is grade deflation really hurting college admissions this year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree with pp. Private makes the most sense for k-8 b/c it provides a good foundation, but public HS—particularly the magnet schools/programs—have a lot to offer.

LOL, DCUM has attacked me on several occasions for posting this very thing. Glad you agree.

No way would I send my kid to public in this area. There is not a single school I would feel safe sending them to. There have been all sorts of issues at these publics. Please stop saying there are not because we have many friends trying to apply out currently. It is a different set of problems.

A few good AP classes does mean it is the community I want for my kids. The classes are too big. Disruptive kids are allowed to remain in classes. Kids have been threatened by violence. Drug overdose at school during the day a few years ago at Jackson Reed. The ambulance had to come. Friends at Deal and Hardy said a kid pulled out a knife at school and other kid got jumped in the bathroom. Kids going to Safeway and stealing items during lunch. The list goes on and on. These are not made up stories. These are from friends who have kids in publics and they are desperately applying to try to get them into a private. We are helping two right now.

And yet there are kids at these schools doing extraordinarily well. A great student coming out of this environment is a far more interesting college admit.

Agree. Jackson Reed seems to be doing great as usual with EDs.

1 at Harvard
1 at Cornell
1 and Columbia (football)
2 at Tulane
2 at Smith (girls crew)


https://instagram.com/jacksonreed2023?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Yes. We know.
This is not a post about how public is better than private or the reverse.
That is such a played-out conversation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree with pp. Private makes the most sense for k-8 b/c it provides a good foundation, but public HS—particularly the magnet schools/programs—have a lot to offer.

LOL, DCUM has attacked me on several occasions for posting this very thing. Glad you agree.

No way would I send my kid to public in this area. There is not a single school I would feel safe sending them to. There have been all sorts of issues at these publics. Please stop saying there are not because we have many friends trying to apply out currently. It is a different set of problems.

A few good AP classes does mean it is the community I want for my kids. The classes are too big. Disruptive kids are allowed to remain in classes. Kids have been threatened by violence. Drug overdose at school during the day a few years ago at Jackson Reed. The ambulance had to come. Friends at Deal and Hardy said a kid pulled out a knife at school and other kid got jumped in the bathroom. Kids going to Safeway and stealing items during lunch. The list goes on and on. These are not made up stories. These are from friends who have kids in publics and they are desperately applying to try to get them into a private. We are helping two right now.

And yet there are kids at these schools doing extraordinarily well. A great student coming out of this environment is a far more interesting college admit.

OP here. Pls don't engage with the troll or clueless person who says that the public schools around here aren't safe or can't produce decent graduates. The last thing I want is for this post to turn into another
public vs. private debate. I've had kids in both (DCPS for a cumulative 25+ years between 3 kids) and private and there are strengths to both.
Let's keep this conversation about the private grade grade deflation in the current admissions environment. It's been a very interesting conversation.

Is it really grade deflation or grading on a curve and the teachers have all smart kids in their classes and cannot give all A's to everyone. And, the question is, is there a true advantage in terms of college in attending a private high school (obviously there are other advantages like smaller class sizes, etc)?

People are unrealistic to expect one college to take in 1/4 to 1/2 of a graduating class except at a large public high school for a large public college. You have to be realistic. Ivy's and other "top" schools are only going to take so many from each graduating class and are it an advantage if you have a smaller graduating class vs. a large one? Publics have a larger skew of how kids do academically/GPA vs. Privates are generally more selective on the students they take and especially for high school are only taking in top students so some of this isn't even comparable.

Public in DC has always been rough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree with pp. Private makes the most sense for k-8 b/c it provides a good foundation, but public HS—particularly the magnet schools/programs—have a lot to offer.

LOL, DCUM has attacked me on several occasions for posting this very thing. Glad you agree.

No way would I send my kid to public in this area. There is not a single school I would feel safe sending them to. There have been all sorts of issues at these publics. Please stop saying there are not because we have many friends trying to apply out currently. It is a different set of problems.

A few good AP classes does mean it is the community I want for my kids. The classes are too big. Disruptive kids are allowed to remain in classes. Kids have been threatened by violence. Drug overdose at school during the day a few years ago at Jackson Reed. The ambulance had to come. Friends at Deal and Hardy said a kid pulled out a knife at school and other kid got jumped in the bathroom. Kids going to Safeway and stealing items during lunch. The list goes on and on. These are not made up stories. These are from friends who have kids in publics and they are desperately applying to try to get them into a private. We are helping two right now.

