Potomac parents are SO ANNOYING

Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand why the Potomac school is in McLean, and the McLean school is in Potomac.


People have been asking this question for generations


The Potomac School started in DC (1904) and was in Georgetown - after an early re-location from its first site - until 1951 (at which point it moved to McLean). It was named after the Potomac River because the campus was near the river when it was in DC. The purchase of the land in McLean allowed for significant expansion and later (1987) the addition of grades 10-12. As to why the McLean school is in Potomac, that I do not know. I know Potomac’s history because I attended. When I was there (80s), there were quite a few kids that lived in Potomac (the place) and traveled to McLean to attend Potomac (the school) using Georgetown Pike as a short cut from Potomac to McLean. I wonder if that is still the case given the explosion of regional traffic.


And why is the McLean school in Potomac?


Same reason why Columbus thought he landed in India.
Anonymous
But yet it took you all of about 5 minutes to reply. Lol.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:But yet it took you all of about 5 minutes to reply. Lol.


5 seconds while cooking dinner, call me a fast typer 😉
Anonymous
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Anonymous wrote:
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Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Honestly, I don't really see a non-Potomac parent considering Potomac comparable to the Big 3...


The whole idea of a Big 3 is silly. We were a non Potomac parent , but then our DS had the choice between a supposed Big 3 and Potomac and he wound up choosing Potomac. It’s about fit. Potomac has a very good academic reputation even if many DC-centric DCUMers don’t want to admit that.


I don't disagree that school is about fit, but claiming you were a non-potomac parent before ultimately choosing Potomac doesn't make you a non-potomac parent comparing to the Big 3 😂



I’m guessing you’re a teenager that is posting on a parent forum for some reason. I’m not “claiming” anything. Technically I am still not a Potomac parent since DS doesn’t start there until the fall. I’m also not comparing it to the Big 3. I am saying it has an excellent reputation.


Excellent reputation according to whom? What is the reputation you have in mind?


According to their college admits for 2026 -take a look.


College admits equates to solid reputation? Didn’t know that was the sum of a person.


Oh come on. It’s not and you know it but my response is directed to the posters on this thread who insist they are right on which schools qualify as “ big 3” or “big 5” and anyone using that term is presumably talking about academic rigor which is generally measured ( for better or worse) by a school’s ability to send their students to top colleges and universities. By that measure, anyone suggesting that Potomac isn’t in that running should look at their college admits for at least the past decade, with this year being particularly impressive.


Hard to disagree and I think that is why Potomac parents get so upset and bothered. The Big 3 represents a choice set of equal value, but different child personality that DC families decide between. Frankly, Potomac just is not part of that set and statistics don't change that fact.


The only true “set” I can ascertain from years of reading DCUM posts ( yea I shouldn’t admit that) anout the big 3 or big 5 is that the school be located in NW DC. That isn’t much of a value set imo. And having been in the independent school world with two kids ( one who is about to graduate) for a decade plus, it’s obvious that ALL of these schools are similar and so are the parents. Some are annoying, some flaunt their wealth, some are down to earth and some are not. Anyone targeting Potomac as somehow attracting a different kind of parent likely has some other axe to grind.


Look you walk on the campus of Sidwell/GDS/the close and try to claim Potomac is Big 3 you are gonna get sideways looks. You claim any of those 3 as a parent of one of the others and claim Big 3 they say "oh yea" because there is a shared understanding. That's what makes them the Big 3. It isn't me claiming, it is self recognizing group.


Shared understanding of what exactly? I know parents at every single school you’ve mentioned, including Potomac. Literally every single one. And I also sent a child to one of these NW schools. The only people I’ve ever heard even use the term big 3 are from this board. Everyone out in the real world, you know those without some weird hang up about Potomac being in VA ( you know the NW DC crowd who don’t “do” VA) include Potomac in any critical discussion of top schools in the area.


You don’t need to lie. I couldn’t care less about VA, and none of the parents at our Big3 ever mention Potomac’s name when talking about schools. I definitely can’t remember the last time I heard someone say the name “Potomac” out loud to refer to the school. From what I’ve read on this board, it seems like Potomac parents are desperate to prove something about themselves/their kids and desperately want to be included in NW DC and MoCo discussions. It’s not happening - and it turns everyone off from the school.


For someone who couldn’t care less about Potomac, you seem to have spent a lot of time in this thread espousing your opinions about the school. Why is that? What need in your life is going unmet?


Dear Potomac mom,

That PP was shutting down the other poster’s fallacy that everyone groups Potomac with the top DC private schools. In reality, Potomac only occupies the headspace of NOVA families, unless the Potomac moms force the rest of us to remember their existence by boosting it on DCUM.

Hope this helps.


Literally! Every time this thread drops below the fold, a Potomac response comes in and I'm like really???? Why did THAT live rent free in your head enough for you to bring it back! Even OP wants this thread to dye!
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Honestly, I don't really see a non-Potomac parent considering Potomac comparable to the Big 3...


