I should have kept my kid at Wilson; college admits are much better than the Big3

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here.

the point of my post was

1)My high school kid who left DCPS is now doing about 5 times the work in private. It's been a giant step up and a challenge. It's honestly surprised me how big the jump has been. We left DCPS for the challenge because my kid was excelling without every studying and we got it.
This is a good thing.

2)DCPS grading and expectations during the pandemic were even more of a complete joke than usual. My kids got close to (or above) 100% in each class. This current grade (2022) is applying to college with these joke grades. They were based on nothing.

Honest question. How do college admissions officers not know this is happening. It wasn’t just DCPS. Seems that way across the board at publics during the pandemic. If we can figure this out on DCUM how is it that colleges have no idea this is going on?

What makes you think they don't? Anyway, there is much more to an application than a GPA. They will see the Wilson kids with 1600 SAT (I know of at least one), the lead roles with clips from fabulous productions, the musical pieces created and mastered, the internships with published papers, the outside of high school courses taken, the robotics competition victories, the debate standing, the athletic accomplishments, the National Latin/French/etc. awards, the AP test scores, etc. Maybe some of the classes were a mess, maybe you can't rely on the grades alone to tell you what the kids can accomplish academically. Luckily, that isn't the only part of an application.

Yeah, this post is spot on. The Wilson kids getting accepted at all the top schools are getting the same top SAT scores, and showing the same passion, drive and accomplishment as the privates. I imagine there is far less legacy competition at Wilson...I hope everyone appreciates that the privates will have significantly more legacy competition. Wilson also has one of the top ranked Crew teams in the area (in fact, they were 2019 national champs) and those kids are aggressively recruited.

[Anonymous]

Shut your whiny entitled mouth.
Signed
mom to a 10th grader at wilson who will get into brown without a doubt

Anonymous wrote:I moved my kid from Deal to private for 9th. The workload is about 5 times that of DCPS. My kid is finally learning to write and study.
It's night and day over DCPS. I can't stress this enough. It's easily 5 times the workload and my kid is actually learning.. I have kids left in DCPS. This year is another shit-show.
English school english classes that don't read a single book or write a single paper. AP classes that DON'T HAVE A TEACHER so the school is giving every kid an A as a default.

College admits are out and the Wilson admits (of white, upper class kids) are better than those at the Big3. These kids are the siblings
of the my kid's friends. They are getting in (unconnected) to Brown, Yale, Northwestern, Penn, and on and on.
You know how a Big 3 was shut out of Brown? Well, not Wilson. They have several kids going and they're not URM. They're upper middle class white kids.
DCPS grossly inflated grades during the pandemic. 19-20 quarters 3 and 4 counted any assignment as extra-credit. So if you did anything (EVEN ONE ASSIGNMENT) quarters 3 and 4 you
got an A. They those quarters were added to 1 and 2 and rounded up. It was almost impossible to get a B. Like statistically impossible if you turned in a SINGLE assignment.
Then last year (20-21) they barely had school and the lowest grade anyone could get was a B. Anything lower than a B was a "P".
You could get As for breathing (and my kids did). I can't emphasize enough how easy it was and is. It was insanity. My kids (19-20 and 20-21) had 98%+ in all classes
with next to no work). It was really stressful for us (and a lot of parents) because we knew our kids weren't learning anything. As such, many of us pulled our kids out.
But now, the kids graduating with this DCPS education are getting the top acceptances out of DC. I'm happy for them but it just seems insane.

I'm sure I'll get crucified for this but it's wacky. These kids are in some giant loophole or elite college admissions. Colleges are not taking the suburban public kids either
(with their 1600 SATs and 15 APs). Urban is where it's out--whether or not anything was learned.

[Anonymous]

I love this thread as it’s a version of the same thread that appeared when my now senior was in 5th & 8th grades. I like to call it the “upper NW public school parents feel the need to calm their guilt for not investing in their kids,” and “private school parents like to justify their expense” thread.

When will you all just accept “different strokes for different folks?” I have one in private for whom the choice was about the benefits of a smaller, more connected community where each student is known and one at Wilson thriving because they need options, diversity of community, and - yes - a competitive edge.

