Sidwell Junior - GPA concerns

[Anonymous]

A is 93.

DC got a 92.45 which was an A-.

[Anonymous]

DS at another top private.

I am going to say it -- many teachers at these privates are messing with our kids. They know their "tough grading" is screwing our kids.

They don't care. Power trip.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DS at another top private.

I am going to say it -- many teachers at these privates are messing with our kids. They know their "tough grading" is screwing our kids.

They don't care. Power trip.

LOL

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A is 93.

DC got a 92.45 which was an A-.

My DC got a 89.4 in world language class and asked if the teacher could offer the entire class a project or something to earn a few extra points to help get that grade to a 90. Teacher said no. No rounding up, no extra credit, no test corrections, just NO. Bummer since my kid has so many deferrals and the fall semester grades are important. Not exactly complaining, but just an example of how grading goes at these schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think a lot of people are looking at these admits and seeing different things, Someone sees a kid at Northwestern who was rejected at their top choice as a negative where I amazed they got into Northwestern. Others see only 1-2 admits to each Ivy (many of whom will play sports) and can’t believe how “poorly” they have done where I can’t believe a single graduating class gets that many kids into Ivies. Or someone has a choice between Cornell and UVA and is angry bc they had 5 other rejections where I see a kid who can only go to 1 school so having two top 30 choices is an embarrassment of riches.

Agree with this 100%.

Someone posted upthread that the only acceptable schools were the Ivys, MIT, Caltech, Stanford, Hopkins, Chicago and maybe Northwestern (I can't remember if Northwestern was included on their list).
THIS IS INSANITY.
Where do parents get this incredibly skewed perspective? Somehow they think that their kid deserves this college trajectory simply because they graduated from Sidwell?
I have two kids there (earlier high school grades) who came from public. They're doing really well (no Bs so far). They have some very bright classmates. But many of their classmates are just average smart.
They do fine. They study some. They blow off other assignments. They're not geniuses and they're not academic whizzes. But yet their parents clearly believe they are worthy of an Ivy admit. This
is evident by the fact that something like 15 of the kids ED'd (all unsuccessfully) to Brown. Now, this was not the top 15 kids in the senior class. There were plenty of kids that truly believed that their
Sidwell education (no matter their grades) entitled them to a spot at Brown. It's really warped thinking. Spend a day in public school where you have to be perfect to even consider these options.
A Sidwell degree is not some birthright that entitles you to a top 10 ten college spot although many parents seem to honestly believe this.

Signed,
A Sidwell parent that would be quite happy with Colby or Vanderbilt or Dickinson or Wake or any top 75 school. Because you know what? My kid will certainly do well at any of these schools. AND the odds of attending
a decent school are far more secure coming from Sidwell than it would have been from public. You just have to graduate from Sidwell to all but guarantee a top 75 placement. In public, you have to be essentially perfect
for 4 years plus hope the odds go in your favor.

I would be damn pissed if I sent my kid to Sidwell and he ended up at Colby.

I am here stressing about my very smart kid at our pressure cooker high school. We are trying to decide between private and public. I started a thread not long ago and was called a troll.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think a lot of people are looking at these admits and seeing different things, Someone sees a kid at Northwestern who was rejected at their top choice as a negative where I amazed they got into Northwestern. Others see only 1-2 admits to each Ivy (many of whom will play sports) and can’t believe how “poorly” they have done where I can’t believe a single graduating class gets that many kids into Ivies. Or someone has a choice between Cornell and UVA and is angry bc they had 5 other rejections where I see a kid who can only go to 1 school so having two top 30 choices is an embarrassment of riches.

Agree with this 100%.

Someone posted upthread that the only acceptable schools were the Ivys, MIT, Caltech, Stanford, Hopkins, Chicago and maybe Northwestern (I can't remember if Northwestern was included on their list).
THIS IS INSANITY.
Where do parents get this incredibly skewed perspective? Somehow they think that their kid deserves this college trajectory simply because they graduated from Sidwell?
I have two kids there (earlier high school grades) who came from public. They're doing really well (no Bs so far). They have some very bright classmates. But many of their classmates are just average smart.
They do fine. They study some. They blow off other assignments. They're not geniuses and they're not academic whizzes. But yet their parents clearly believe they are worthy of an Ivy admit. This
is evident by the fact that something like 15 of the kids ED'd (all unsuccessfully) to Brown. Now, this was not the top 15 kids in the senior class. There were plenty of kids that truly believed that their
Sidwell education (no matter their grades) entitled them to a spot at Brown. It's really warped thinking. Spend a day in public school where you have to be perfect to even consider these options.
A Sidwell degree is not some birthright that entitles you to a top 10 ten college spot although many parents seem to honestly believe this.