The whole idea of a Big 3 is silly. We were a non Potomac parent , but then our DS had the choice between a supposed Big 3 and Potomac and he wound up choosing Potomac. It’s about fit. Potomac has a very good academic reputation even if many DC-centric DCUMers don’t want to admit that.


I don't disagree that school is about fit, but claiming you were a non-potomac parent before ultimately choosing Potomac doesn't make you a non-potomac parent comparing to the Big 3 😂



I’m guessing you’re a teenager that is posting on a parent forum for some reason. I’m not “claiming” anything. Technically I am still not a Potomac parent since DS doesn’t start there until the fall. I’m also not comparing it to the Big 3. I am saying it has an excellent reputation.


Excellent reputation according to whom? What is the reputation you have in mind?


According to their college admits for 2026 -take a look.


College admits equates to solid reputation? Didn’t know that was the sum of a person.


Oh come on. It’s not and you know it but my response is directed to the posters on this thread who insist they are right on which schools qualify as “ big 3” or “big 5” and anyone using that term is presumably talking about academic rigor which is generally measured ( for better or worse) by a school’s ability to send their students to top colleges and universities. By that measure, anyone suggesting that Potomac isn’t in that running should look at their college admits for at least the past decade, with this year being particularly impressive.


Hard to disagree and I think that is why Potomac parents get so upset and bothered. The Big 3 represents a choice set of equal value, but different child personality that DC families decide between. Frankly, Potomac just is not part of that set and statistics don't change that fact.


The only true “set” I can ascertain from years of reading DCUM posts ( yea I shouldn’t admit that) anout the big 3 or big 5 is that the school be located in NW DC. That isn’t much of a value set imo. And having been in the independent school world with two kids ( one who is about to graduate) for a decade plus, it’s obvious that ALL of these schools are similar and so are the parents. Some are annoying, some flaunt their wealth, some are down to earth and some are not. Anyone targeting Potomac as somehow attracting a different kind of parent likely has some other axe to grind.


Look you walk on the campus of Sidwell/GDS/the close and try to claim Potomac is Big 3 you are gonna get sideways looks. You claim any of those 3 as a parent of one of the others and claim Big 3 they say "oh yea" because there is a shared understanding. That's what makes them the Big 3. It isn't me claiming, it is self recognizing group.


Shared understanding of what exactly? I know parents at every single school you’ve mentioned, including Potomac. Literally every single one. And I also sent a child to one of these NW schools. The only people I’ve ever heard even use the term big 3 are from this board. Everyone out in the real world, you know those without some weird hang up about Potomac being in VA ( you know the NW DC crowd who don’t “do” VA) include Potomac in any critical discussion of top schools in the area.


You don’t need to lie. I couldn’t care less about VA, and none of the parents at our Big3 ever mention Potomac’s name when talking about schools. I definitely can’t remember the last time I heard someone say the name “Potomac” out loud to refer to the school. From what I’ve read on this board, it seems like Potomac parents are desperate to prove something about themselves/their kids and desperately want to be included in NW DC and MoCo discussions. It’s not happening - and it turns everyone off from the school.


For someone who couldn’t care less about Potomac, you seem to have spent a lot of time in this thread espousing your opinions about the school. Why is that? What need in your life is going unmet?


Dear Potomac mom,

That PP was shutting down the other poster’s fallacy that everyone groups Potomac with the top DC private schools. In reality, Potomac only occupies the headspace of NOVA families, unless the Potomac moms force the rest of us to remember their existence by boosting it on DCUM.

Hope this helps.


Literally! Every time this thread drops below the fold, a Potomac response comes in and I'm like really???? Why did THAT live rent free in your head enough for you to bring it back! Even OP wants this thread to dye!


Die*
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Honestly, I don't really see a non-Potomac parent considering Potomac comparable to the Big 3...


The whole idea of a Big 3 is silly. We were a non Potomac parent , but then our DS had the choice between a supposed Big 3 and Potomac and he wound up choosing Potomac. It’s about fit. Potomac has a very good academic reputation even if many DC-centric DCUMers don’t want to admit that.


I don't disagree that school is about fit, but claiming you were a non-potomac parent before ultimately choosing Potomac doesn't make you a non-potomac parent comparing to the Big 3 😂



I’m guessing you’re a teenager that is posting on a parent forum for some reason. I’m not “claiming” anything. Technically I am still not a Potomac parent since DS doesn’t start there until the fall. I’m also not comparing it to the Big 3. I am saying it has an excellent reputation.


Excellent reputation according to whom? What is the reputation you have in mind?


According to their college admits for 2026 -take a look.


College admits equates to solid reputation? Didn’t know that was the sum of a person.


