Early Decision Results at Top DC Privates

[Anonymous]

They actually looked at this a few years ago and all things being equal, its easier to get in from a public school. The colleges don't want to fill their classes with elite kids.

[Anonymous]

My child went to Princeton but was earlier rejected from NCS and Sidwell (got into GDS). So, if I were you OP...I wouldn't worry so much about getting into Sidwell or NCS. I don't think Sidwell, NCS, or GDS get many kids (if any some years) into Princeton.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would wager that 9 out of every 10 students from the elite private schools that are admitted to HYPSM would have been admitted even if they attended a top public school. In other words, it’s the student (and the hooks they have) not the school. The main reason well to do parents send their children to private school is to put them in an environment where their peers are socially adept and well connected. Another benefit is the small class size and personal attention. But long time private school families know that the schools themselves are not responsible for admission to elite colleges – those admissions are destined (or not) before the DC enters high school.

+1 and the ED results support this

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would wager that 9 out of every 10 students from the elite private schools that are admitted to HYPSM would have been admitted even if they attended a top public school. In other words, it’s the student (and the hooks they have) not the school. The main reason well to do parents send their children to private school is to put them in an environment where their peers are socially adept and well connected. Another benefit is the small class size and personal attention. But long time private school families know that the schools themselves are not responsible for admission to elite colleges – those admissions are destined (or not) before the DC enters high school.

+1 and the ED results support this

I am a private school teacher and I agree with this. To just add on one thing in the "benefit" column that is perhaps subsumed in the poster's reference to "small class size and personal attention": I would say that the one thing I hear back from my talented students who've gone on to college and grad school was that they appreciated (maybe not at the time, but later) how much they had to write in their classes. Tbey were comfortable in college when very bright peers from big public schools where it is structurally more difficult to assign a lot of writing (think: an English teacher at a private with 4 classes grading 60 essay tests versus an English teacher at a public school faced with 120 essay tests). This might be why the public magnet STEM schools compare most favorably with elite privates -- the bigger class size is not as much of a barrier to what the teacher is trying to accomplish.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: I would wager that 9 out of every 10 students from the elite private schools that are admitted to HYPSM would have been admitted even if they attended a top public school. In other words, it’s the student (and the hooks they have) not the school. The main reason well to do parents send their children to private school is to put them in an environment where their peers are socially adept and well connected. Another benefit is the small class size and personal attention. But long time private school families know that the schools themselves are not responsible for admission to elite colleges – those admissions are destined (or not) before the DC enters high school.

+1 and the ED results support this

[Edited to fix sentence fragment]

I am a private school teacher and I agree with this. To just add on one thing in the "benefit" column that is perhaps subsumed in the poster's reference to "small class size and personal attention": I would say that the one thing I hear back from my talented students who've gone on to college and grad school was that they appreciated (maybe not at the time, but later) how much they had to write in their classes. Tbey were comfortable in college when very bright peers from big public schools where it is structurally more difficult to assign a lot of writing (think: an English teacher at a private with 4 classes grading 60 essay tests versus an English teacher at a public school faced with 120 essay tests) struggled to master some of the college-level writing. This might be why the public magnet STEM schools compare most favorably with elite privates -- the bigger class size is not as much of a barrier to what the teacher is trying to accomplish.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: I would wager that 9 out of every 10 students from the elite private schools that are admitted to HYPSM would have been admitted even if they attended a top public school. In other words, it’s the student (and the hooks they have) not the school. The main reason well to do parents send their children to private school is to put them in an environment where their peers are socially adept and well connected. Another benefit is the small class size and personal attention. But long time private school families know that the schools themselves are not responsible for admission to elite colleges – those admissions are destined (or not) before the DC enters high school.

+1 and the ED results support this

[Edited to fix sentence fragment]

I am a private school teacher and I agree with this. To just add on one thing in the "benefit" column that is perhaps subsumed in the poster's reference to "small class size and personal attention": I would say that the one thing I hear back from my talented students who've gone on to college and grad school was that they appreciated (maybe not at the time, but later) how much they had to write in their classes. Tbey were comfortable in college when very bright peers from big public schools where it is structurally more difficult to assign a lot of writing (think: an English teacher at a private with 4 classes grading 60 essay tests versus an English teacher at a public school faced with 120 essay tests) struggled to master some of the college-level writing. This might be why the public magnet STEM schools compare most favorably with elite privates -- the bigger class size is not as much of a barrier to what the teacher is trying to accomplish.

As the parent of 2 recent grads from a DC independent, I agree completely that writing instruction in high school lays a critical foundation for success in college. Our kids are among those who are grateful to their high school English and history teachers for helping them become strong writers. I disagree, however, with the original poster's assertion that all parents who opt for private school for their kids are seeking networking opportunities for their offspring. We were looking for a deeper, richer education focused on critical thinking and creative problem-solving -- not social connections. If you're interested in the latter, any suburban public school with a high-SES student body will do fine.

[Anonymous]

Our public school has had at least 3 Harvard admits and 3 Stanford admits so far. Those are just among DCs friends so I'm sure there are more. Of course a number of other Ivy admits and deferrals as well. Interestingly Yale and Princeton are not popular. Not sure there were any early applicants to those two. So all is not lost if your DD does not get into one of the top private schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our public school has had at least 3 Harvard admits and 3 Stanford admits so far.

I'm having trouble believing this.

[Anonymous]

Our public school has had at least 3 Harvard admits and 3 Stanford admits so far. Those are just among DCs friends so I'm sure there are more. Of course a number of other Ivy admits and deferrals as well. Interestingly Yale and Princeton are not popular. Not sure there were any early applicants to those two. So all is not lost if your DD does not get into one of the top private schools.

The class sizes at public schools are generally larger than privates, though, so that is also a factor.

[Anonymous]

Which public? TJ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our public school has had at least 3 Harvard admits and 3 Stanford admits so far.

I'm having trouble believing this.

I wouldn't doubt this at all -- could be a MoCo W or magnet. FWIW, my own children went to a DC independent; the oldest is a recent Ivy grad and a younger sib is currently at an Ivy. Both have plenty of college classmates from the DC area who attended a wide range of high schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our public school has had at least 3 Harvard admits and 3 Stanford admits so far.

I'm having trouble believing this.

Why would you doubt this? My sibling, an HYP grad married to another HYP grad, has really smart kids at their local MoCo high school. The kids are doing great academically, and they appear to have many talented classmates. Their high school gets plenty of National Merit Semifinalists every year. The parent bodies are sophisticated enough to have read all the articles about the advantages to kids who apply early, and I'm sure most of the top students will apply EA or ED. It is a high socio-economic high school. I don't know what high school this is, but it wouldn't have to be TJ for this to be true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our public school has had at least 3 Harvard admits and 3 Stanford admits so far.

I'm having trouble believing this.

I wouldn't doubt this at all -- could be a MoCo W or magnet. FWIW, my own children went to a DC independent; the oldest is a recent Ivy grad and a younger sib is currently at an Ivy. Both have plenty of college classmates from the DC area who attended a wide range of high schools.

+1. I know lots of public school kids who are headed to Ivies.

[Anonymous]

Sidwell got 2 into Harvard, 2 into Columbia, 2 into Brown, 3 into Duke, and 5+ into Wesleyan

[Anonymous]

Wesleyan is not even top 30 and is in an annoying location. Best of luck to those poor kids.