Each child has different profile No one community meets all needs. And yes, some of us choose private for reasons other than false hopes for advantaged college matriculation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love this thread as it’s a version of the same thread that appeared when my now senior was in 5th & 8th grades. I like to call it the “upper NW public school parents feel the need to calm their guilt for not investing in their kids,” and “private school parents like to justify their expense” thread.

When will you all just accept “different strokes for different folks?” I have one in private for whom the choice was about the benefits of a smaller, more connected community where each student is known and one at Wilson thriving because they need options, diversity of community, and - yes - a competitive edge.

Each child has different profile No one community meets all needs. And yes, some of us choose private for reasons other than false hopes for advantaged college matriculation.

Completely agree. I have three in private but second guess myself on that choice often. So many different variables. Hope everyone can just be happy with their choices. I think we will keep all three in private but who knows? And for so many, including us, college is not the bottom line. Quite frankly, I'm pretty anti ivy league so doing private is not about going that route.

We don't judge those who go public and hope the public school parents also are not judgmental. Hope everyone and their kids can just get through this pandemic, stay physically and mentally healthy, and can enjoy friends and school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I moved my kid from Deal to private for 9th. The workload is about 5 times that of DCPS. My kid is finally learning to write and study.
It's night and day over DCPS. I can't stress this enough. It's easily 5 times the workload and my kid is actually learning.. I have kids left in DCPS. This year is another shit-show.
English school english classes that don't read a single book or write a single paper. AP classes that DON'T HAVE A TEACHER so the school is giving every kid an A as a default.

College admits are out and the Wilson admits (of white, upper class kids) are better than those at the Big3. These kids are the siblings
of the my kid's friends. They are getting in (unconnected) to Brown, Yale, Northwestern, Penn, and on and on.
You know how a Big 3 was shut out of Brown? Well, not Wilson. They have several kids going and they're not URM. They're upper middle class white kids.
DCPS grossly inflated grades during the pandemic. 19-20 quarters 3 and 4 counted any assignment as extra-credit. So if you did anything (EVEN ONE ASSIGNMENT) quarters 3 and 4 you
got an A. They those quarters were added to 1 and 2 and rounded up. It was almost impossible to get a B. Like statistically impossible if you turned in a SINGLE assignment.
Then last year (20-21) they barely had school and the lowest grade anyone could get was a B. Anything lower than a B was a "P".
You could get As for breathing (and my kids did). I can't emphasize enough how easy it was and is. It was insanity. My kids (19-20 and 20-21) had 98%+ in all classes
with next to no work). It was really stressful for us (and a lot of parents) because we knew our kids weren't learning anything. As such, many of us pulled our kids out.
But now, the kids graduating with this DCPS education are getting the top acceptances out of DC. I'm happy for them but it just seems insane.

I'm sure I'll get crucified for this but it's wacky. These kids are in some giant loophole or elite college admissions. Colleges are not taking the suburban public kids either
(with their 1600 SATs and 15 APs). Urban is where it's out--whether or not anything was learned.

It’s the overall experience and the journey. How sad if your goal is college acceptance. Wilson is riddled with crime and there have been several reports on nest door about kids stealing from cvs and Target and not to mention the violence. Yes Friend’s kids are actually afraid of the safety at Wilson. So I would take a safe and pleasant journey with a beautiful campus and small community over college acceptance any day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I moved my kid from Deal to private for 9th. The workload is about 5 times that of DCPS. My kid is finally learning to write and study.
It's night and day over DCPS. I can't stress this enough. It's easily 5 times the workload and my kid is actually learning.. I have kids left in DCPS. This year is another shit-show.
English school english classes that don't read a single book or write a single paper. AP classes that DON'T HAVE A TEACHER so the school is giving every kid an A as a default.

College admits are out and the Wilson admits (of white, upper class kids) are better than those at the Big3. These kids are the siblings
of the my kid's friends. They are getting in (unconnected) to Brown, Yale, Northwestern, Penn, and on and on.
You know how a Big 3 was shut out of Brown? Well, not Wilson. They have several kids going and they're not URM. They're upper middle class white kids.
DCPS grossly inflated grades during the pandemic. 19-20 quarters 3 and 4 counted any assignment as extra-credit. So if you did anything (EVEN ONE ASSIGNMENT) quarters 3 and 4 you
got an A. They those quarters were added to 1 and 2 and rounded up. It was almost impossible to get a B. Like statistically impossible if you turned in a SINGLE assignment.
Then last year (20-21) they barely had school and the lowest grade anyone could get was a B. Anything lower than a B was a "P".
You could get As for breathing (and my kids did). I can't emphasize enough how easy it was and is. It was insanity. My kids (19-20 and 20-21) had 98%+ in all classes
with next to no work). It was really stressful for us (and a lot of parents) because we knew our kids weren't learning anything. As such, many of us pulled our kids out.
But now, the kids graduating with this DCPS education are getting the top acceptances out of DC. I'm happy for them but it just seems insane.

