College Placement 2011

[Anonymous]

My husband and I are having a raging private v. public school debate, which centers on college placement. Anyway, separate and apart from that, I thought it might be of interest to the DCUM community if those with older kids could post: 1) college acceptances and/or placement; 2) whether private or public school grad; 3) grades/scores; 4) extra-curriculars/sports, or whatever might have helped separate out your lucky kid from the pack.

Thanks.

[Anonymous]

You and your husband need to spend sometime enjoying life and not worrying about this stuff that has been gone over 562 times on her each week.

There are dumb kids and smart kids all over the area some go to college some don't some will make a lot of money some won't some wil be in therapy most of their life blaming you and some won't

Also try having sex and forget the debate

[Anonymous]

To answer your question OP -- my DD was a recruited rower. She had offers from most of the Ivies, Berkeley, UNC, and many other schools. She went to a top private school often mentioned on these threads. She had SATs in the 2200 range, won several essay contests, was a published author, ran a for profit and not for profit organization and did several other things.

Anonymous wrote:My husband and I are having a raging private v. public school debate, which centers on college placement. Anyway, separate and apart from that, I thought it might be of interest to the DCUM community if those with older kids could post: 1) college acceptances and/or placement; 2) whether private or public school grad; 3) grades/scores; 4) extra-curriculars/sports, or whatever might have helped separate out your lucky kid from the pack.

Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Oldest (college Junior)
1) college acceptances and/or placement
Only applied to one college. He knew where he wanted to go. Not a particularly competitive state school.

2) whether private or public school grad
Public

3) grades/scores
GPA 3.2 Very high ACT score

4) extra-curricular/sports, or whatever might have helped separate out your lucky kid from the pack.
JRTOC, Football, and Track

Second: College freshman
1) college acceptances and/or placement
Did not get his first choice. He wanted University of Florida. It's very, very competitive. I was surprised by that. He got into his second choice. Not nearly as competitive.

2) whether private or public school grad
Public

3) grades/scores
GPA 3.1 Average SAT score

4) extra-curricular/sports, or whatever might have helped separate out your lucky kid from the pack.
Crew, Track, Eagle Scout

Third: graduating in a few weeks
1) college acceptances and/or placement
Accepted: Yale, Stetson, and University of Florida. She chose Florida. They offered her a full ride.

2) whether private or public school grad
Public

3) grades/scores
GPA 4.45 Insanely high test scores. National Merit Scholar

4) extra-curricular/sports, or whatever might have helped separate out your lucky kid from the pack.
NHS, Chorus, Drama, ITS

They are all very different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You and your husband need to spend sometime enjoying life and not worrying about this stuff that has been gone over 562 times on her each week.

There are dumb kids and smart kids all over the area some go to college some don't some will make a lot of money some won't some wil be in therapy most of their life blaming you and some won't

Also try having sex and forget the debate

Be honest now. Are you OP's husband?

[Anonymous]

Not that my kids' experiences will be relevant to your kid - but

DD (college junior)

1) college acceptances and/or placement; Wanted to go SLAC. Got into 2 of top 3. Went to first choice...which is not elite, but very solid in her major. Doing well - Dean's List 4 straight semesters. Internship in NY this summer.

2) whether private or public school grad; Private parochial school (not elite but very good reputation and college acceptance rate)

3) grades/scores; 3.3 GPA 27 ACT

4) extra-curriculars/sports, or whatever might have helped separate out your lucky kid from the pack; A lot of community service and played basketball.

DS (upcoming college freshman)

1) college acceptances and/or placement; Going to highly regarded state school. Only place he wanted to go and same university I attended. Applied to 5 schools and got into all 5

2) whether private or public school grad; Private school through 8th grade. Public high school

3) grades/scores; 3.6 GPA Above average SAT

4) extra-curriculars/sports, or whatever might have helped separate out your lucky kid from the pack; A lot of community service and various academic clubs.

[Anonymous]

HS senior. Applied to 6 - 3 acceptances, 2 WL and 1 rejection. Mostly SLACs in the middle to bottom half of the top 50. Competitive private school (not big 3). GPA low (3.2ish) due to some learning differences. No APs. 33 ACT. Captain of 2 sports teams (but not recruited athlete). DC will be attending a college that is a good fit - that is more important than name brand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:HS senior. Applied to 6 - 3 acceptances, 2 WL and 1 rejection. Mostly SLACs in the middle to bottom half of the top 50. Competitive private school (not big 3). GPA low (3.2ish) due to some learning differences. No APs. 33 ACT. Captain of 2 sports teams (but not recruited athlete). DC will be attending a college that is a good fit - that is more important than name brand.[/quote]

OMG, this, a thousand times over. I don't have college-aged kids yet, but my husband and I were both raised in (different) super competitive areas like DC. We both went to the local public high school. Had excellent scores, high GPAs, great extracirriculars, etc. - all the things you are told you need to have when you grow up in an area where raising children in a blood sport. We both thought we would die if we didn't get into Harvard or Princeton. We didn't, and we didn't. I went to a public school (#1 nationally) in my state (my parents were thrilled) and he went to a well-regarded, but small, liberal arts school. We did well in college and were very HAPPY in the schools we chose. We both got into great, well-ranked graduate programs (law and foreign policy) and now have excellent, well-paying, highly competitive DC jobs. Blah, blah, blah. But if I have ONE goal for raising my children, it is this: taking advantage of your education is the most important thing you can do for yourself, but you can get an excellent education at a wide variety of schools and through a wide variety of experiences - it doesn't matter where/how you learn, only that you make the most of your intelligence, and have fun while doing it.

[Anonymous]

This is a revelation. I had no idea that any children of any parents on DCUM ever had less than a 3.8 GPA.

Bless your hearts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:HS senior. Applied to 6 - 3 acceptances, 2 WL and 1 rejection. Mostly SLACs in the middle to bottom half of the top 50. Competitive private school (not big 3). GPA low (3.2ish) due to some learning differences. No APs. 33 ACT. Captain of 2 sports teams (but not recruited athlete). DC will be attending a college that is a good fit - that is more important than name brand.

Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Colby. B student at STA.

[Anonymous]

What's a SLAC?

Sorry!

[Anonymous]

I wondered too. I am guessing "small, liberal arts college"

[Anonymous]

SLAC = EITHER Small, Liberal Arts College OR Selective Liberal Arts College. Most academics use the latter, as the first is a bit redundant, all liberal arts colleges being small.