Zarna Garg podcast

[Anonymous]

Sounds like they are an immigrant family who were trying to put three kids through HM on a single salary while being sensitive to wealth disparity. That’s probably the most salient part. Bronx science is an excellent school especially for STEM-oriented kids, and you can put the money saved on tuition towards college counseling, tutoring, ECs. If money is not a significant concern, I’d still take HM over BxSci — better facilities, better campus, better sports, better food, smaller classes, great theater/ arts programs. The college outcomes are a wash and hard to predict at this point. Yes, you will encounter some very wealthy families, but there are plenty of working parents, kids on scholarships, etc, especially in the upper grades.

[Anonymous]

Honestly, if "people for whom $70k/year is a serious burden but who don't qualify for a free ride" stopped sending their kids to private school it would probably work out better for everyone; the college admissions would level out because everybody would have to loosen their criteria with fewer applicants, rich people would avoid the social stigma of *not* sending their kids to TT, TTs would get less grind-y and competitive because everybody there would be rich and guaranteed a good job regardless... let the plutocrats have their plutocrat schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So... everyone's experience also corroborate what Zarna was describing?

Her experience is more relatable to the transplant and the immigrant experience rather than many who are from the area and are sending their child to an environment they are familiar with for multiple generations.

My child is ahead of her public school peers and enjoys going to school every day. Only if you turn it into a competition and focused on maximizing college outcome does it start to feel in the way she described it.

So I'm a bit confused by this. Are you saying in your experience that what she's described in terms of favoritism does happen but it's for minor things that don't materially impact the student's experience (e.g. leadership titles for organizations that aren't that significant as opposed to say who captains debate)? Also, what does this have to do with being a transplant vs multi-generational family? I think the concept of fairness goes way beyond maximizing college outcomes...

I don’t know how much bias there is as a parent. Realistic your child is in a cohort full of motivated children that have highly educated parents that are well resourced. It going to be difficult to differentiate yourself and many are going to have a legacy advantage. It is speculation that it came down to favoritism. In addition, she admitted to not wanting to participate in the community / school by volunteering and having her child attend the same summer camps so they were in the outside looking in.

Yet her daughter described that she experienced gatekeeping firsthand. That makes it feel credible and beyond just a parent being biased. It also makes it hard to say that it's a perception thing as opposed to reality. The question in my mind is how prevalent is this and if this its isolated to small things or extends to something as major as what colleges counselors are willing to provide support for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, if "people for whom $70k/year is a serious burden but who don't qualify for a free ride" stopped sending their kids to private school it would probably work out better for everyone; the college admissions would level out because everybody would have to loosen their criteria with fewer applicants, rich people would avoid the social stigma of *not* sending their kids to TT, TTs would get less grind-y and competitive because everybody there would be rich and guaranteed a good job regardless... let the plutocrats have their plutocrat schools.

Got it, so non-plutocrat and/or diversity kids don't deserve the most well-resourced educational experience if their parents think it's worth sacrificing for. Ditto for having a meritocratic experience in that environment.

[Anonymous]

credible "gatekeeping" from "leadership roles" in middle school? ok, maybe.

Is someone from that family posting on this board? lol.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:credible "gatekeeping" from "leadership roles" in middle school? ok, maybe.

Is someone from that family posting on this board? lol.

Why so dismissive? Would there be an agenda for them to say those things if not true?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So... everyone's experience also corroborate what Zarna was describing?

Her experience is more relatable to the transplant and the immigrant experience rather than many who are from the area and are sending their child to an environment they are familiar with for multiple generations.

My child is ahead of her public school peers and enjoys going to school every day. Only if you turn it into a competition and focused on maximizing college outcome does it start to feel in the way she described it.

So I'm a bit confused by this. Are you saying in your experience that what she's described in terms of favoritism does happen but it's for minor things that don't materially impact the student's experience (e.g. leadership titles for organizations that aren't that significant as opposed to say who captains debate)? Also, what does this have to do with being a transplant vs multi-generational family? I think the concept of fairness goes way beyond maximizing college outcomes...

I don’t know how much bias there is as a parent. Realistic your child is in a cohort full of motivated children that have highly educated parents that are well resourced. It going to be difficult to differentiate yourself and many are going to have a legacy advantage. It is speculation that it came down to favoritism. In addition, she admitted to not wanting to participate in the community / school by volunteering and having her child attend the same summer camps so they were in the outside looking in.

