorf Schools use one page for nation-wide)
https://www.instagram.com/waldorfdecisions24/?igsh=azNkaWkzM2treHNy

DeMatha:

https://www.instagram.com/dematha24seniors/

**************************
Walt Whitman (Bethesda):
https://www.instagram.com/vikingdestinations2024/

Winston Churchill (Potomac):
https://www.instagram.com/beyondthebulldog2024/

Walter Johnson High School ("WJ")
https://www.instagram.com/wherethewildcatsgo24/

Thomas S. Wootton High School ("Wootton")
https://www.instagram.com/peaceoutpatriots24/

Bethesda Chevy Chase High School ("BCC")
https://www.instagram.com/bccdecisions_2024/

*****************************
Additional school(s) for informational context:

Dalton School (prestigious NYC school) added for perspective:
https://www.instagram.com/daltonseniors23/

[Anonymous]

Can you add Montgomery Blair? (I cannot find it).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well knock me over with a feather.

Sidwell* only accepts kids who have great test and/or academic chops plus legacy/athletic/national-level ED/connections. That is, Sidwell only accepts the kids who are best positioned to get into T25s before they even walk through Sidwell's doors. Then these same kids apply ED because their parents can afford to. And, lo and behold, they get into a T25.

Is anybody surprised by this? The real question is, what is Sidwell's value added here? Would the same kid have had the same results coming from BCC? (Yes, you can talk about academic preparation, but that's a whole 'nother debate, and this thread is about college admissions.)

* Not to rag on Sidwell, but folks here seem to be using it as shorthand for top DC privates.

Of course! Why do you think they ask on application where parents went to college???

I've heard these days admissions officers check LinkedIn for the parents' creds. But same idea.

College admissions or highschool/k-12 admissions?

What if you are not on LinkedIn purposely?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Then why are so many people so giddy about T20 acceptances at private schools?

Drawing that conclusion from anonymous DCUM posts is so LOL.

So many threads are full of posts from the same handful of posters, plus there are lots of posts from students (the vocabulary and grammar/lack thereof is a dead giveaway), teachers, admissions staff, consultants, and goodness knows who else with barely to no connection with a school. And yet you've concluded that these anonymous posts are somehow representative of a private school's parents?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well knock me over with a feather.

Sidwell* only accepts kids who have great test and/or academic chops plus legacy/athletic/national-level ED/connections. That is, Sidwell only accepts the kids who are best positioned to get into T25s before they even walk through Sidwell's doors. Then these same kids apply ED because their parents can afford to. And, lo and behold, they get into a T25.

Is anybody surprised by this? The real question is, what is Sidwell's value added here? Would the same kid have had the same results coming from BCC? (Yes, you can talk about academic preparation, but that's a whole 'nother debate, and this thread is about college admissions.)

* Not to rag on Sidwell, but folks here seem to be using it as shorthand for top DC privates.

Do you really believe this is true? It's not.

PP here and of course I believe it. My kid was accepted at a top 3 and I can tell you all about kids’ stats, national-level EC, and our own diplomas.

So tell us. But be sure to limit to the information Sidwell had when they accepted your kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell* only accepts kids who have great test and/or academic chops plus legacy/athletic/national-level ED/connections.

Yeah, the dozens of kids getting in at PK or K and those who are siblings, legacies, or children of faculty/staff have such a track record of academic and extracurricular achievements!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well knock me over with a feather.

Sidwell* only accepts kids who have great test and/or academic chops plus legacy/athletic/national-level ED/connections. That is, Sidwell only accepts the kids who are best positioned to get into T25s before they even walk through Sidwell's doors. Then these same kids apply ED because their parents can afford to. And, lo and behold, they get into a T25.

Is anybody surprised by this? The real question is, what is Sidwell's value added here? Would the same kid have had the same results coming from BCC? (Yes, you can talk about academic preparation, but that's a whole 'nother debate, and this thread is about college admissions.)

* Not to rag on Sidwell, but folks here seem to be using it as shorthand for top DC privates.

Do you really believe this is true? It's not.

PP here and of course I believe it. My kid was accepted at a top 3 and I can tell you all about kids’ stats, national-level EC, and our own diplomas.

So tell us. But be sure to limit to the information Sidwell had when they accepted your kid.

I'm not going to tell you identifiable info about my kid in a public forum, you idiot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When most people say T25, they are referring to the top 25 National Research Universities as ranked by US News and World Report. I think Harvard or Princeton is #1. I think Emory is #24 in the latest version. This is what was referred to by most posters in this thread.

That’s not what I said when I posted. You didn’t read for understanding. I said top 25 colleges AND top 25 universities. My statements still stand about Sidwell sending over half of its graduating class to T25 colleges and universities. You don’t have to agree, but if you don’t you’re wrong.

These rankings are screwed AGAINST wealthy and predominately white colleges ie: Tulane and some others like BC etc.. that are known to have a higher than normal amount of wealthy students attending. Tulane dropped from 43 to 73 in one year without any explanation.

