Sidwell College Admissions This Year

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How does Sidwell justify the lack of open access to Naviance? That’s so incredibly paternalistic. I’m surprised there hasn’t been a parent revolt.

What does a parent revolt at a school like Sidwell look like?

I suppose it would start with a group of concerned parents working to schedule a meeting with the counseling department or school head?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seriously, this is just embarrassing for SFS. You guys need to stopped or at least move it to the private school section.

The forum is College and University Discussion, and doesn't specify only for public school. LOL

OP Yes, but when a public school parent trashes their high school which happens a lot they tend to do it in the privacy of the "school section." But no please proceed, everyone is enjoying the airing of the private school dirty laundry. Please continue ... grabbing my popcorn. lol

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How does Sidwell justify the lack of open access to Naviance? That’s so incredibly paternalistic. I’m surprised there hasn’t been a parent revolt.

What does a parent revolt at a school like Sidwell look like?

I suppose it would start with a group of concerned parents working to schedule a meeting with the counseling department or school head?

Ha! would never happen. people would be afraid of retaliation.

[Anonymous]

I bet sidwell kids at public unis are super embaraassed

It’s like 8 mile…

“I know something about you, you went to sidwell that’s a big3 school”!

Lololololollololo

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How does Sidwell justify the lack of open access to Naviance? That’s so incredibly paternalistic. I’m surprised there hasn’t been a parent revolt.

What does a parent revolt at a school like Sidwell look like?

I suppose it would start with a group of concerned parents working to schedule a meeting with the counseling department or school head?

At a regularly scheduled 12th grade parent meeting--so not college placement or CCO related and the CCO people do not attend--someone asked the upper school head whether they would be collecting parent feedback about the college application process and the CCO. His reaction was priceless: it was as if the idea had never occurred to him and he was pretty clear that they were not interested in parent feedback. He did give lip service to say that "of course" parents could always provide feedback, but it was apparent that any such feedback would be unwanted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the elephant in the room is that a good chunk of the very top students are “stranded”. They are doing less well than the bottom 85% of the class. Yield protected at likelies/matches and not into any SCEA or ED. Sidwell needs an explicit strategy for these kids. It’s not to late to advocate for this group imo. No entitlement here at all. I don’t think CCO gets the macro picture here. These kids had safeties but safeties are not acting like safeties for this high performing group.

I know the kids you're talking about, because my kid is their peer and in most of their classes.

What you didn't include in your otherwise instructive post is that most of these kids picked a very tough Ivy or Stanford as their SCEA or ED -- with absolutely foreseeable results. I think that's the most relevant detail, actually. Also, most didn't ED2, so the 'stranded' characterization is premature at best and, it must be pointed out, it's a risk to forego ED2 and they chose to take that risk. Finally, a number of these kids have at least one EA in hand at a top 25 school. No one is "stranded" when they can go to Chicago or Michigan next fall.

I seem to have an outlier view of the purpose and capabilities of a college counselor at Sidwell, Dalton, Westlake, New Trier, Andover, etc. I don't view them as agents who earn their money by securing prime bookings for their top talent. Nor are they talented litigators who get paid more when they successfully persuade skeptical juries to come around. Not saying you do, but not a few parents in this class talk this way. It upsets my own senior because they talk as if the CC office is the help and it's gross.

So, if Sidwell students get rejected, well, they were yield protected but if a magnet such as TJ's students get rejected, then it is the mocking time. Just look at the thread drudged up for 2016 class for TJ. TJ does way better than Sidwell even with having 70% Asians (which is a huge disadvantage) and having virtually no connections/legacies/athletes/URM. Do better Sidwell parents.

+1

[Anonymous]

At a regularly scheduled 12th grade parent meeting--so not college placement or CCO related and the CCO people do not attend--someone asked the upper school head whether they would be collecting parent feedback about the college application process and the CCO. His reaction was priceless: it was as if the idea had never occurred to him and he was pretty clear that they were not interested in parent feedback. He did give lip service to say that "of course" parents could always provide feedback, but it was apparent that any such feedback would be unwanted.