Signed,
A Sidwell parent that would be quite happy with Colby or Vanderbilt or Dickinson or Wake or any top 75 school. Because you know what? My kid will certainly do well at any of these schools. AND the odds of attending
a decent school are far more secure coming from Sidwell than it would have been from public. You just have to graduate from Sidwell to all but guarantee a top 75 placement. In public, you have to be essentially perfect
for 4 years plus hope the odds go in your favor.

I would be damn pissed if I sent my kid to Sidwell and he ended up at Colby.

I am here stressing about my very smart kid at our pressure cooker high school. We are trying to decide between private and public. I started a thread not long ago and was called a troll.

What’s wrong with Colby? It’s a great school and hard to get accepted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think a lot of people are looking at these admits and seeing different things, Someone sees a kid at Northwestern who was rejected at their top choice as a negative where I amazed they got into Northwestern. Others see only 1-2 admits to each Ivy (many of whom will play sports) and can’t believe how “poorly” they have done where I can’t believe a single graduating class gets that many kids into Ivies. Or someone has a choice between Cornell and UVA and is angry bc they had 5 other rejections where I see a kid who can only go to 1 school so having two top 30 choices is an embarrassment of riches.

Agree with this 100%.

Someone posted upthread that the only acceptable schools were the Ivys, MIT, Caltech, Stanford, Hopkins, Chicago and maybe Northwestern (I can't remember if Northwestern was included on their list).
THIS IS INSANITY.
Where do parents get this incredibly skewed perspective? Somehow they think that their kid deserves this college trajectory simply because they graduated from Sidwell?
I have two kids there (earlier high school grades) who came from public. They're doing really well (no Bs so far). They have some very bright classmates. But many of their classmates are just average smart.
They do fine. They study some. They blow off other assignments. They're not geniuses and they're not academic whizzes. But yet their parents clearly believe they are worthy of an Ivy admit. This
is evident by the fact that something like 15 of the kids ED'd (all unsuccessfully) to Brown. Now, this was not the top 15 kids in the senior class. There were plenty of kids that truly believed that their
Sidwell education (no matter their grades) entitled them to a spot at Brown. It's really warped thinking. Spend a day in public school where you have to be perfect to even consider these options.
A Sidwell degree is not some birthright that entitles you to a top 10 ten college spot although many parents seem to honestly believe this.

Signed,
A Sidwell parent that would be quite happy with Colby or Vanderbilt or Dickinson or Wake or any top 75 school. Because you know what? My kid will certainly do well at any of these schools. AND the odds of attending
a decent school are far more secure coming from Sidwell than it would have been from public. You just have to graduate from Sidwell to all but guarantee a top 75 placement. In public, you have to be essentially perfect
for 4 years plus hope the odds go in your favor.

I would be damn pissed if I sent my kid to Sidwell and he ended up at Colby.

I am here stressing about my very smart kid at our pressure cooker high school. We are trying to decide between private and public. I started a thread not long ago and was called a troll.

Wow. If you are not fine with Colby then you need to stay far away from the top DC privates.
Listen, it is pretty much impossible to get into an Ivy from these schools in 2023 if you are not TWO of the above: URM, recruited athlete and legacy (generally legacy of a VIP). Plus being a strong student--that goes without saying. At my kid's Big3 last year there was ONE, ONE Ivy student who did not fall into these categories.

So that leaves most of the VERY TOP kids at the next tier schools. And these schools only admit a very tiny handful from any one DC private, so that leaves plenty of REALLY SMART, REALLY STRONG STUDENT kids at the next two tiers of colleges. Get what I'm saying? Plus a lot of getting good grades is luck of the draw. Does your kid
get the reasonable teachers? There are some that are reasonable (and even easy) and others that do.not.give.As by matter of principal. Also, are you sure your really smart kid will never mess up? Never get depressed? Never forget to study for a test? It's very hard to predict
4 years before.

Therefore, if you are not comfortable with your child attending Colby (a very good, very competitive school where many Big3 students matriculate), I would advise you--100% to not send your child to a top DC private school.
And let me tell you, the next rung of privates (non-Big3) is generally not even getting their kids into Colby. Which should tell you how competitive it is.

[Anonymous]

Pissed at going to Colby? My very smart kid is at a big3 and I would be ecstatic if my kid could get into Colby. DC is probably going to end up one or two tiers below Colby. GPA is just too low (3.2) for these schools these days. ACT is 33 though, but that doesn’t seem to mean much at all this admission cycle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I would be damn pissed if I sent my kid to Sidwell and he ended up at Colby.

I am here stressing about my very smart kid at our pressure cooker high school. We are trying to decide between private and public. I started a thread not long ago and was called a troll.