I'm sure I'll get crucified for this but it's wacky. These kids are in some giant loophole or elite college admissions. Colleges are not taking the suburban public kids either
(with their 1600 SATs and 15 APs). Urban is where it's out--whether or not anything was learned.

It’s the overall experience and the journey. How sad if your goal is college acceptance. Wilson is riddled with crime and there have been several reports on nest door about kids stealing from cvs and Target and not to mention the violence. Yes Friend’s kids are actually afraid of the safety at Wilson. So I would take a safe and pleasant journey with a beautiful campus and small community over college acceptance any day.

Will add we already have on child accepted at an Ivy from our big 3 and another is going to a top 15.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I moved my kid from Deal to private for 9th. The workload is about 5 times that of DCPS. My kid is finally learning to write and study.
It's night and day over DCPS. I can't stress this enough. It's easily 5 times the workload and my kid is actually learning.. I have kids left in DCPS. This year is another shit-show.
English school english classes that don't read a single book or write a single paper. AP classes that DON'T HAVE A TEACHER so the school is giving every kid an A as a default.

College admits are out and the Wilson admits (of white, upper class kids) are better than those at the Big3. These kids are the siblings
of the my kid's friends. They are getting in (unconnected) to Brown, Yale, Northwestern, Penn, and on and on.
You know how a Big 3 was shut out of Brown? Well, not Wilson. They have several kids going and they're not URM. They're upper middle class white kids.
DCPS grossly inflated grades during the pandemic. 19-20 quarters 3 and 4 counted any assignment as extra-credit. So if you did anything (EVEN ONE ASSIGNMENT) quarters 3 and 4 you
got an A. They those quarters were added to 1 and 2 and rounded up. It was almost impossible to get a B. Like statistically impossible if you turned in a SINGLE assignment.
Then last year (20-21) they barely had school and the lowest grade anyone could get was a B. Anything lower than a B was a "P".
You could get As for breathing (and my kids did). I can't emphasize enough how easy it was and is. It was insanity. My kids (19-20 and 20-21) had 98%+ in all classes
with next to no work). It was really stressful for us (and a lot of parents) because we knew our kids weren't learning anything. As such, many of us pulled our kids out.
But now, the kids graduating with this DCPS education are getting the top acceptances out of DC. I'm happy for them but it just seems insane.

I'm sure I'll get crucified for this but it's wacky. These kids are in some giant loophole or elite college admissions. Colleges are not taking the suburban public kids either
(with their 1600 SATs and 15 APs). Urban is where it's out--whether or not anything was learned.

It’s the overall experience and the journey. How sad if your goal is college acceptance. Wilson is riddled with crime and there have been several reports on nest door about kids stealing from cvs and Target and not to mention the violence. Yes Friend’s kids are actually afraid of the safety at Wilson. So I would take a safe and pleasant journey with a beautiful campus and small community over college acceptance any day.

Maybe the PP's kids were the ones stealing from CVS and Target, just a thought.

[Anonymous]

The one UMC kid we know who went WHS to an Ivy graduated from college without any honors and is still "finding themselves" in their mid 20s (read underemployed). Reading between the lines, it doesn't sound like the kid was prepared for the rigor in and out of the classroom. Ivies, even laid back Brown, are intense and if you can't keep up, smart kids quickly realize you're not on their level and you're ostracized. So, what's the point? Do you think anyone is impressed if you go to an Ivy and turn into a professional underachiever? It must be mortifying as a parent, especially if you in any way boasted about your kid heading to an Ivy. Genuine and passive-aggressive parents are going to ask you what they're doing now. And if you don't answer med school, tech, hill, t14 law school, wall st, state or cia, SOMETHING interesting, everyone knows your kid crashed and burned.

