Names of National Merit Semifinalists in DC Released: Sidwell -16. St. Albans - 1

[Anonymous]

This list makes no sense if you compare it to previous years. Sidwell has more finalists than it normally would. St. Albans only one. GDS only one. None for Gonzaga (which typically has 5ish). Nothing for Walls.

My kids don't go to any of these schools, but, I wonder what the deal is. This isn't something I'd be bragging about over at Sidwell. I think this list is really weird and possibly incomplete or manipulated in some way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This list makes no sense if you compare it to previous years. Sidwell has more finalists than it normally would. St. Albans only one. GDS only one. None for Gonzaga (which typically has 5ish). Nothing for Walls.

My kids don't go to any of these schools, but, I wonder what the deal is. This isn't something I'd be bragging about over at Sidwell. I think this list is really weird and possibly incomplete or manipulated in some way.

Has anyone considered that the parents of the top public school students transferred them to open private schools during the pandemic and Sidwell got the top crop (maybe because they had more open seats, maybe because they answered the phone calls first, maybe because they were more accommodating).

You'd of course have to ask a Sidwell parent if most of these 16 Semifinalists were transfers but regardless I think this is a job well done and should be celebrated.

Congrats to Sidwell! (And if my pandemic theory is right - they should start poaching star students every year )

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This list makes no sense if you compare it to previous years. Sidwell has more finalists than it normally would. St. Albans only one. GDS only one. None for Gonzaga (which typically has 5ish). Nothing for Walls.

My kids don't go to any of these schools, but, I wonder what the deal is. This isn't something I'd be bragging about over at Sidwell. I think this list is really weird and possibly incomplete or manipulated in some way.

Has anyone considered that the parents of the top public school students transferred them to open private schools during the pandemic and Sidwell got the top crop (maybe because they had more open seats, maybe because they answered the phone calls first, maybe because they were more accommodating).

You'd of course have to ask a Sidwell parent if most of these 16 Semifinalists were transfers but regardless I think this is a job well done and should be celebrated.

Congrats to Sidwell! (And if my pandemic theory is right - they should start poaching star students every year )

Sidwell US parent here. This transfer theory did not happen. There were no “pandemic openings.”

We are just one data point but our teen was not contacted via email or verbal regarding PSAT/SAT swap.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This list makes no sense if you compare it to previous years. Sidwell has more finalists than it normally would. St. Albans only one. GDS only one. None for Gonzaga (which typically has 5ish). Nothing for Walls.

My kids don't go to any of these schools, but, I wonder what the deal is. This isn't something I'd be bragging about over at Sidwell. I think this list is really weird and possibly incomplete or manipulated in some way.

Has anyone considered that the parents of the top public school students transferred them to open private schools during the pandemic and Sidwell got the top crop (maybe because they had more open seats, maybe because they answered the phone calls first, maybe because they were more accommodating).

You'd of course have to ask a Sidwell parent if most of these 16 Semifinalists were transfers but regardless I think this is a job well done and should be celebrated.

Congrats to Sidwell! (And if my pandemic theory is right - they should start poaching star students every year )

Sidwell US parent here. This transfer theory did not happen. There were no “pandemic openings.”

We are just one data point but our teen was not contacted via email or verbal regarding PSAT/SAT swap.

Interesting. So what do you think the cause of the difference was?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This list makes no sense if you compare it to previous years. Sidwell has more finalists than it normally would. St. Albans only one. GDS only one. None for Gonzaga (which typically has 5ish). Nothing for Walls.

My kids don't go to any of these schools, but, I wonder what the deal is. This isn't something I'd be bragging about over at Sidwell. I think this list is really weird and possibly incomplete or manipulated in some way.

Has anyone considered that the parents of the top public school students transferred them to open private schools during the pandemic and Sidwell got the top crop (maybe because they had more open seats, maybe because they answered the phone calls first, maybe because they were more accommodating).

You'd of course have to ask a Sidwell parent if most of these 16 Semifinalists were transfers but regardless I think this is a job well done and should be celebrated.

Congrats to Sidwell! (And if my pandemic theory is right - they should start poaching star students every year )

YES! You are brilliant and have figured this out!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This list makes no sense if you compare it to previous years. Sidwell has more finalists than it normally would. St. Albans only one. GDS only one. None for Gonzaga (which typically has 5ish). Nothing for Walls.

My kids don't go to any of these schools, but, I wonder what the deal is. This isn't something I'd be bragging about over at Sidwell. I think this list is really weird and possibly incomplete or manipulated in some way.

Has anyone considered that the parents of the top public school students transferred them to open private schools during the pandemic and Sidwell got the top crop (maybe because they had more open seats, maybe because they answered the phone calls first, maybe because they were more accommodating).

You'd of course have to ask a Sidwell parent if most of these 16 Semifinalists were transfers but regardless I think this is a job well done and should be celebrated.

Congrats to Sidwell! (And if my pandemic theory is right - they should start poaching star students every year )

Sidwell US parent here. This transfer theory did not happen. There were no “pandemic openings.”

We are just one data point but our teen was not contacted via email or verbal regarding PSAT/SAT swap.

Interesting. So what do you think the cause of the difference was?

DP. Honestly? A crop of very smart kids and encouraging all of the students to take advantage of different test submission requirements.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This list makes no sense if you compare it to previous years. Sidwell has more finalists than it normally would. St. Albans only one. GDS only one. None for Gonzaga (which typically has 5ish). Nothing for Walls.