Yet her daughter described that she experienced gatekeeping firsthand. That makes it feel credible and beyond just a parent being biased. It also makes it hard to say that it's a perception thing as opposed to reality. The question in my mind is how prevalent is this and if this its isolated to small things or extends to something as major as what colleges counselors are willing to provide support for.

I think it is true, the urban baby crowd have children applying to college now. So you will see that type of rant on whybemom often enough to be credible.

[Anonymous]

The agenda is promoting their family brand as some sort of authority for the general public.

I have no doubt that their story and their perception of it is as described; people have all sorts of experiences, and this is one data point among many. The fact that this particular -- and seemingly unremarkable -- podcast is getting brought up here so much lately is what makes it sus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The agenda is promoting their family brand as some sort of authority for the general public.

I have no doubt that their story and their perception of it is as described; people have all sorts of experiences, and this is one data point among many. The fact that this particular -- and seemingly unremarkable -- podcast is getting brought up here so much lately is what makes it sus.

I wouldn’t want to discuss my family’s personal matters for fear of revealing too much. I miss the urban baby community, but many have already moved on.

[Anonymous]

Has anyone considered that putting Zarna Garg on your college application is enough of a distinguishing factor to weigh admissions in her kids' favor? Along with great grades, great HS, that is a nifty data point to separate oneself from the pack.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone considered that putting Zarna Garg on your college application is enough of a distinguishing factor to weigh admissions in her kids' favor? Along with great grades, great HS, that is a nifty data point to separate oneself from the pack.

Yes, I said this in the other thread. Her daughter may not have benefited, but that was definitely a hook for her son’s application.

[Anonymous]

I experienced this at a TT girls school - starting in third grade my daughter knew whose parents were the big donors to the school and that those kids didn’t get into trouble if they misbehaved. In middle school, girls were getting extra time on standardized test and accommodations because of who their parents were. None of them were actually neurodivergent but were given twice the time for their ERBs with a doctor’s notes while kids who weren’t rich or powerful couldn’t get it WITH a doctor’s note. We got sick of it and left. Frankly, I didn’t trust them with my kid’s college exmissions. Talk to parents at these schools and ask what their kid reports. The thing I learned is that no one knows the unwritten rules of these places better than the kids who are in them, and the middle and upper parents know things the lower school parents don’t.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I experienced this at a TT girls school - starting in third grade my daughter knew whose parents were the big donors to the school and that those kids didn’t get into trouble if they misbehaved. In middle school, girls were getting extra time on standardized test and accommodations because of who their parents were. None of them were actually neurodivergent but were given twice the time for their ERBs with a doctor’s notes while kids who weren’t rich or powerful couldn’t get it WITH a doctor’s note. We got sick of it and left. Frankly, I didn’t trust them with my kid’s college exmissions. Talk to parents at these schools and ask what their kid reports. The thing I learned is that no one knows the unwritten rules of these places better than the kids who are in them, and the middle and upper parents know things the lower school parents don’t.

Can you name the school? And - did moving to another (presumably, more meritocratic?) school help your kid's trajectory?

[Anonymous]

my takeaway was it was 30k when they started with one kid and 10 years later, when they had three kids paying 70k each, they moved on. it's not unusual to make the move with two kids

the idea that the parents on PTA have insider info is not unique to private schools not is teachers pet's getting club leadership positions. in my high school in Friday Nights Lights country, kids got spots on teams because of who their dad or big brother was. this is not unique to HM.

I'm a stuy parent and it was certainly true at Stuy!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like they are an immigrant family who were trying to put three kids through HM on a single salary while being sensitive to wealth disparity. That’s probably the most salient part. Bronx science is an excellent school especially for STEM-oriented kids, and you can put the money saved on tuition towards college counseling, tutoring, ECs. If money is not a significant concern, I’d still take HM over BxSci — better facilities, better campus, better sports, better food, smaller classes, great theater/ arts programs. The college outcomes are a wash and hard to predict at this point. Yes, you will encounter some very wealthy families, but there are plenty of working parents, kids on scholarships, etc, especially in the upper grades.

Do you know who Zarna Garg is? This is a hilarious description of someone who is incredibly successful.