Anonymous wrote:I moved my kid from Deal to private for 9th. The workload is about 5 times that of DCPS. My kid is finally learning to write and study. It's night and day over DCPS. I can't stress this enough. It's easily 5 times the workload and my kid is actually learning.. I have kids left in DCPS. This year is another shit-show. English school english classes that don't read a single book or write a single paper. AP classes that DON'T HAVE A TEACHER so the school is giving every kid an A as a default.

College admits are out and the Wilson admits (of white, upper class kids) are better than those at the Big3. These kids are the siblings
of the my kid's friends. They are getting in (unconnected) to Brown, Yale, Northwestern, Penn, and on and on. You know how a Big 3 was shut out of Brown? Well, not Wilson. They have several kids going and they're not URM. They're upper middle class white kids. DCPS grossly inflated grades during the pandemic. 19-20 quarters 3 and 4 counted any assignment as extra-credit. So if you did anything (EVEN ONE ASSIGNMENT) quarters 3 and 4 you got an A. They those quarters were added to 1 and 2 and rounded up. It was almost impossible to get a B. Like statistically impossible if you turned in a SINGLE assignment.

Then last year (20-21) they barely had school and the lowest grade anyone could get was a B. Anything lower than a B was a "P".
You could get As for breathing (and my kids did). I can't emphasize enough how easy it was and is. It was insanity. My kids (19-20 and 20-21) had 98%+ in all classes with next to no work). It was really stressful for us (and a lot of parents) because we knew our kids weren't learning anything. As such, many of us pulled our kids out. But now, the kids graduating with this DCPS education are getting the top acceptances out of DC. I'm happy for them but it just seems insane.

I'm sure I'll get crucified for this but it's wacky. These kids are in some giant loophole or elite college admissions. Colleges are not taking the suburban public kids either (with their 1600 SATs and 15 APs). Urban is where it's out--whether or not anything was learned.

[Anonymous]

This thread is so depressing. I have been posting about elementary school choices and private and this is just that anxiety to the nth degree. I wonder what all these kids would say I’d they could read their parents posts.

[Anonymous]

Because elite private schoolers land at Michigan, UVa or Wake Forest, join a top tier frat or sorority, declare pre-med and binge drink their way through a 3.85 GPA. If a mediocre public school grad is lucky enough to land at a T20 college, they feel several years behind everyone else. Achievement gap is real and it is far broader than an SAT score.

[Anonymous]

I don’t disagree that Wilson HS may make it easier to get into a top tier school and their are MANY kids there who are able to thrive and get an education and are ready for for succeeding in college. I do think that some kids will benefit from a private school education that will ensures they are ready to do college work when they arrive on campus. They won’t get the bump that navigating a DC public school gets them for admissions, but are less likely to drop out because they are prepared for the work.

[Anonymous]

This perspective on this thread is so small. Do folks really think the Wilson kids who do well enough to get into top colleges are less prepared than the public school kids outside of DC? I can tell you there are many more advanced offerings at Wilson than my Midwest public.

The world is a lot wider than the DMV.

[Anonymous]

What’s a good school for a kid that doesn’t like to do homework or out much effort into it?

Right now at a laid back progressive and not getting good work habits. Unclear when it will ramp up, if ever. Seems like a bad fit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This thread is so depressing. I have been posting about elementary school choices and private and this is just that anxiety to the nth degree. I wonder what all these kids would say I’d they could read their parents posts.

Most of these kids are on meds and/or in therapy. Kids at Wilson and private school ones. My kid went to Wilson and is at an Ivy and is doing well (some ups and downs during Covid).

Of her 20 or so DC friends from public and private, about to graduate college, the majority have been in therapy or on meds since hs. That's what we've done to our kids (along with social media).

In all honesty when you add Covid in the mix this whole generation is a wreck and this will have repercussions in the workplace and obviously in their personal lives. Mark my words.

Bottom line you can argue all you want about private vs. Wilson. It just shows how much damage parents do. These kids are not well-adjusted, they just aren't (i count my own kid in this and Wilson had nothing to do with it). Ask any professor at a college what percentage of their classes are in mental health crisis. Its a nightmare out there right now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This perspective on this thread is so small. Do folks really think the Wilson kids who do well enough to get into top colleges are less prepared than the public school kids outside of DC? I can tell you there are many more advanced offerings at Wilson than my Midwest public.

The world is a lot wider than the DMV.

Where was that? Peoria?