Public School Kid Has MUCH Better Ivy Chances Than Private School Kid

[Anonymous]

I have two kids in high school right now. The oldest is at a top private and the youngest opted for Jackson-Reed. I say they are roughly equal in intelligence, but the private school kid works much harder and has more work. However, the private school kid has managed to pull a 3.8 GPA compared to the J-R sibling with a 4.4 GPA.

According to Naviance, the private school kid has almost no shot at a T10 admission and MAYBE a chance at Vanderbilt, Emory, Rice, WashU if they apply ED1. He has good UChicago chances, but he doesn't want to go there. The J-R kid is right on target for Ivies, Stanford, MIT, Duke, etc. And what's more interesting, is that there are <10 applicants to the absolute top colleges each from J-R every year compared to like 1/2 of the private school kids gunning for the T10.

[Anonymous]

Hmmmm...hard to believe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have two kids in high school right now. The oldest is at a top private and the youngest opted for Jackson-Reed. I say they are roughly equal in intelligence, but the private school kid works much harder and has more work. However, the private school kid has managed to pull a 3.8 GPA compared to the J-R sibling with a 4.4 GPA.

According to Naviance, the private school kid has almost no shot at a T10 admission and MAYBE a chance at Vanderbilt, Emory, Rice, WashU if they apply ED1. He has good UChicago chances, but he doesn't want to go there. The J-R kid is right on target for Ivies, Stanford, MIT, Duke, etc. And what's more interesting, is that there are <10 applicants to the absolute top colleges each from J-R every year compared to like 1/2 of the private school kids gunning for the T10.

What’s the JR students unweighted GPA? That 4.4 is meaningless. JR sends a very small percentage of its students to Ivy+ each year.

Btw, at my child’s Big 3, a >3.80 GPA puts you into play at EVERY school, and students are getting into UChicago with a 3.5 GPA.

[Anonymous]

I call bull****. In 2025, Jackson-Reed didn't send a single student to Harvard, Stanford, or MIT. PolarisList.com . If you are just going to make up stuff, you have to keep your claims vague and not capable of easy verification.

[Anonymous]

Whoa. I just looked up Jackson Reed because I had no idea what school you meant. When did WW change its name?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have two kids in high school right now. The oldest is at a top private and the youngest opted for Jackson-Reed. I say they are roughly equal in intelligence, but the private school kid works much harder and has more work. However, the private school kid has managed to pull a 3.8 GPA compared to the J-R sibling with a 4.4 GPA.

According to Naviance, the private school kid has almost no shot at a T10 admission and MAYBE a chance at Vanderbilt, Emory, Rice, WashU if they apply ED1. He has good UChicago chances, but he doesn't want to go there. The J-R kid is right on target for Ivies, Stanford, MIT, Duke, etc. And what's more interesting, is that there are <10 applicants to the absolute top colleges each from J-R every year compared to like 1/2 of the private school kids gunning for the T10.

What’s the JR students unweighted GPA? That 4.4 is meaningless. JR sends a very small percentage of its students to Ivy+ each year.

Btw, at my child’s Big 3, a >3.80 GPA puts you into play at EVERY school, and students are getting into UChicago with a 3.5 GPA.

Fiction.

— Big 3 parent

[Anonymous]

Your son therefore does not truly attend a top private if a 3.8 is shutting him out of most T20s.

Vanderbilt, Northwestern, Cornell, UChicago, etc. will go down to a 3.6 in ED1 at a certain Big 3 school. It’s the same at the NYC TT schools, the NE boarding schools, and so on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I call bull****. In 2025, Jackson-Reed didn't send a single student to Harvard, Stanford, or MIT. PolarisList.com . If you are just going to make up stuff, you have to keep your claims vague and not capable of easy verification.

Given that Jackson-Reed doesn't send ANY students to Harvard, Princeton or MIT, your DC's chances there are essentially zero. Granted, your DC's chances at a top private are maybe only 3 percent, but those private school chances are still better. Each family has to decide for itself whether a nominal increase in chance is worth a few hundred thousand dollars, but it is b.sh__ that chances are better in publics, even in top publics.

[Anonymous]

Public schools in this area always send a handful of students to a range of the top schools. The difference with top privates is twofold—consistency and relative volume.

The other issue with publics is there is no meaningful way for your child to distinguish themselves. There’s no difference between the top 1/5 of the class; they don’t rank and they don’t communicate meaningfully with top colleges about who is truly outstanding and excellent, so each year maybe a rower or a football player or an URM legacy goes to say Yale but that’s not because of J-R. But, at a top private, your child has meaningful grades that actually say something about their abilities that top schools trust. And don’t give me the BS about competing in a pool of all legacies or top donors. First off, there are realistically like actual donor class recruits in all of DC every year — BigLaw partners do not qualify and they aren’t giving $1mil dollar gifts. Second, J-R and it’s like are filled with legacy families at HYPSM as well; they just have true believer in public school parents.

[Anonymous]

What private school matters. Is this Sidwell or a school like SSSAS? Certainly much better odds to end up at an Ivy by going to Sidwell. Not so much for a private like SSSAS or Holy Cross for example

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hmmmm...hard to believe.

No it’s fact.

Public’s do better college admissions

I love it when morons pay for Catholic schools and they end up at tiny colleges not ivies not good colleges crap one’s

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I call bull****. In 2025, Jackson-Reed didn't send a single student to Harvard, Stanford, or MIT. PolarisList.com . If you are just going to make up stuff, you have to keep your claims vague and not capable of easy verification.

Given that Jackson-Reed doesn't send ANY students to Harvard, Princeton or MIT, your DC's chances there are essentially zero. Granted, your DC's chances at a top private are maybe only 3 percent, but those private school chances are still better. Each family has to decide for itself whether a nominal increase in chance is worth a few hundred thousand dollars, but it is b.sh__ that chances are better in publics, even in top publics.

JR has at least one student going to Princeton this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hmmmm...hard to believe.

No it’s fact.

Public’s do better college admissions

I love it when morons pay for Catholic schools and they end up at tiny colleges not ivies not good colleges crap one’s

You're the moron if you think the only reason people pay for a Catholic or private school education is to gain admission into a top-"whatever" college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hmmmm...hard to believe.

No it’s fact.

Public’s do better college admissions

I love it when morons pay for Catholic schools and they end up at tiny colleges not ivies not good colleges crap one’s

Catholic schools aren't the area's too schools and most parents pay for them for reasons other than their kid getting into an Ivy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have two kids in high school right now. The oldest is at a top private and the youngest opted for Jackson-Reed. I say they are roughly equal in intelligence, but the private school kid works much harder and has more work. However, the private school kid has managed to pull a 3.8 GPA compared to the J-R sibling with a 4.4 GPA.

According to Naviance, the private school kid has almost no shot at a T10 admission and MAYBE a chance at Vanderbilt, Emory, Rice, WashU if they apply ED1. He has good UChicago chances, but he doesn't want to go there. The J-R kid is right on target for Ivies, Stanford, MIT, Duke, etc. And what's more interesting, is that there are <10 applicants to the absolute top colleges each from J-R every year compared to like 1/2 of the private school kids gunning for the T10.

What’s the JR students unweighted GPA? That 4.4 is meaningless. JR sends a very small percentage of its students to Ivy+ each year.

Btw, at my child’s Big 3, a >3.80 GPA puts you into play at EVERY school, and students are getting into UChicago with a 3.5 GPA.

Fiction.


very possible with ED and full pay from a school like Sidwell or GDS
— Big 3 parent