NCS college admissions if kid is not a legacy, URM, or athletic recruit

[Anonymous]

For the only NCS girl I know who recently graduated, it was a very arduous, demanding workload, she put her nose to the grindstone and excelled, and then her college options were mediocre. That is hard.

[Anonymous]

But regardless of where an NCS graduate ends up for college, the transition to undergrad-level workloads will almost certainly be much easier than someone coming from public school. That still has value IMO.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Brand new poster to this thread and one with zero affiliation with NCS.

I don't know if OP is a so-called "troll" or not. But her original post did not disparage URMs or legacies one iota. She merely asked what the outcomes were for applicants not falling into those categories. It's a fair question, and OP didn't deserved to be attacked for asking it. Lots of defensive parents here.

NCS girls rarely apply to Notre Dame, the nation's most famous and selective Catholic school, for obvious reasons. It doesn't surprise me that none are going there.

If I were an NCS parent, I must admit, I wouldn't be thrilled with a BC or a BU or a Tulane either -- no matter how selective they've become. They're great schools, sure, but plenty of public school kids get into them just as easily.

One of my daughters had a BFF all through public middle school in NOVA. For high school the friend went to NCS. The friend was, in every way, a "better" college applicant that my daugher: better grades, more athletic, higher test scores etc. Had her heart set on the Ivies, but rejected outright by most of them and wait-listed before being rejected by a couple. Ended up at UVA with, guess who? My kid. I do wonder if this would have happened had she stayed in the local public, where she probably would have risen to the very top.

Sorry but I went to school with many girls from NCS and trust me I can guarantee her daughter is more polished and probably a better student than your daughter. No I did not go to NCS but I was always very impressed with their abilities inside the classroom and out. People send their children to privates like NCS Sta Sidwell for the entire experience and in my opinion it does create a more polished and better educated person. You can just tell the difference.

See, now this is just plain nasty. I SAID she was a better student, didn't I? I SAID she had better grades, better test scores, and was more athletic. As far as being more "polished," well, I don't know about that one. She and her BFF are still good friends (s I said, they ended up in college together) and I don't see any difference between the two of them on the "polished" front.

My point was simply that it didn't seem that making the switch helped her in any material way in the college admissions front. That's all.

And I assume you didn't go to NCS yourself -- you're hardly "polished"or educated if your first instinct is to attack before reading.

Exactly! I’m not polished that’s the point! I was brilliantly smart but not polished like the private school girls. There is an element you absorb and get from a school like NCS, Holton, Sidwell that you don’t get from public. Writing and language skills from private friends were on a different level. That’s why we send to private. At the rate my kids are going by the time they graduate high school they will be probably be better spoken and more well read than we were by far. In regards to forming the student and person College is the bonus not the destination. The forming happens before college imo.

Well, this much is true: you are certainly not polished. On top of that, you're not articulate either.

In any event, this post is about college admissions coming out of NCS. It's not about whether NCS is a good finishing school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is almost a straight A student in lower high school (a few A minuses). She works really hard for these grades. I've been looking at the college admissions this year and it really seems like you have about 25 girls going ti top colleges and (outside of two girls) ALL are legacy, URM or crew athletes. Then the admissions seem to go off a cliff. thank goodness for u of Chicagj because that seems it be the solo outlier.
I am not looking for an IVY admit (at all) but I'm getting freaked out by the schools that girls outside of the above categories are attending. I won't name names but they're in instagram.

Tell it to my straight. A/a- student.
Did anyone apply their daughter from NCS this year? Where are we looking at?

OK I just looked at the list which I did not know even existed prior to this thread. What are you talking about op?! These girls are going to amazing schools. From your post I was not sure what to expect but that is a great list. Congratulations girls!

[Anonymous]

Summary of the issue: NCS is a grind for students at almost all academic levels in upper school - from the students taking stat senior year to the students in the equivalent of calc 3. It’s a hard school academically. This is especially true in the humanities and social sciences where students must produce written work that is on a PHD level to earn an A. IMO normal high level high school writing, which is still time consuming, will earn you at most a B+ if you happy to have one of the “easier” teachers. NCS is also full of students and families who have the “top schools only” mindset and that being stressed to the point of unhealthy is the norm. To have that much stress and grind to then end up at a great, but not elite, school just is not worth it for students who are going in with that mindset of “top top top” which is where most of the families are when they start. It’s a damn good education in terms of skills and knowledge acquired - this is why many students who end up at the less elite schools get a 4.0 freshman year then transfer to more elite schools like UVA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is especially true in the humanities and social sciences where students must produce written work that is on a PHD level to earn an A.