If you are seriously frosty about the prospects if your kid attending Colby - a top 10 SLAC in arguably the most beautiful campus in the country with a single digit admissions rate, then I feel horrible for your kid.

-someone with zero connection to Colby.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A is 93.

DC got a 92.45 which was an A-.

Wow. Pretty harsh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A is 93.

DC got a 92.45 which was an A-.

My DC got a 89.4 in world language class and asked if the teacher could offer the entire class a project or something to earn a few extra points to help get that grade to a 90. Teacher said no. No rounding up, no extra credit, no test corrections, just NO. Bummer since my kid has so many deferrals and the fall semester grades are important. Not exactly complaining, but just an example of how grading goes at these schools.

Sorry, that's just such an entitled request. Not how things work in the real world. Better to learn it now!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think a lot of people are looking at these admits and seeing different things, Someone sees a kid at Northwestern who was rejected at their top choice as a negative where I amazed they got into Northwestern. Others see only 1-2 admits to each Ivy (many of whom will play sports) and can’t believe how “poorly” they have done where I can’t believe a single graduating class gets that many kids into Ivies. Or someone has a choice between Cornell and UVA and is angry bc they had 5 other rejections where I see a kid who can only go to 1 school so having two top 30 choices is an embarrassment of riches.

Agree with this 100%.

Someone posted upthread that the only acceptable schools were the Ivys, MIT, Caltech, Stanford, Hopkins, Chicago and maybe Northwestern (I can't remember if Northwestern was included on their list).
THIS IS INSANITY.
Where do parents get this incredibly skewed perspective? Somehow they think that their kid deserves this college trajectory simply because they graduated from Sidwell?
I have two kids there (earlier high school grades) who came from public. They're doing really well (no Bs so far). They have some very bright classmates. But many of their classmates are just average smart.
They do fine. They study some. They blow off other assignments. They're not geniuses and they're not academic whizzes. But yet their parents clearly believe they are worthy of an Ivy admit. This
is evident by the fact that something like 15 of the kids ED'd (all unsuccessfully) to Brown. Now, this was not the top 15 kids in the senior class. There were plenty of kids that truly believed that their
Sidwell education (no matter their grades) entitled them to a spot at Brown. It's really warped thinking. Spend a day in public school where you have to be perfect to even consider these options.
A Sidwell degree is not some birthright that entitles you to a top 10 ten college spot although many parents seem to honestly believe this.

Signed,
A Sidwell parent that would be quite happy with Colby or Vanderbilt or Dickinson or Wake or any top 75 school. Because you know what? My kid will certainly do well at any of these schools. AND the odds of attending
a decent school are far more secure coming from Sidwell than it would have been from public. You just have to graduate from Sidwell to all but guarantee a top 75 placement. In public, you have to be essentially perfect
for 4 years plus hope the odds go in your favor.

I would be damn pissed if I sent my kid to Sidwell and he ended up at Colby.

I am here stressing about my very smart kid at our pressure cooker high school. We are trying to decide between private and public. I started a thread not long ago and was called a troll.

What’s wrong with Colby? It’s a great school and hard to get accepted.

It all comes down to ROI. At $50k per, I certainly wouldn't be happy. Public will yield that result.

[Anonymous]

[url]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think a lot of people are looking at these admits and seeing different things, Someone sees a kid at Northwestern who was rejected at their top choice as a negative where I amazed they got into Northwestern. Others see only 1-2 admits to each Ivy (many of whom will play sports) and can’t believe how “poorly” they have done where I can’t believe a single graduating class gets that many kids into Ivies. Or someone has a choice between Cornell and UVA and is angry bc they had 5 other rejections where I see a kid who can only go to 1 school so having two top 30 choices is an embarrassment of riches.

Agree with this 100%.

Someone posted upthread that the only acceptable schools were the Ivys, MIT, Caltech, Stanford, Hopkins, Chicago and maybe Northwestern (I can't remember if Northwestern was included on their list).
THIS IS INSANITY.
Where do parents get this incredibly skewed perspective? Somehow they think that their kid deserves this college trajectory simply because they graduated from Sidwell?
I have two kids there (earlier high school grades) who came from public. They're doing really well (no Bs so far). They have some very bright classmates. But many of their classmates are just average smart.
They do fine. They study some. They blow off other assignments. They're not geniuses and they're not academic whizzes. But yet their parents clearly believe they are worthy of an Ivy admit. This
is evident by the fact that something like 15 of the kids ED'd (all unsuccessfully) to Brown. Now, this was not the top 15 kids in the senior class. There were plenty of kids that truly believed that their
Sidwell education (no matter their grades) entitled them to a spot at Brown. It's really warped thinking. Spend a day in public school where you have to be perfect to even consider these options.
A Sidwell degree is not some birthright that entitles you to a top 10 ten college spot although many parents seem to honestly believe this.

