Bottom Half at Sidwell - How is college placement?

[Anonymous]

Nonsense. I'm comparing it to DC's highly regarded MoCo high school in the past 2-3 years. No college counseling junior year. No college prep classes in any year. If you don't think that's true, you're comparing it to your out-of-state high school.

Huh. I find that to be extremely strange, given how hyper-competitive this area is. I thought it was normal for affluent areas to start college counseling junior year. I was on college visits by second semester junior year. Especially since when I was in high school, it was highly recommended for people who had the financial means to chose an ED school, especially if they wanted to go somewhere extremely competitive, or apply EA to get things out of the way, and to meet those deadlines, you have to have a pretty good idea early on of where you want to go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

But college counseling at Sidwell starts with a class junior year, no? That's more than most privates and certainly more than any public.

Nonsense. I graduated from a highly performing public suburban school in the mid-2000s and college counseling started junior year. I would imagine that most high quality public and privates these days start junior year in competitive urban areas. If you don't think that's true, you're comparing it to your experience in the '80s.

Nonsense. I'm comparing it to DC's highly regarded MoCo high school in the past 2-3 years. No college counseling junior year. No college prep classes in any year. If you don't think that's true, you're comparing it to your out-of-state high school.

Really? At our highly regarded MoCo high school the college counseling sessions for parents and students started in 10th grade. There was an evening session for parents and students and an in school session for students. 2 of those in junior year (fall and spring). And plenty of guidance senior year. Same at my other DCs private school - a session in 10th and 11th grades. We also met with the college counselor one on one in 10th grade to plan 11th grade testing and college visits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

But college counseling at Sidwell starts with a class junior year, no? That's more than most privates and certainly more than any public.

Nonsense. I graduated from a highly performing public suburban school in the mid-2000s and college counseling started junior year. I would imagine that most high quality public and privates these days start junior year in competitive urban areas. If you don't think that's true, you're comparing it to your experience in the '80s.

Nonsense. I'm comparing it to DC's highly regarded MoCo high school in the past 2-3 years. No college counseling junior year. No college prep classes in any year. If you don't think that's true, you're comparing it to your out-of-state high school.

Really? At our highly regarded MoCo high school the college counseling sessions for parents and students started in 10th grade. There was an evening session for parents and students and an in school session for students. 2 of those in junior year (fall and spring). And plenty of guidance senior year. Same at my other DCs private school - a session in 10th and 11th grades. We also met with the college counselor one on one in 10th grade to plan 11th grade testing and college visits.

That was my first post about MoCo high schools. Yes, there was an evening session for parents and an in-school for session for students. We're comparing this to an entire class devoted to college counseling during Sidwell's junior year. DC's friend at Sidwell took the class.

[Anonymous]

The in-school session at our MCPS public, for the kids, was one day during the school year. There are certainly helpful resources at the schools, like Fiske and other guides, lists of scholarships, and organized visits from colleges. It's on a very different scale from a class dedicated to choosing a college, though, and a lot more is done by the kids themselves with their parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The in-school session at our MCPS public, for the kids, was one day during the school year. There are certainly helpful resources at the schools, like Fiske and other guides, lists of scholarships, and organized visits from colleges. It's on a very different scale from a class dedicated to choosing a college, though, and a lot more is done by the kids themselves with their parents.

Sidwell 11th-graders meet with a counselor for a series of group workshops (maybe 6 in all), not a class. Parents don't meet with their child's counselor until second semester of 11th-grade. We've had 2 kids graduate from Sidwell and with each one had one meeting with the counselor, plus a few phone calls and emails. Believe me, it's not as deluxe as many public school parents (and many parents of younger kids at Sidwell) imagine.

[Anonymous]

Former Sidwell parent here. We loved the school, but were not pleased with college placement assistance.

[Anonymous]

Half of the in-school session in publics is taking the PSAT for juniors, or the practice PSAT for freshmen and sophomores. Then lunch, then an hour or two of pep talks or whatever.

Another difference may be the counselor's familiarity with your kid. Also, their Rolodex and familiarity with schools besides UMD. I say this as a parent who went through the process last year. We got some fairly bad advice from the counselor about what the most selective schools want. For example, DC was told that 2 years of foreign language was fine and there was no reason to take a third year.

[Anonymous]

Is this post response still valid in 2018? I know this thread has been over 5 years old but not sure if there have been changes since then in Sidwell's placement policy...

[Anonymous]

Urm? Ivies

Non-Urm? Michigan, Trinity, Tulane

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is this post response still valid in 2018? I know this thread has been over 5 years old but not sure if there have been changes since then in Sidwell's placement policy...

A whole new college guidance staff since then.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only a small number of colleges can have a Sidwell or St. Albans or GDS graduate.

Every college can have a public school graduate.

Bottom half as an impediment? Just do the math.

I think most competitive colleges would rather have interesting high achievers from public schools than yet another prep school grad. The math has been done. Bottom half of class matters but coming from a "top" private school can actually hurt.

This - Harvard will take only one or 2 from each of these kids of schools. All the spots are brokered out, so being in the bottom half, even if you would have been a straight A at a public school, means you won't be able to get into an Ivy League. That being said, not getting into an Ivy League isn't the end of the world.

pfft. i went to a public high school in a small town in a red state, and we *normally* had two people get into harvard

[Anonymous]

If you're in the bottom half, your application screams "dumb rich white kid," and I'm not sure how demand you're in, in college admissions offices.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you're in the bottom half, your application screams "dumb rich white kid," and I'm not sure how demand you're in, in college admissions offices.

I think you are not aware of the so called "Asian discrimination"... as long as you are not a "smart rich asian kid" then you are fine. There is definitely discrimination and as a "dumb rich white kid", your chances are better than a "smart rich asian kid"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Former Sidwell parent here. We loved the school, but were not pleased with college placement assistance.

Are you the one whose counselor was not supportive of her kid's HYPSM app,so you had to go around her?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you're in the bottom half, your application screams "dumb rich white kid," and I'm not sure how demand you're in, in college admissions offices.

Plenty of demand for full pay families.