college outcomes for those who don't get in your chosen school

[Anonymous]

Reflecting on the "GDS Rejection" 4 Years Later-
I wanted to share a quick update and some perspective for anyone currently navigating the stress of private school admissions.

A few years ago, when my child didn't get into Georgetown Day School (GDS) for 9th grade, it felt like a major blow. Fast forward to today: that rejection was actually a blessing in disguise.

We pivoted to our local area public school, and it turned out to be the perfect environment. Our child didn't just survive; they thrived.

The Opportunities: The depth of extracurriculars and the "big pond" environment gave our kid the room to find their own voice.

The Financials: We saved an incredible amount of money on tuition, which we were then able to put toward college.

The Result: My child was just accepted into Wharton.

If you look at the admissions data for area publics this year compared to some of the elite privates, the public schools are holding their own and in many cases, seeing even better engagement from top-tier universities.

While I know some students truly need the smaller class sizes and specialized attention of a private school, I want to encourage parents who are dealing with a rejection: Know that there are wonderful things about our area's public schools. Sometimes, the path you didn't choose is the one that leads exactly where they need to go.

We are so happy with that 9th-grade rejection today!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Reflecting on the "GDS Rejection" 4 Years Later-
I wanted to share a quick update and some perspective for anyone currently navigating the stress of private school admissions.

A few years ago, when my child didn't get into Georgetown Day School (GDS) for 9th grade, it felt like a major blow. Fast forward to today: that rejection was actually a blessing in disguise.

We pivoted to our local area public school, and it turned out to be the perfect environment. Our child didn't just survive; they thrived.

The Opportunities: The depth of extracurriculars and the "big pond" environment gave our kid the room to find their own voice.

The Financials: We saved an incredible amount of money on tuition, which we were then able to put toward college.

The Result: My child was just accepted into Wharton.

If you look at the admissions data for area publics this year compared to some of the elite privates, the public schools are holding their own and in many cases, seeing even better engagement from top-tier universities.

While I know some students truly need the smaller class sizes and specialized attention of a private school, I want to encourage parents who are dealing with a rejection: Know that there are wonderful things about our area's public schools. Sometimes, the path you didn't choose is the one that leads exactly where they need to go.

We are so happy with that 9th-grade rejection today!

Congratulations! I think every child will have their own successful journey. Which public is this? Dcps or mcps? Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Humblebrag but congrats!

College admissions seems to be the focus of public school parents, while private school parents focus more on life outcome, i.e. 10 years out of college. Hope they enjoy the undergrad b-school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
College admissions seems to be the focus of public school parents, while private school parents focus more on life outcome, i.e. 10 years out of college.

I'd say private school parents are generally more focused on current bragging rights (^_^)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Humblebrag but congrats!

College admissions seems to be the focus of public school parents, while private school parents focus more on life outcome, i.e. 10 years out of college. Hope they enjoy the undergrad b-school.

This. It's a different perspective that is obvious once you're at a top private. There is not a grinder or "holy crap my kid needs to get into a top college at all cost" mentality. There is a huge percentage of kids at these privates that don't need a tippy-top name brand undergraduate degree because their family connections will get them where they need to go.

If your kid needs the degree because they don't have the connections then it's good they're going to Wharton. My kid needed the degree (we have no connections) so it's good that he's at a different Ivy. It's striking because now a few years into their degrees, my kid's DC private high school classmates who attend lower ranked colleges are getting better summer internships, etc through family connections than my kid and Ivy classmates are getting, despite the fact that the Ivy kids were always much better students, are now getting As, doing all the things. Such is life.

[Anonymous]

The other thing is that grades in college are everything these days, especially if your kid wants an elite internship or a competitive career like consulting or finance. My perspective of watching this play out with my own kids and others is that the public school kids (especially DCPS) take a semester or year or more to get up to speed. The private school kids are getting the 4.0 from fall semester of freshman year. I've known a lot of public school kids who struggle at elite colleges the first year because it's the first time they've had to take a cumulative midterm or final , write an essay longer than a paragraph, read a book (yes, DCPS), turn things in on time, every time, etc. It doesn't work well because there is no room for GPA error in this day and age.

