Walls- Is it really as great as people say

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s a public school. Good, not great. (I’m a public school parent, I can say that). Not that hard to get into - you don’t have to be a star student, just solid. Yes, a good amount of work, sometimes reasonable, sometimes not. Kids who are the right fit are happy. Students seem pretty close.

On some measures, Walls is not that hard to get into. Get a 3.8 in 7th grade and you are eligible. Many DC kids can do that.

HOWEVER, once you're in the admission pool, it's basically a lottery whether or not you get in. Something like half the kids who meet the standard don't get in - and no matter how much the school pretends that admission is merit-based and related to kid performance in the (subjective and wildly inconsistent) interview, that is not true.

So it's both not that hard and potentially impossible for any given kid. As a parent whose 8th grader meets the GPA standard, it sure feels uncertain whether or not my kid will get the "golden ticket" and telling them that it's not that hard to get in assumes that kids can have some level of influence on the process, which I strongly believe they do not.

This is very true. Some of my child's brightest friends were waitlisted last year while my child was accepted. She is a great student but some of her friends who were much more academically gifted and who would handle the workload easier didn't get in. There is no rhyme or reason that I can see, aside from luck or connecting with your interviewers. Even then I'm not sure how they score things. Good student or not, plan for a backup and hope for the best. Good luck to your and your kid. Do have them interview prep, Walls will send out some practice questions and it can't hurt to do a practice run.

[Anonymous]

It is not as good as: Boston Latin, TJ, Bronx Science or a bunch of other schools. Now, sure, you may be asking why that would be relevant since you live in DC and you can't send your kids there. But this is DCUM and they feel it is important that you know which schools not here are better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Walls used to be more prestigious. They got rid of the entry test and have watered down academic standards.

The college admissions were pretty impressive last year. What other measures do you have for this claim?

College admissions were OK but not great, given the size of the school. You can’t just look at the handful who got into T10 colleges.

Plus, that graduating class was admitted with the Walls old admissions test.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s a public school. Good, not great. (I’m a public school parent, I can say that). Not that hard to get into - you don’t have to be a star student, just solid. Yes, a good amount of work, sometimes reasonable, sometimes not. Kids who are the right fit are happy. Students seem pretty close.

On some measures, Walls is not that hard to get into. Get a 3.8 in 7th grade and you are eligible. Many DC kids can do that.

HOWEVER, once you're in the admission pool, it's basically a lottery whether or not you get in. Something like half the kids who meet the standard don't get in - and no matter how much the school pretends that admission is merit-based and related to kid performance in the (subjective and wildly inconsistent) interview, that is not true.

So it's both not that hard and potentially impossible for any given kid. As a parent whose 8th grader meets the GPA standard, it sure feels uncertain whether or not my kid will get the "golden ticket" and telling them that it's not that hard to get in assumes that kids can have some level of influence on the process, which I strongly believe they do not.

This is very true. Some of my child's brightest friends were waitlisted last year while my child was accepted. She is a great student but some of her friends who were much more academically gifted and who would handle the workload easier didn't get in. There is no rhyme or reason that I can see, aside from luck or connecting with your interviewers. Even then I'm not sure how they score things. Good student or not, plan for a backup and hope for the best. Good luck to your and your kid. Do have them interview prep, Walls will send out some practice questions and it can't hurt to do a practice run.

This was the same 2 years ago. My kid's brightest friends tried but did not get into Walls. They are now thriving at Sidwell, St. Albans, and Jackson Reed (three off the top of my head.)
That was the year of the 2 minute interview.

[Anonymous]

We are pretty happy.
DS was a straight A student at Basis, we didn't leave for lack of rigor.
Classes are easy, but I'm okay with getting settled with easy classes as he figures out the new social dynamic of high school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think there is a segment of the population that views Walls as a "free private" school and they tend to be disappointed when they realize it still is a DCPS school (not even a charter school).

For those who go in understanding the quirks and foibles of DCPS, they have a good to great experience.

This is spot on! It's not a private or charter school. The school can't do whatever it wants. Pretty shocking to some of the clueless parents.

Also, newsflash (but not really a newsflash), Walls has no facilities other than it's little building. No athletic facilities and no use of the GW facilities other (their athletic facilities aren't even located on campus other than basketball/swimming...so really no help anyway).

Nothing will change with respect to this, so don't complain about it after the fact. It is what it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Walls used to be more prestigious. They got rid of the entry test and have watered down academic standards.

The college admissions were pretty impressive last year. What other measures do you have for this claim?

College admissions were OK but not great, given the size of the school. You can’t just look at the handful who got into T10 colleges.

Plus, that graduating class was admitted with the Walls old admissions test.

Quite a few kids went to top schools-at least seven are at Ivies. The majority of middle-class and UMC families don't care about T25(not T10 BS you made up) colleges. It's about merit-based aid and scholarships! SWW does a good job in that aspect.

I know kids that turned down Ivies for full rides at other schools. Parents that are able pay are not even buying in anymore. It's about ROI not some imaginary prestige.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Walls used to be more prestigious. They got rid of the entry test and have watered down academic standards.

The college admissions were pretty impressive last year. What other measures do you have for this claim?

NP. The admittances to which you refer were for kids who were admitted to Walls under the test-in process. Your data point doesn't make the case you think it means.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think there is a segment of the population that views Walls as a "free private" school and they tend to be disappointed when they realize it still is a DCPS school (not even a charter school).

