Sidwell vs GDS -- specific examples of what differentiates the two

[Anonymous]

school spirit, racial and socio-economic diversity, nice balance to the academic pressure cooker atmosphere, nice balance to the insanity concerning college admissions

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We’ve had two kids go through the GDS LS and MS. Nothing can be fairly characterized as having been thrust down their throats.

What do your conservative friends at the school think about that?

There are no conservatives at GDS.

Of course there are. Plenty of fiscal conservatives.

David Brooks, David Frum, and Charles Krauthammer all had kids who went there. A family friend told us that Krauthammer and his wife wanted a more... traditional environment and moved their son to STA, but the he had friends at GDS and transferred back after a year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We’ve had two kids go through the GDS LS and MS. Nothing can be fairly characterized as having been thrust down their throats.

What do your conservative friends at the school think about that?

There are no conservatives at GDS.

Of course there are. Plenty of fiscal conservatives.

David Brooks, David Frum, and Charles Krauthammer all had kids who went there. A family friend told us that Krauthammer and his wife wanted a more... traditional environment and moved their son to STA, but the he had friends at GDS and transferred back after a year.

I have seen those guys on MSNBC. Only liberals there.

[Anonymous]

That just shows how little credibility you have, if they are "liberal" in your book.

[Anonymous]

It’s remarkable that GDS is considered a good school. It’s so undeserved.

[Anonymous]

Cry more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Similarities:
-Neither school offers AP classes

Differences:
-GDS: The AP exam is NOT proctored on campus (you will have to find a testing center on your own).
-Sidwell: The AP exam is administered on campus.

-GDS: There is no US cafeteria.
-Sidwell: There is an US cafeteria, and it gets pretty good reviews.

-GDS: Students are limited to applying to 10 colleges.
-Sidwell: There is no limit placed on the number of college applications.

GDS is now limited to 12 colleges. GDS had incredible college admissions results last year but we'll see what happens this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell has a well deserved reputation. GDS is overhyped and not deserving of this ridiculous “big 3” label, probably not even “big 5”. It’s a good school but it’s not worthy of all the hype.

UMM GDS had 6 kids into Harvard last year and 4 into Princeton and it went on from there. They wiped the floor with Sidwell in terms of acceptances. They had the strongest showing of any school in the DMV. So maybe get current with your thinking. You can dislike GDS for whatever reason (so don't apply!) but it's the hardest school to get into right now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell has a well deserved reputation. GDS is overhyped and not deserving of this ridiculous “big 3” label, probably not even “big 5”. It’s a good school but it’s not worthy of all the hype.

UMM GDS had 6 kids into Harvard last year and 4 into Princeton and it went on from there. They wiped the floor with Sidwell in terms of acceptances. They had the strongest showing of any school in the DMV. So maybe get current with your thinking. You can dislike GDS for whatever reason (so don't apply!) but it's the hardest school to get into right now.

I think the whole GDS overhyped claim is ridiculous - but you should also recognize that the majority of Ivy admissions at any of the DMV private schools are hooked in some way. A few others squeeze in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:you should also recognize that the majority of Ivy admissions at any of the DMV private schools are hooked in some way

No, all Ivy admits have some kind of hook. This is hardly unique to DMV private schools. Practically speaking, there is no such thing as "unhooked" in 2024.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell has a well deserved reputation. GDS is overhyped and not deserving of this ridiculous “big 3” label, probably not even “big 5”. It’s a good school but it’s not worthy of all the hype.

UMM GDS had 6 kids into Harvard last year and 4 into Princeton and it went on from there. They wiped the floor with Sidwell in terms of acceptances. They had the strongest showing of any school in the DMV. So maybe get current with your thinking. You can dislike GDS for whatever reason (so don't apply!) but it's the hardest school to get into right now.

Wiped the floor? In your dreams! 😂
GDS sent about 2-3 more students (total) to Ivies in 2024 than Sidwell.

Sidwell’s 2023 college placement did actually wipe the floor with GDS. In fact, 2023 was such an abysmal year for GDS’ college matriculations, I think that NCS, Maret, Potomac, and even Holton had better outcomes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell has a well deserved reputation. GDS is overhyped and not deserving of this ridiculous “big 3” label, probably not even “big 5”. It’s a good school but it’s not worthy of all the hype.

UMM GDS had 6 kids into Harvard last year and 4 into Princeton and it went on from there. They wiped the floor with Sidwell in terms of acceptances. They had the strongest showing of any school in the DMV. So maybe get current with your thinking. You can dislike GDS for whatever reason (so don't apply!) but it's the hardest school to get into right now.

If you understand college admissions to elite schools you would know those admissions have no connection to your kid and zero impact on future admissions from a school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell has a well deserved reputation. GDS is overhyped and not deserving of this ridiculous “big 3” label, probably not even “big 5”. It’s a good school but it’s not worthy of all the hype.

UMM GDS had 6 kids into Harvard last year and 4 into Princeton and it went on from there. They wiped the floor with Sidwell in terms of acceptances. They had the strongest showing of any school in the DMV. So maybe get current with your thinking. You can dislike GDS for whatever reason (so don't apply!) but it's the hardest school to get into right now.

Wiped the floor? In your dreams! 😂
GDS sent about 2-3 more students (total) to Ivies in 2024 than Sidwell.

Sidwell’s 2023 college placement did actually wipe the floor with GDS. In fact, 2023 was such an abysmal year for GDS’ college matriculations, I think that NCS, Maret, Potomac, and even Holton had better outcomes.

Y'all need to take a big step back and enjoy the beautiful day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What?? Is this true? How can they do that? For the record, I don’t think you need to apply to anymore than 10 but it seems intrusive

The limit isn't 10. It's 12, and has the effect of making the students apply more strategically.

It was 10 until last year. It’s now 12. It helps middle of the class kids. The limit should be 15. So much of admissions is a crapshoot these days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Similarities:
-Neither school offers AP classes

Differences:
-GDS: The AP exam is NOT proctored on campus (you will have to find a testing center on your own).
-Sidwell: The AP exam is administered on campus.

-GDS: There is no US cafeteria.
-Sidwell: There is an US cafeteria, and it gets pretty good reviews.

-GDS: Students are limited to applying to 10 colleges.
-Sidwell: There is no limit placed on the number of college applications.

GDS is now limited to 12 colleges. GDS had incredible college admissions results last year but we'll see what happens this year.

Last year’s GDS class was an amazing bunch. And all but one of those kids who got into HYP were legacy or double legacy or hooked