My kids don't go to any of these schools, but, I wonder what the deal is. This isn't something I'd be bragging about over at Sidwell. I think this list is really weird and possibly incomplete or manipulated in some way.

Has anyone considered that the parents of the top public school students transferred them to open private schools during the pandemic and Sidwell got the top crop (maybe because they had more open seats, maybe because they answered the phone calls first, maybe because they were more accommodating).

You'd of course have to ask a Sidwell parent if most of these 16 Semifinalists were transfers but regardless I think this is a job well done and should be celebrated.

Congrats to Sidwell! (And if my pandemic theory is right - they should start poaching star students every year )

YES! You are brilliant and have figured this out!

Again, this is not how private school admissions works.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This list makes no sense if you compare it to previous years. Sidwell has more finalists than it normally would. St. Albans only one. GDS only one. None for Gonzaga (which typically has 5ish). Nothing for Walls.

My kids don't go to any of these schools, but, I wonder what the deal is. This isn't something I'd be bragging about over at Sidwell. I think this list is really weird and possibly incomplete or manipulated in some way.

Has anyone considered that the parents of the top public school students transferred them to open private schools during the pandemic and Sidwell got the top crop (maybe because they had more open seats, maybe because they answered the phone calls first, maybe because they were more accommodating).

You'd of course have to ask a Sidwell parent if most of these 16 Semifinalists were transfers but regardless I think this is a job well done and should be celebrated.

Congrats to Sidwell! (And if my pandemic theory is right - they should start poaching star students every year )

Sidwell US parent here. This transfer theory did not happen. There were no “pandemic openings.”

We are just one data point but our teen was not contacted via email or verbal regarding PSAT/SAT swap.

Interesting. So what do you think the cause of the difference was?

Well somehow it caught on at Sidwell this year that you could manually submit your SAT score to be in the running for NMSF and many kids did.

If it wasn't the college counseling department at department at Sidwell that suggested kids do this it was 1)savvy parents 2)kids themselves. I know if my daughter's friends did this, she would want to do this.
It's not surprising that it became "a thing". Whereas at other school no one submitted scores.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell offered the PSAT on campus, so the kids didn't use the SAT route.

Many did.

How is that possible? If you school offered the PSAT, you were not eligible to use the easier AE.

[Anonymous]

Why it is so surprise that Sidwell has 15? As comparison Sidwell had 13 in 2020.
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/834430.page

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This list makes no sense if you compare it to previous years. Sidwell has more finalists than it normally would. St. Albans only one. GDS only one. None for Gonzaga (which typically has 5ish). Nothing for Walls.

My kids don't go to any of these schools, but, I wonder what the deal is. This isn't something I'd be bragging about over at Sidwell. I think this list is really weird and possibly incomplete or manipulated in some way.

Has anyone considered that the parents of the top public school students transferred them to open private schools during the pandemic and Sidwell got the top crop (maybe because they had more open seats, maybe because they answered the phone calls first, maybe because they were more accommodating).

You'd of course have to ask a Sidwell parent if most of these 16 Semifinalists were transfers but regardless I think this is a job well done and should be celebrated.

Congrats to Sidwell! (And if my pandemic theory is right - they should start poaching star students every year )

Sidwell US parent here. This transfer theory did not happen. There were no “pandemic openings.”

We are just one data point but our teen was not contacted via email or verbal regarding PSAT/SAT swap.

Interesting. So what do you think the cause of the difference was?

DP. Honestly? A crop of very smart kids and encouraging all of the students to take advantage of different test submission requirements.

Sidwell parent here. Just smart kids. No transfers and no college counseling was not asking kids to game the system by entering different tests. PSAT was offered in January. It’s just a very strong class.

[Anonymous]

I expect this has alot to do with the fact that Wilson didn't offer a PSAT or SAT to juniors last year but the privates did.

[Anonymous]

Here is list from 2020. This year data is not surprised.it is very consistent with previous years. But it is surprised that STA has much less.

2020 D.C. Student Semifinalists

Basis School: Lena E. Cavicchia
Field School: Annika Torng
Georgetown Day High School: William E. Finkelstein, Natasha Zimmermann
Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School: Kiera E. Dent, Cecelia A. Swartz
Gonzaga High School: James C. Garland, Joshua D. Pfefferkorn
Maret School: Kathryn S. Hahm, Claiborne H. Hartman
National Cathedral School: Elizabeth A. Borgmann, Sophia A. Charles, Amelia M. Giffin, Audrey E. May, Iris Wu
School Without Walls: Aryaman Arora
Sidwell Friends School: Curran Chopra, Kiran A. Deol, Benjamin T Fagell, Henry Fant, Ishaan Kumar, Aleksandr P. Kuzmenchuk, Gillian M. La Vina, Harris N. Panner, Luke H. Primis, Joe H. Schwabacher, Mihir Singh, Nicholas Spasojevic, Timothy A. Ward
St. Albans School: Matthew A. Chalk, David A. Hla, Nolan W. Musslewhite,William G. Nash, Yash S. Somaiya, Constantine G. Tsibouris
St. Anselm's Abbey School: Antoni W. Wellisz
Washington International School: Joshua J. Roberts
Washington Latin Charter School: Benjamin Weinberger
Woodrow Wilson High School: Gabrielle S. Aladjem

[Anonymous]

As a former NMSF myself, I can’t figure out for the life of me why anyone cares about this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I expect this has alot to do with the fact that Wilson didn't offer a PSAT or SAT to juniors last year but the privates did.

School without Walls did not offer either test as well. (no DCPS school did).