For those who go in understanding the quirks and foibles of DCPS, they have a good to great experience.

This is spot on! It's not a private or charter school. The school can't do whatever it wants. Pretty shocking to some of the clueless parents.

Also, newsflash (but not really a newsflash), Walls has no facilities other than it's little building. No athletic facilities and no use of the GW facilities other (their athletic facilities aren't even located on campus other than basketball/swimming...so really no help anyway).

Nothing will change with respect to this, so don't complain about it after the fact. It is what it is.

You are adorable. You must be new here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Walls used to be more prestigious. They got rid of the entry test and have watered down academic standards.

The college admissions were pretty impressive last year. What other measures do you have for this claim?

NP. The admittances to which you refer were for kids who were admitted to Walls under the test-in process. Your data point doesn't make the case you think it means.

I asked for other measures. Got snarky responses. It is clear you don’t think highly of Walls no matter what and will always have some caveat to any accomplishments people bring up. So send your child to a different school. It’s a public HS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Walls used to be more prestigious. They got rid of the entry test and have watered down academic standards.

The college admissions were pretty impressive last year. What other measures do you have for this claim?

College admissions were OK but not great, given the size of the school. You can’t just look at the handful who got into T10 colleges.

Plus, that graduating class was admitted with the Walls old admissions test.

More than a handful got in to top 10 schools. I know this is shocking but some kids turned down top ten schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Walls used to be more prestigious. They got rid of the entry test and have watered down academic standards.

The college admissions were pretty impressive last year. What other measures do you have for this claim?

College admissions were OK but not great, given the size of the school. You can’t just look at the handful who got into T10 colleges.

Plus, that graduating class was admitted with the Walls old admissions test.

Quite a few kids went to top schools-at least seven are at Ivies. The majority of middle-class and UMC families don't care about T25(not T10 BS you made up) colleges. It's about merit-based aid and scholarships! SWW does a good job in that aspect.

I know kids that turned down Ivies for full rides at other schools. Parents that are able pay are not even buying in anymore. It's about ROI not some imaginary prestige.

Oh, really. Source? You speak for a majority of middle-class and UMC families?

You really only speak for you. Enjoy your ROI.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Walls used to be more prestigious. They got rid of the entry test and have watered down academic standards.

The college admissions were pretty impressive last year. What other measures do you have for this claim?

College admissions were OK but not great, given the size of the school. You can’t just look at the handful who got into T10 colleges.

Plus, that graduating class was admitted with the Walls old admissions test.

Quite a few kids went to top schools-at least seven are at Ivies. The majority of middle-class and UMC families don't care about T25(not T10 BS you made up) colleges. It's about merit-based aid and scholarships! SWW does a good job in that aspect.

I know kids that turned down Ivies for full rides at other schools. Parents that are able pay are not even buying in anymore. It's about ROI not some imaginary prestige.

Oh, really. Source? You speak for a majority of middle-class and UMC families?

You really only speak for you. Enjoy your ROI.

For your personal reading pleasure. Been a hot topic for a while...

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/02/21/middle-class-heavily-underrepresented-top-private-colleges-report-finds

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Walls used to be more prestigious. They got rid of the entry test and have watered down academic standards.

The college admissions were pretty impressive last year. What other measures do you have for this claim?

NP. The admittances to which you refer were for kids who were admitted to Walls under the test-in process. Your data point doesn't make the case you think it means.

I asked for other measures. Got snarky responses. It is clear you don’t think highly of Walls no matter what and will always have some caveat to any accomplishments people bring up. So send your child to a different school. It’s a public HS.

You asked for other measures after citing college admissions as a counterpoint to their opinion. Your post is still there so it is super weird that you are pretending that's not what happened.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Walls used to be more prestigious. They got rid of the entry test and have watered down academic standards.

The college admissions were pretty impressive last year. What other measures do you have for this claim?

College admissions were OK but not great, given the size of the school. You can’t just look at the handful who got into T10 colleges.

Plus, that graduating class was admitted with the Walls old admissions test.

Quite a few kids went to top schools-at least seven are at Ivies. The majority of middle-class and UMC families don't care about T25(not T10 BS you made up) colleges. It's about merit-based aid and scholarships! SWW does a good job in that aspect.

I know kids that turned down Ivies for full rides at other schools. Parents that are able pay are not even buying in anymore. It's about ROI not some imaginary prestige.

Oh, really. Source? You speak for a majority of middle-class and UMC families?

You really only speak for you. Enjoy your ROI.

For your personal reading pleasure. Been a hot topic for a while...

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/02/21/middle-class-heavily-underrepresented-top-private-colleges-report-finds

Contrary to your suggestion, that article doesn't provide any support for the statement that "[t]he majority of middle-class and UMC families don't care about T25(not T10 BS you made up) colleges." In fact, it contradicts it.

The article discusses a 2020 study that found that lower- and upper-income families attended Ivy League colleges relatively more than middle class. The percentages were 10.8% for upper income, 4.4-4.7% for middle income, and 7.3% for lower income.

Since the general admission rates for Ivy League colleges ranges from around 4-8%, it seems like plenty of middle-class and UMC families care about highly ranked colleges. And since Walls includes a diverse group of families from all income ranges and last year sent 10 kids to Ivy League colleges (admittedly, mostly Penn and Cornell)--about 6% of the class--plenty of Walls families feel the same.