A few years ago during a regularly scheduled meeting, a parent expressed concern to the US Head that the entire CCO office was changing within the span of a few months. The US Head's reaction was to remind us that there are children dying in Africa from hunger so we should keep our problems in perspective. That response should give you an idea of the school's interest in parental concerns. During the pandemic, the CCO never met children face to even after school was open hybrid. Yet the US Head continued to send out email touting Lauren and how lucky we were to have her guiding the ship. In hindsight we should have trusted our instinct and transferred out of the school but by the time we figured out that the HOS, the Upper School Principal and the Head of Counseling are ineffective leaders it was too late. Plus it would have been cruel to our child to transfer during a pandemic as they would have no opportunity to make new friends.

We were so excited when DD got into Sidwell in 9th grade but now we wish she had chosen NCS which was the other top contender instead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell Senior Parent. NP. On a related but slightly different note: I believe we are finally starting to see what the rather tough grading policies at Sidwell are starting to do to admissions outcomes. Rampant grade inflation elsewhere, the elimination of standardized tests and gradual disinclination towards "elite" private schools is making it harder each year for Sidwell students to stand out. With Covid, strong ECs have been hard to build for many students.

Did the tough grading policies apply to Mailia Obama. Just curious.

Are you familiar with hooks in college admissions parlance? If not, perhaps look up "My dad is POTUS" and see if that may be a hook.

[Anonymous]

Anyone at sidwell opt out of SATs and still get into a top school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
At a regularly scheduled 12th grade parent meeting--so not college placement or CCO related and the CCO people do not attend--someone asked the upper school head whether they would be collecting parent feedback about the college application process and the CCO. His reaction was priceless: it was as if the idea had never occurred to him and he was pretty clear that they were not interested in parent feedback. He did give lip service to say that "of course" parents could always provide feedback, but it was apparent that any such feedback would be unwanted.

A few years ago during a regularly scheduled meeting, a parent expressed concern to the US Head that the entire CCO office was changing within the span of a few months. The US Head's reaction was to remind us that there are children dying in Africa from hunger so we should keep our problems in perspective. That response should give you an idea of the school's interest in parental concerns. During the pandemic, the CCO never met children face to even after school was open hybrid. Yet the US Head continued to send out email touting Lauren and how lucky we were to have her guiding the ship. In hindsight we should have trusted our instinct and transferred out of the school but by the time we figured out that the HOS, the Upper School Principal and the Head of Counseling are ineffective leaders it was too late. Plus it would have been cruel to our child to transfer during a pandemic as they would have no opportunity to make new friends.

We were so excited when DD got into Sidwell in 9th grade but now we wish she had chosen NCS which was the other top contender instead.

+1. NCS is much better.

[Anonymous]

Then the CCO shouldn’t matter because your judgment is off anyway

[Anonymous]

If most of the HYPMS admits in big 3s are legacies, URM or athlete., what colleges did those top1-3 kids without any hooks normally get into?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How does Sidwell justify the lack of open access to Naviance? That’s so incredibly paternalistic. I’m surprised there hasn’t been a parent revolt.

No Naviance access: classic Sidwell abuse. Sidwell senior parent here. Been the same thing for years. No parent will dare complain. Myself included.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are Sidwell parents not totally humiliated by this thread.
Are they not aware that they project the image of entitled crazy people?

All I know is they are not quakers.

I have no idea why the religion of my childhood continues to promote this bs oligarch stuff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell and the other private schools should tell parents when they apply to high school "not to expect to get a leg up in college admissions by being here." Maybe it would turn away some families, but this is where it should start.

Parent of recent SFS graduate here...not sure what went on with other classes, but our class was (repeatedly) given this information during meetings with the US administration. Maybe not in 9th grade, but the message was definitely (and explicitly) given to parents in 10th, 11th and 12th grades.