And yet there are kids at these schools doing extraordinarily well. A great student coming out of this environment is a far more interesting college admit.

Agree. Jackson Reed seems to be doing great as usual with EDs.

1 at Harvard
1 at Cornell
1 and Columbia (football)
2 at Tulane
2 at Smith (girls crew)


https://instagram.com/jacksonreed2023?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

That’s it? For a class over 500 kids a handful of kids is nothing to boast about. What percentage are going to top 20 or top 30 schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think people outside of NCS understand the standard that they hold the girls to.
Obviously there are very smart kids in public before anyone gets triggered, but NCS is a self selecting academic school. You certainly don’t go there for the sports (ex crew), so it draws an academically inclined student.
The grading is merciless and in the past this has not necessarily been a problem but 2 very significant changes have happened 1) Covid grade inflation at public school and 2) test optional. These are seismic shifts.
It is yet to be seen how much it matters because the RD round will sort that out. In ED NCS has very few athletic recruits (again ex crew) compared to Holton Arms for example who does well in a wider range of sports.
It’s too early to tell, but it is quite likely that the grade deflation has now become an issue.
I don’t think parents are expecting a “leg-up” I just think parents don’t want their daughters disadvantaged either. Let’s face it, a 3.4 or 3.5 does not compare very favorably these days.

There it is. It did take 12 pages this year, but there it is. An NCS parent actually saying out loud that their daughter is disadvantaged. Wow.

I get that according to this thread there are only 5 girls who got into their ED choice this year. However, looking at last year's admissions for NCS, the girls did great ! A lot of top 20 schools and Ivies. So maybe it is that the EA and RD decisions will even things out? I understand it is extremely stressful for the kids and parents. Hang in there !

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think people outside of NCS understand the standard that they hold the girls to.
Obviously there are very smart kids in public before anyone gets triggered, but NCS is a self selecting academic school. You certainly don’t go there for the sports (ex crew), so it draws an academically inclined student.
The grading is merciless and in the past this has not necessarily been a problem but 2 very significant changes have happened 1) Covid grade inflation at public school and 2) test optional. These are seismic shifts.
It is yet to be seen how much it matters because the RD round will sort that out. In ED NCS has very few athletic recruits (again ex crew) compared to Holton Arms for example who does well in a wider range of sports.
It’s too early to tell, but it is quite likely that the grade deflation has now become an issue.
I don’t think parents are expecting a “leg-up” I just think parents don’t want their daughters disadvantaged either. Let’s face it, a 3.4 or 3.5 does not compare very favorably these days.

There it is. It did take 12 pages this year, but there it is. An NCS parent actually saying out loud that their daughter is disadvantaged. Wow.

I get that according to this thread there are only 5 girls who got into their ED choice this year. However, looking at last year's admissions for NCS, the girls did great ! A lot of top 20 schools and Ivies. So maybe it is that the EA and RD decisions will even things out? I understand it is extremely stressful for the kids and parents. Hang in there !

Girls last year only got into top schools during ED bc they were recruited athletes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree with pp. Private makes the most sense for k-8 b/c it provides a good foundation, but public HS—particularly the magnet schools/programs—have a lot to offer.

LOL, DCUM has attacked me on several occasions for posting this very thing. Glad you agree.

No way would I send my kid to public in this area. There is not a single school I would feel safe sending them to. There have been all sorts of issues at these publics. Please stop saying there are not because we have many friends trying to apply out currently. It is a different set of problems.

A few good AP classes does mean it is the community I want for my kids. The classes are too big. Disruptive kids are allowed to remain in classes. Kids have been threatened by violence. Drug overdose at school during the day a few years ago at Jackson Reed. The ambulance had to come. Friends at Deal and Hardy said a kid pulled out a knife at school and other kid got jumped in the bathroom. Kids going to Safeway and stealing items during lunch. The list goes on and on. These are not made up stories. These are from friends who have kids in publics and they are desperately applying to try to get them into a private. We are helping two right now.

And yet there are kids at these schools doing extraordinarily well. A great student coming out of this environment is a far more interesting college admit.

Agree. Jackson Reed seems to be doing great as usual with EDs.

