For private school kids, it’s hard to get in top 10 schools. Not easy to get 4.0 gpa

[Anonymous]

I don’t think you necessarily need a 4.0–‘y kid is at a top 10 with no 4.0. But I do think that the private school admission stats are somewhat obscured by the fact that they have so many legacies, big donors and kids of famous people (yes, that’s a hook). Plus the schools looove to admit URMs from the big private schools. So if you’re an average unhooked white kid, you may be at a disadvantage because they’ve already taken a few from your school out of the other categories, and they can’t be seen as taking too many from any one school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's not the case in my DCs' schools, but we're not in the DC area.

Please stop posting here then. This is the DC private school forum and posters are looking for information and input with DC private schools. Are areas are different so your input would not apply here just like NYC privates are starkly different and other places as well.

I post stuff all the time and you would never know where I live.

Oh well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s much easier to get into a top school when you’re a legacy, go to a private school and play expensive sports.

For T11-T25, particularly T20-T25, no legacy is needed

This was not our experience in 2023. These schools still took a lot of URM, athletes and also legacy, VIP over unhooked students with stronger profiles.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's not the case in my DCs' schools, but we're not in the DC area.

Please stop posting here then. This is the DC private school forum and posters are looking for information and input with DC private schools. Are areas are different so your input would not apply here just like NYC privates are starkly different and other places as well.

Well, the title of the forum belies that and the post does not specify the location, either. There are many of us who post on here who don't live in DC.

[Anonymous]

What matriculation data obscures is the fact that so many of the admits are legacies, athletes, scholarship URMs, and children of famous politicians, judges, diplomats, etc.

In some cases, there are children of donors or kids with serious connections to the school.

It's been said an infinite amount of times, but unhooked students receive minimal benefit in the college admissions process at these schools.

You'll see this fall of senior year when they have the "heart to heart" conversation about college admissions. You'll be dejected when you see the scattergrams where the 3.4 GPA/1390 SAT kid get into Duke while the 3.8 GPA/1540 SAT kid got outright rejected because they weren't an "institutional priority."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s much easier to get into a top school when you’re a legacy, go to a private school and play expensive sports.

For T11-T25, particularly T20-T25, no legacy is needed

This was not our experience in 2023. These schools still took a lot of URM, athletes and also legacy, VIP over unhooked students with stronger profiles.

For the love of pete, why would you need legacy to get in Emory? Don't exaggerate it out of proportion. Emory is known to be the easiest school among T25. Even a middling kid in a decent private can reach!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lots of legacies at school.

But, typically private schools are really helpful in getting kids into top 25 other than top 10, and top 10 lacs.

The reason is not bec it’s harder to get a 4.0 that’s ridiculous

It’s because colleges know privates are not as good as public

[Anonymous]

If your kid is high stats (2nd-3rd decile) but unhooked, expect for the admissions officers to heavily encourage him to ED1 to UChicago. They're the one T15 that gives prep schools a measurable advantage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If your kid is high stats (2nd-3rd decile) but unhooked, expect for the admissions officers to heavily encourage him to ED1 to UChicago. They're the one T15 that gives prep schools a measurable advantage.

Yes, true. But U Chi is not popular among students for some reasons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There isn’t legacy anymore. Get that straight.

A few ivies still consider legacy.

All of them still consider legacy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your kid is high stats (2nd-3rd decile) but unhooked, expect for the admissions officers to heavily encourage him to ED1 to UChicago. They're the one T15 that gives prep schools a measurable advantage.

Yes, true. But U Chi is not popular among students for some reasons.

UChicago has an overtly "intellectual" atmosphere, and students tend to want balance, especially after surviving pressure cooker private schools. This is why Vandy, Penn, USC, and Duke have surged in popularity in recent years.

UChicago also is very popular. It is the #1 most-matriculated school nowadays with almost every prep school. The Admissions Officers have recognized the UChicago pipeline is real and they're directing their "strong, but not top" unhooked students to take advantage of it.

[Anonymous]

U Chicago is know as the school where fun goes to die. Direct quote from my child who visited and refused to apply.

[Anonymous]

Students who go to Sidwell have their pick of colleges.

[Anonymous]

We sent our kid to private school for rigorous academics, to learn how to communicate effectively, to develop a proper work ethic and to learn how to handle herself and find balance in a competitive environment. She is learning all these lessons and is a top student but still may not get into a T10 and we are fine with that. The world is not fair and she has to learn to take advantage of the opportunities she gets. That's life. We see the exmissions from our private and the top 25% of the class all get into good schools and some of those schools would give her a far better range of students with differing life experiences than her private school or many T10s would.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's not the case in my DCs' schools, but we're not in the DC area.

Then why comment on the DC private school thread?

Private parents wanting a private experience on DCUM.

So funny.

Well, it's just distracting to have to sift through completely irrelevant crap about life in Dallas or Chicago when you live in DC and are using a site called -- are you ready for it? -- DC Urban Moms