This is the criteria for USNWR ranking:
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/how-us-news-calculated-the-rankings

They don't even consider class size which is why many of these very large public colleges that very diverse are making the cut - friends kids are in classes with 500 plus kids and many are not taught by professors.

Half of the top schools on this list are large publics with very very large classes and many have TA's teaching the classes. Lots of competition to get internships and be at the top with so many students. It becomes a very stressful environment at some of these colleges that are so large. Kids coming from small privates with direct access to teachers and advisors can be completely shocked at the environment.

💯

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:College admissions probably is the number one consideration of families sending a kid to a big 3 school whether they admit it or not.

The stark reality of admissions is your kid basically needs to be hooked or in the top 10-15% of their class to get in a T25 college.

Hooks defined as URM, 1st gen, legacy, recruited athlete, coming from a geographically underserved area, VIP parent.

In Sidwell's 2023 graduating class, Hooks also included parents with beaucoup bucks whose surnames appear on buildings and "centers" at assorted Ivies. Maybe this is a subset of "VIP Parent" but it was disheartening for this naive writer. Kid was on academic life support and now...

What does this mean?

It means that the child (parent happens to be on the Board) was barely getting by academically. And now they are at a Top 5 college.

How do you know that the child was barely getting by academically? Did you see this child’s transcript?

Btw, if true this isn’t Sidwell’s fault. It’s actually a compliment to Sidwell and the parents’ pull. If you’re looking for a villain, blame the “Top 5 college” that admitted the student.

Gross

I guess you just learned today that selective college admissions isn’t a meritocracy.
Sad you. 😞

I did not just learn this - I'm saying it's icky to say it's a compliment to Sidwell that their student body attends top colleges because of the parents' influence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell* only accepts kids who have great test and/or academic chops plus legacy/athletic/national-level ED/connections.

Yeah, the dozens of kids getting in at PK or K and those who are siblings, legacies, or children of faculty/staff have such a track record of academic and extracurricular achievements!

Lifers generally don't do as well in the college sweepstakes as kids who entered in 9th because of their fabulous soccer skills. Some even get counseled out. But you knew that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:College admissions probably is the number one consideration of families sending a kid to a big 3 school whether they admit it or not.

The stark reality of admissions is your kid basically needs to be hooked or in the top 10-15% of their class to get in a T25 college.

Hooks defined as URM, 1st gen, legacy, recruited athlete, coming from a geographically underserved area, VIP parent.

In Sidwell's 2023 graduating class, Hooks also included parents with beaucoup bucks whose surnames appear on buildings and "centers" at assorted Ivies. Maybe this is a subset of "VIP Parent" but it was disheartening for this naive writer. Kid was on academic life support and now...

What does this mean?

It means that the child (parent happens to be on the Board) was barely getting by academically. And now they are at a Top 5 college.

How do you know that the child was barely getting by academically? Did you see this child’s transcript?

Btw, if true this isn’t Sidwell’s fault. It’s actually a compliment to Sidwell and the parents’ pull. If you’re looking for a villain, blame the “Top 5 college” that admitted the student.

There are some cases where it is glaringly clear a classmate isn't anywhere close to being the top, in any of their classes. Kids know this - they are small classes.

Definitely true everywhere. This happens all over.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Then why are so many people so giddy about T20 acceptances at private schools?

Drawing that conclusion from anonymous DCUM posts is so LOL.

So many threads are full of posts from the same handful of posters, plus there are lots of posts from students (the vocabulary and grammar/lack thereof is a dead giveaway), teachers, admissions staff, consultants, and goodness knows who else with barely to no connection with a school. And yet you've concluded that these anonymous posts are somehow representative of a private school's parents?

I love how you speak with such authority on the matter. Like you actually KNOW THINGS. It’s amusing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lifers generally don't do as well in the college sweepstakes as kids who entered in 9th because of their fabulous soccer skills. Some even get counseled out. But you knew that.

You often see the tired argument on DCUM that comparing private school college admissions to those of highly-regarded public schools somehow isn't apples to apples because private school student bodies are supposedly curated for superstars. But that simply isn't the case, when so many are being admitted without any evidence that they are or will become superstars.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell* only accepts kids who have great test and/or academic chops plus legacy/athletic/national-level ED/connections.

Yeah, the dozens of kids getting in at PK or K and those who are siblings, legacies, or children of faculty/staff have such a track record of academic and extracurricular achievements!

Lifers generally don't do as well in the college sweepstakes as kids who entered in 9th because of their fabulous soccer skills. Some even get counseled out. But you knew that.

Really hard to generalize about lifers. Some turn out to be exceptional, some are average, and some are counseled out or leave. Given that there are only 20 or so kids who enter in PK, and 120 kids by the time of graduation, you're really dealing with a small sample size that varies from year to year.