This is either crazy hyperbole or you are grossly underestimating what it takes to do PHD level work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is almost a straight A student in lower high school (a few A minuses). She works really hard for these grades. I've been looking at the college admissions this year and it really seems like you have about 25 girls going ti top colleges and (outside of two girls) ALL are legacy, URM or crew athletes. Then the admissions seem to go off a cliff. thank goodness for u of Chicagj because that seems it be the solo outlier.
I am not looking for an IVY admit (at all) but I'm getting freaked out by the schools that girls outside of the above categories are attending. I won't name names but they're in instagram.

Tell it to my straight. A/a- student.
Did anyone apply their daughter from NCS this year? Where are we looking at?

OK I just looked at the list which I did not know even existed prior to this thread. What are you talking about op?! These girls are going to amazing schools. From your post I was not sure what to expect but that is a great list. Congratulations girls!

Every thread like this is usually mostly a testament to how little the OP actually knows about U.S. colleges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is especially true in the humanities and social sciences where students must produce written work that is on a PHD level to earn an A.

This is either crazy hyperbole or you are grossly underestimating what it takes to do PHD level work.

Reading this thread makes one realize that people have no clue how many incredibly strong kids are coming out of all types of schools, public and private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Summary of the issue: NCS is a grind for students at almost all academic levels in upper school - from the students taking stat senior year to the students in the equivalent of calc 3. It’s a hard school academically. This is especially true in the humanities and social sciences where students must produce written work that is on a PHD level to earn an A. IMO normal high level high school writing, which is still time consuming, will earn you at most a B+ if you happy to have one of the “easier” teachers. NCS is also full of students and families who have the “top schools only” mindset and that being stressed to the point of unhealthy is the norm. To have that much stress and grind to then end up at a great, but not elite, school just is not worth it for students who are going in with that mindset of “top top top” which is where most of the families are when they start. It’s a damn good education in terms of skills and knowledge acquired - this is why many students who end up at the less elite schools get a 4.0 freshman year then transfer to more elite schools like UVA.

That is not bad plan. Know of kids from other privates who do this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is almost a straight A student in lower high school (a few A minuses). She works really hard for these grades. I've been looking at the college admissions this year and it really seems like you have about 25 girls going ti top colleges and (outside of two girls) ALL are legacy, URM or crew athletes. Then the admissions seem to go off a cliff. thank goodness for u of Chicagj because that seems it be the solo outlier.
I am not looking for an IVY admit (at all) but I'm getting freaked out by the schools that girls outside of the above categories are attending. I won't name names but they're in instagram.

Tell it to my straight. A/a- student.
Did anyone apply their daughter from NCS this year? Where are we looking at?

You are completely insane. I don’t even think you are an NCS parent because if you were you would know that more than 25 girls are going to top schools. Troll post.

You could do two things: lobby new HOS for weighted GPA AND lobby for return of mandatory SAT/ ACT ( recruited Athletes at Ivies are still mandated to take the SAT, btw)

Despite what Lot's of people say, in todays " test optional" college landscape those hard grading, high expectation setting ( and accustomed Teachers) just haven't set their product up well to compete by comparison. I mean with all of those B's and B+'s they give.

NOT in an Era where its all the rage to Admit public school A students with NO SAT scores submitted

NCS is a storied school that provided a great education, but it needs to adapt to the current admissions landscape. Otherwise, at a certain point it is biting the hand that feeds it.

[Anonymous]

NCS girls are well prepared for college and don’t miss a beat at the UChicago/Rice /Hopkins type universities and the Ivies.
This class list is on par with those from other DC privates and MCPS. Times have changed from when their parents went to school.

[Anonymous]

Strongly doubt PP is part of NCS community

[Anonymous]

My student attends a DCPS HS, and when you look at our insta, i don’t get the sense that it’s “all the rage” for elite colleges to admit our students.

[Anonymous]

Old news OP. Where have you been?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But regardless of where an NCS graduate ends up for college, the transition to undergrad-level workloads will almost certainly be much easier than someone coming from public school. That still has value IMO.

Lol

So now pay twice for the same courses plus a lesser college, network and recruiting.