1 at Harvard
1 at Cornell
1 and Columbia (football)
2 at Tulane
2 at Smith (girls crew)


https://instagram.com/jacksonreed2023?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

That’s it? For a class over 500 kids a handful of kids is nothing to boast about. What percentage are going to top 20 or top 30 schools?

Stop being silly, these are just the first dozen kids ED. And of course half of the kids at a public may not go to prestigious schools. The point was not to compare but to reinforce that smart kids can do well anywhere

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree with pp. Private makes the most sense for k-8 b/c it provides a good foundation, but public HS—particularly the magnet schools/programs—have a lot to offer.

LOL, DCUM has attacked me on several occasions for posting this very thing. Glad you agree.

No way would I send my kid to public in this area. There is not a single school I would feel safe sending them to. There have been all sorts of issues at these publics. Please stop saying there are not because we have many friends trying to apply out currently. It is a different set of problems.

A few good AP classes does mean it is the community I want for my kids. The classes are too big. Disruptive kids are allowed to remain in classes. Kids have been threatened by violence. Drug overdose at school during the day a few years ago at Jackson Reed. The ambulance had to come. Friends at Deal and Hardy said a kid pulled out a knife at school and other kid got jumped in the bathroom. Kids going to Safeway and stealing items during lunch. The list goes on and on. These are not made up stories. These are from friends who have kids in publics and they are desperately applying to try to get them into a private. We are helping two right now.

And yet there are kids at these schools doing extraordinarily well. A great student coming out of this environment is a far more interesting college admit.

Agree. Jackson Reed seems to be doing great as usual with EDs.

1 at Harvard
1 at Cornell
1 and Columbia (football)
2 at Tulane
2 at Smith (girls crew)


https://instagram.com/jacksonreed2023?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

That’s it? For a class over 500 kids a handful of kids is nothing to boast about. What percentage are going to top 20 or top 30 schools?

Stop being silly, these are just the first dozen kids ED. And of course half of the kids at a public may not go to prestigious schools. The point was not to compare but to reinforce that smart kids can do well anywhere

Smart kids can do well anywhere, but it also depends on the child. But, it absolutely makes a difference how many students in a class. And, many public school parents may not want their kids information online. We have to sign waivers for that. I would not allow it for my child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree with pp. Private makes the most sense for k-8 b/c it provides a good foundation, but public HS—particularly the magnet schools/programs—have a lot to offer.

LOL, DCUM has attacked me on several occasions for posting this very thing. Glad you agree.

No way would I send my kid to public in this area. There is not a single school I would feel safe sending them to. There have been all sorts of issues at these publics. Please stop saying there are not because we have many friends trying to apply out currently. It is a different set of problems.

A few good AP classes does mean it is the community I want for my kids. The classes are too big. Disruptive kids are allowed to remain in classes. Kids have been threatened by violence. Drug overdose at school during the day a few years ago at Jackson Reed. The ambulance had to come. Friends at Deal and Hardy said a kid pulled out a knife at school and other kid got jumped in the bathroom. Kids going to Safeway and stealing items during lunch. The list goes on and on. These are not made up stories. These are from friends who have kids in publics and they are desperately applying to try to get them into a private. We are helping two right now.

And yet there are kids at these schools doing extraordinarily well. A great student coming out of this environment is a far more interesting college admit.

Agree. Jackson Reed seems to be doing great as usual with EDs.

1 at Harvard
1 at Cornell
1 and Columbia (football)
2 at Tulane
2 at Smith (girls crew)


https://instagram.com/jacksonreed2023?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

That’s it? For a class over 500 kids a handful of kids is nothing to boast about. What percentage are going to top 20 or top 30 schools?

Stop being silly, these are just the first dozen kids ED. And of course half of the kids at a public may not go to prestigious schools. The point was not to compare but to reinforce that smart kids can do well anywhere

Smart kids can do well anywhere, but it also depends on the child. But, it absolutely makes a difference how many students in a class. And, many public school parents may not want their kids information online. We have to sign waivers for that. I would not allow it for my child.

Publics all have students who will not go to college or whose families can’t afford private universities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn’t read all of the responses but I found it interesting that the two schools my don was deferred at for EA were in-state schools. Neither one is known for a low admissions rate either. I guess his 3.3 just can’t measure up against the high and super high GPAs. Those schools were his safety schools so it’s not a big deal but just surprising.

3.3 is low, for public and private.

Not really. In districts like MCPS and the NOVA districts where honors and AP are weighted up to a 5, a 3.3 can be a GPA that is well above 4.0.