Oh come on. It’s not and you know it but my response is directed to the posters on this thread who insist they are right on which schools qualify as “ big 3” or “big 5” and anyone using that term is presumably talking about academic rigor which is generally measured ( for better or worse) by a school’s ability to send their students to top colleges and universities. By that measure, anyone suggesting that Potomac isn’t in that running should look at their college admits for at least the past decade, with this year being particularly impressive.


Hard to disagree and I think that is why Potomac parents get so upset and bothered. The Big 3 represents a choice set of equal value, but different child personality that DC families decide between. Frankly, Potomac just is not part of that set and statistics don't change that fact.


The Big 3 represents the best options available to NW DC UMC families. Mostly lawyers, that's all.
And speaking as a lawyer, there is no more prestige grubbing group of people than a bunch of lawyers.

This is some big fish in small pond energy.
The NYC and New England privates have never heard of any of these schools except Sidwell but don't really think much of Sidwell either unless the student's last name is Obama or Clinton
The admissions officers don't really talk about any of these schools the same way they talk about Exeter or Trinity or Harker.
They know TJ better than they know any of the Big 3 and they probably know the MoCo W's better than NCS/STA/GDS

If the reason you are sending your kid to private is so you can brag about sending your kid to private, your kid probably hates you. And they should


More to the point, when your “why us” is obvious, you don’t need to argue to get a nickname associated with you on a mommy forum...
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It mentioned how there is a former board president that writes recs - whenever they write a rec the family is guaranteed acceptance to the school. This doesn’t help the toxic culture at the school nor does the fact that some families are also accepted simply based on the size of their perceived wallet. It’s sad that some schools like Potomac do this to appease parents and forget to consider fit for the child.


I think you are lying when you claim that whenever a former board president writes a recommendation, it is a guarantee of acceptance. I know a former board president with his family name on one of the buildings that can't guarantee acceptance with a recommendation. Which former board president are you talking about?

I think you are lying when you claim that families are accepted based on the perceived size of their wallet. Potomac regularly turns away wealthy families, either because the child is not an academic or social fit for the school.

It's one thing to make subjective judgments about how annoying the parents at Potomac are, but you are making false factual claims.


That’s fine for you to think that 👌
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It mentioned how there is a former board president that writes recs - whenever they write a rec the family is guaranteed acceptance to the school. This doesn’t help the toxic culture at the school nor does the fact that some families are also accepted simply based on the size of their perceived wallet. It’s sad that some schools like Potomac do this to appease parents and forget to consider fit for the child.


I think you are lying when you claim that whenever a former board president writes a recommendation, it is a guarantee of acceptance. I know a former board president with his family name on one of the buildings that can't guarantee acceptance with a recommendation. Which former board president are you talking about?

I think you are lying when you claim that families are accepted based on the perceived size of their wallet. Potomac regularly turns away wealthy families, either because the child is not an academic or social fit for the school.

It's one thing to make subjective judgments about how annoying the parents at Potomac are, but you are making false factual claims.


That’s fine for you to think that 👌


I mean people believe what they want to believe and you can't really stop them 😂
Anonymous
Potomac parents are the worst. Too rich, entitled, spoiled and privileged. The kids will be soft and spoiled no matter what. I don’t envy them. Gross privilege and nepotism.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Mean take, but here goes nothing: I feel like if you are willing to live in NOVA, acceptance to the one decent private there is probably the biggest social signifier you have, and thus more important to flaunt.

Bingo


Some people who live in NoVa send their children to schools in DC. Me, for example (NCS). Shocking, I know.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:But yet it took you all of about 5 minutes to reply. Lol.


5 seconds while cooking dinner, call me a fast typer 😉


So frantically typing your bizarre hatred of a school while sitting in the carpool lane. Then rushing home to start dinner and getting back on DCUM so you can get one more catty response in about a school you admittedly have no meaningful connection to and therefore no knowledge meaning about. Perhaps you should get a job so you can use your no doubt impressive degrees on something else. You sound bored and lost.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:But yet it took you all of about 5 minutes to reply. Lol.


5 seconds while cooking dinner, call me a fast typer 😉


So frantically typing your bizarre hatred of a school while sitting in the carpool lane. Then rushing home to start dinner and getting back on DCUM so you can get one more catty response in about a school you admittedly have no meaningful connection to and therefore no knowledge meaning about. Perhaps you should get a job so you can use your no doubt impressive degrees on something else. You sound bored and lost.


That’s a pretty detailed story from a two-line comment. I think you're proving the projection point here.
Anonymous
The nyc and New England schools are filled with nepo, spoiled brats and clowns. IYKYK.

They are not the standard for everything.
Anonymous
this thread is literally the worst of the Internet. Mean people saying mean things to other mean people, that they would never say to somebody’s face. 15 pages of it. Sheesh. Just stop it.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:this thread is literally the worst of the Internet. Mean people saying mean things to other mean people, that they would never say to somebody’s face. 15 pages of it. Sheesh. Just stop it.


Lol and yet here we all are reading it 😂
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