Signed,
A Sidwell parent that would be quite happy with Colby or Vanderbilt or Dickinson or Wake or any top 75 school. Because you know what? My kid will certainly do well at any of these schools. AND the odds of attending
a decent school are far more secure coming from Sidwell than it would have been from public. You just have to graduate from Sidwell to all but guarantee a top 75 placement. In public, you have to be essentially perfect
for 4 years plus hope the odds go in your favor.

I would be damn pissed if I sent my kid to Sidwell and he ended up at Colby.

I am here stressing about my very smart kid at our pressure cooker high school. We are trying to decide between private and public. I started a thread not long ago and was called a troll.

What’s wrong with Colby? It’s a great school and hard to get accepted.

It all comes down to ROI. At $50k per, I certainly wouldn't be happy. Public will yield that result.

Then you really, really, really need to stick with public.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pissed at going to Colby? My very smart kid is at a big3 and I would be ecstatic if my kid could get into Colby. DC is probably going to end up one or two tiers below Colby. GPA is just too low (3.2) for these schools these days. ACT is 33 though, but that doesn’t seem to mean much at all this admission cycle.

I am not spending $50k a year to have my kid go to a college named for a cheese.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think a lot of people are looking at these admits and seeing different things, Someone sees a kid at Northwestern who was rejected at their top choice as a negative where I amazed they got into Northwestern. Others see only 1-2 admits to each Ivy (many of whom will play sports) and can’t believe how “poorly” they have done where I can’t believe a single graduating class gets that many kids into Ivies. Or someone has a choice between Cornell and UVA and is angry bc they had 5 other rejections where I see a kid who can only go to 1 school so having two top 30 choices is an embarrassment of riches.

Agree with this 100%.

Someone posted upthread that the only acceptable schools were the Ivys, MIT, Caltech, Stanford, Hopkins, Chicago and maybe Northwestern (I can't remember if Northwestern was included on their list).
THIS IS INSANITY.
Where do parents get this incredibly skewed perspective? Somehow they think that their kid deserves this college trajectory simply because they graduated from Sidwell?
I have two kids there (earlier high school grades) who came from public. They're doing really well (no Bs so far). They have some very bright classmates. But many of their classmates are just average smart.
They do fine. They study some. They blow off other assignments. They're not geniuses and they're not academic whizzes. But yet their parents clearly believe they are worthy of an Ivy admit. This
is evident by the fact that something like 15 of the kids ED'd (all unsuccessfully) to Brown. Now, this was not the top 15 kids in the senior class. There were plenty of kids that truly believed that their
Sidwell education (no matter their grades) entitled them to a spot at Brown. It's really warped thinking. Spend a day in public school where you have to be perfect to even consider these options.
A Sidwell degree is not some birthright that entitles you to a top 10 ten college spot although many parents seem to honestly believe this.

Signed,
A Sidwell parent that would be quite happy with Colby or Vanderbilt or Dickinson or Wake or any top 75 school. Because you know what? My kid will certainly do well at any of these schools. AND the odds of attending
a decent school are far more secure coming from Sidwell than it would have been from public. You just have to graduate from Sidwell to all but guarantee a top 75 placement. In public, you have to be essentially perfect
for 4 years plus hope the odds go in your favor.

I would be damn pissed if I sent my kid to Sidwell and he ended up at Colby.

I am here stressing about my very smart kid at our pressure cooker high school. We are trying to decide between private and public. I started a thread not long ago and was called a troll.

Wow. If you are not fine with Colby then you need to stay far away from the top DC privates.
Listen, it is pretty much impossible to get into an Ivy from these schools in 2023 if you are not TWO of the above: URM, recruited athlete and legacy (generally legacy of a VIP). Plus being a strong student--that goes without saying. At my kid's Big3 last year there was ONE, ONE Ivy student who did not fall into these categories.

So that leaves most of the VERY TOP kids at the next tier schools. And these schools only admit a very tiny handful from any one DC private, so that leaves plenty of REALLY SMART, REALLY STRONG STUDENT kids at the next two tiers of colleges. Get what I'm saying? Plus a lot of getting good grades is luck of the draw. Does your kid
get the reasonable teachers? There are some that are reasonable (and even easy) and others that do.not.give.As by matter of principal. Also, are you sure your really smart kid will never mess up? Never get depressed? Never forget to study for a test? It's very hard to predict
4 years before.

Therefore, if you are not comfortable with your child attending Colby (a very good, very competitive school where many Big3 students matriculate), I would advise you--100% to not send your child to a top DC private school.
And let me tell you, the next rung of privates (non-Big3) is generally not even getting their kids into Colby. Which should tell you how competitive it is.

I don’t know what Big 3 school your kid attended but that’s such a load of tripe.