[Anonymous]

Echoing another poster above. Private school parent here (since LS) and it's really not about college placement for us. We know our kid will go somewhere that will be a good fit for her.

Private is and always has been about a lot more than that -- primarily safety and feeling like our kid will never slip through the cracks. Of course there are plenty of kids that go to ivies from publics (my husband and I both did) but we don't put our kids in private school for college placement opportunities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Humblebrag but congrats!

College admissions seems to be the focus of public school parents, while private school parents focus more on life outcome, i.e. 10 years out of college. Hope they enjoy the undergrad b-school.

Yeah, private school parents don't care at all about the prestige/selectivity of where their kids go to college. [Cue laughter from the audience.]

I get the feeling OP's kid is going to be doing just fine 10 years from now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Humblebrag but congrats!

College admissions seems to be the focus of public school parents, while private school parents focus more on life outcome, i.e. 10 years out of college. Hope they enjoy the undergrad b-school.

Yeah, private school parents don't care at all about the prestige/selectivity of where their kids go to college. [Cue laughter from the audience.]

I get the feeling OP's kid is going to be doing just fine 10 years from now.

What makes you say that? Wharton undergrad is intensely competitive for their students. It will be sink or swim and will not be a forgiving college experience.

[Anonymous]

Congrats!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Humblebrag but congrats!

College admissions seems to be the focus of public school parents, while private school parents focus more on life outcome, i.e. 10 years out of college. Hope they enjoy the undergrad b-school.

I bet all the strivers who wants to get in Big 3 absolutely do not care about college placements.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Humblebrag but congrats!

College admissions seems to be the focus of public school parents, while private school parents focus more on life outcome, i.e. 10 years out of college. Hope they enjoy the undergrad b-school.

I bet all the strivers who wants to get in Big 3 absolutely do not care about college placements.

What makes you incapable of nuanced thought? It isn't all or nothing. People can care about two things at the same time. Of course I would celebrate my kid's college acceptances, however what really matters is life outcome 10+ years later. College acceptance is a very small win in the bigger picture. I wouldn't put much emphasis on it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Reflecting on the "GDS Rejection" 4 Years Later-
I wanted to share a quick update and some perspective for anyone currently navigating the stress of private school admissions.

A few years ago, when my child didn't get into Georgetown Day School (GDS) for 9th grade, it felt like a major blow. Fast forward to today: that rejection was actually a blessing in disguise.

We pivoted to our local area public school, and it turned out to be the perfect environment. Our child didn't just survive; they thrived.

The Opportunities: The depth of extracurriculars and the "big pond" environment gave our kid the room to find their own voice.

The Financials: We saved an incredible amount of money on tuition, which we were then able to put toward college.

The Result: My child was just accepted into Wharton.

If you look at the admissions data for area publics this year compared to some of the elite privates, the public schools are holding their own and in many cases, seeing even better engagement from top-tier universities.

While I know some students truly need the smaller class sizes and specialized attention of a private school, I want to encourage parents who are dealing with a rejection: Know that there are wonderful things about our area's public schools. Sometimes, the path you didn't choose is the one that leads exactly where they need to go.

We are so happy with that 9th-grade rejection today!

Thanks Chat GPT!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Humblebrag but congrats!

College admissions seems to be the focus of public school parents, while private school parents focus more on life outcome, i.e. 10 years out of college. Hope they enjoy the undergrad b-school.

I bet all the strivers who wants to get in Big 3 absolutely do not care about college placements.

What makes you incapable of nuanced thought? It isn't all or nothing. People can care about two things at the same time. Of course I would celebrate my kid's college acceptances, however what really matters is life outcome 10+ years later. College acceptance is a very small win in the bigger picture. I wouldn't put much emphasis on it.

I am a private school parent. But every time someone praises public schools, some people will definitely say, public school parents ONLY care about college admissions, and yet private schools are about education.

[Anonymous]

Congrats, OP! Happy for your family.