To the PP, whose son was deferred, what state are you in?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think people outside of NCS understand the standard that they hold the girls to.
Obviously there are very smart kids in public before anyone gets triggered, but NCS is a self selecting academic school. You certainly don’t go there for the sports (ex crew), so it draws an academically inclined student.
The grading is merciless and in the past this has not necessarily been a problem but 2 very significant changes have happened 1) Covid grade inflation at public school and 2) test optional. These are seismic shifts.
It is yet to be seen how much it matters because the RD round will sort that out. In ED NCS has very few athletic recruits (again ex crew) compared to Holton Arms for example who does well in a wider range of sports.
It’s too early to tell, but it is quite likely that the grade deflation has now become an issue.
I don’t think parents are expecting a “leg-up” I just think parents don’t want their daughters disadvantaged either. Let’s face it, a 3.4 or 3.5 does not compare very favorably these days.

There it is. It did take 12 pages this year, but there it is. An NCS parent actually saying out loud that their daughter is disadvantaged. Wow.

The comments are reasonable in the context of this thread and its topic. Perhaps you have your own issues to deal with

[Anonymous]

I think if your daughter is at NCS and in the top 25% of the class and has legacy advantage at a highly ranked college, she will be fine.
Alternatively, URM in the top 50% of the class will do very well as well.
Strong athletes with the possibility of getting recruited is a huge boost as well.
If you are one of the extremely wealthy families at NCS, $100 million +, your child will be fine.
If you are just UMC and don’t fit into any of the above categories, your kid will have a hard time getting into a top 20 school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think people outside of NCS understand the standard that they hold the girls to.
Obviously there are very smart kids in public before anyone gets triggered, but NCS is a self selecting academic school. You certainly don’t go there for the sports (ex crew), so it draws an academically inclined student.
The grading is merciless and in the past this has not necessarily been a problem but 2 very significant changes have happened 1) Covid grade inflation at public school and 2) test optional. These are seismic shifts.
It is yet to be seen how much it matters because the RD round will sort that out. In ED NCS has very few athletic recruits (again ex crew) compared to Holton Arms for example who does well in a wider range of sports.
It’s too early to tell, but it is quite likely that the grade deflation has now become an issue.
I don’t think parents are expecting a “leg-up” I just think parents don’t want their daughters disadvantaged either. Let’s face it, a 3.4 or 3.5 does not compare very favorably these days.

There it is. It did take 12 pages this year, but there it is. An NCS parent actually saying out loud that their daughter is disadvantaged. Wow.

No, it says they don't want their kid disadvantaged. The post is all a big question - which is reasonable. NCS grading is merciless. Lots of girls have very high SAT or ACT scores, work really hard and are getting hammered by GPA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn’t read all of the responses but I found it interesting that the two schools my don was deferred at for EA were in-state schools. Neither one is known for a low admissions rate either. I guess his 3.3 just can’t measure up against the high and super high GPAs. Those schools were his safety schools so it’s not a big deal but just surprising.

3.3 is low, for public and private.

It is absolutely not low at NCS. Most of my daughters friends are right around 3.0-3.4

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn’t read all of the responses but I found it interesting that the two schools my don was deferred at for EA were in-state schools. Neither one is known for a low admissions rate either. I guess his 3.3 just can’t measure up against the high and super high GPAs. Those schools were his safety schools so it’s not a big deal but just surprising.

3.3 is low, for public and private.

It is absolutely not low at NCS. Most of my daughters friends are right around 3.0-3.4

Are these current seniors? My daughter is in 10th and she doesn't discuss grades with her friends, but I've been wondering what the norm is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn’t read all of the responses but I found it interesting that the two schools my don was deferred at for EA were in-state schools. Neither one is known for a low admissions rate either. I guess his 3.3 just can’t measure up against the high and super high GPAs. Those schools were his safety schools so it’s not a big deal but just surprising.

3.3 is low, for public and private.

It is absolutely not low at NCS. Most of my daughters friends are right around 3.0-3.4

Are these current seniors? My daughter is in 10th and she doesn't discuss grades with her friends, but I've been wondering what the norm is.

Yes, for current seniors. ACT 32-34 and SAT 1480-1500. These are objectively smart girls. They are not upset about not getting into top 20 colleges. They are upset about getting deferred and rejected from colleges in the 50-150 range.