Big 3 and college admissions

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I cringe whenever I see the term big three on here. I lived in Beverly Hills for years and even in Los Angeles we never use terms like this. I also lived in Manhattan, and the same goes for New York. Obviously, these cities have prestigious schools and people simply knew which were the best schools. Quite frankly, hearing a term like “big 3” we’ll it sounds very small town an unsophisticated.

Agreed. Plus I really don’t think it’s necessary for Big 3 parents to remind the world and themselves that their grading scales are different. If you’re paying $50k for high school and are obsessed with prestige and college admissions, trust me - you don’t need to go to DCUM to learn your school’s grading scale and how it differs from publics.

Bottom line, there is rarely if ever any reason to specify that your kid goes to a Big 3. Except to get off on it, that is.

[Anonymous]

There is a top tier. Most agree it’s Sidwell, NCS (st Albans is not included) and Potomac

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is a top tier. Most agree it’s Sidwell, NCS (st Albans is not included) and Potomac

You’re pathetic. This thread isn’t about which schools exactly are the Big 3.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I cringe whenever I see the term big three on here. I lived in Beverly Hills for years and even in Los Angeles we never use terms like this. I also lived in Manhattan, and the same goes for New York. Obviously, these cities have prestigious schools and people simply knew which were the best schools. Quite frankly, hearing a term like “big 3” we’ll it sounds very small town an unsophisticated.

This is a shorthand term on this message board. I don’t think anyone uses the term IRL. But it is not that helpful, imo, as schools have different grading scales, policies on APs, school priorities etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It would be helpful to folks new to the area if posters named the "Big 3". Thanks !

If you need to know that, you don’t count. Move along now.

Actually I do count as your post was about those who post in this forum.

You post a lot and yet have never wondered before what the Big 3 referred to? Really?

Two different posters.

Also, there appears to be a debate among posters as to which schools are considered the Big 3.

Agree with other posters that the term Big 3 denigrates the schools to which it refers.

[Anonymous]

No one seems to have answered the OP’s question.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I cringe whenever I see the term big three on here. I lived in Beverly Hills for years and even in Los Angeles we never use terms like this. I also lived in Manhattan, and the same goes for New York. Obviously, these cities have prestigious schools and people simply knew which were the best schools. Quite frankly, hearing a term like “big 3” we’ll it sounds very small town an unsophisticated.

Agreed. Plus I really don’t think it’s necessary for Big 3 parents to remind the world and themselves that their grading scales are different. If you’re paying $50k for high school and are obsessed with prestige and college admissions, trust me - you don’t need to go to DCUM to learn your school’s grading scale and how it differs from publics.

Bottom line, there is rarely if ever any reason to specify that your kid goes to a Big 3. Except to get off on it, that is.

First - Big 3 is a DCUM created term and people use it for shorthand. Nobody would ever use this in real life.
Second - Those parents aren't writing on DCUM to remind other parents they are at a Big 3 - they are writing to seek OTHER Big 3 families to weigh in so they can have something comparable to their own experience.

If FCPS and MCPS had meaningfully different grading scales and methods for calculating GPA, nobody would be upset if a FCPS parent identified themselves as being FCPS when asking others to weigh in on their child's GPA regarding chances on a college acceptance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I cringe whenever I see the term big three on here. I lived in Beverly Hills for years and even in Los Angeles we never use terms like this. I also lived in Manhattan, and the same goes for New York. Obviously, these cities have prestigious schools and people simply knew which were the best schools. Quite frankly, hearing a term like “big 3” we’ll it sounds very small town an unsophisticated.

Agreed. Plus I really don’t think it’s necessary for Big 3 parents to remind the world and themselves that their grading scales are different. If you’re paying $50k for high school and are obsessed with prestige and college admissions, trust me - you don’t need to go to DCUM to learn your school’s grading scale and how it differs from publics.

Bottom line, there is rarely if ever any reason to specify that your kid goes to a Big 3. Except to get off on it, that is.

First - Big 3 is a DCUM created term and people use it for shorthand. Nobody would ever use this in real life.
Second - Those parents aren't writing on DCUM to remind other parents they are at a Big 3 - they are writing to seek OTHER Big 3 families to weigh in so they can have something comparable to their own experience.

If FCPS and MCPS had meaningfully different grading scales and methods for calculating GPA, nobody would be upset if a FCPS parent identified themselves as being FCPS when asking others to weigh in on their child's GPA regarding chances on a college acceptance.

And they have to knock TJ at time since TJ is considered the 'No. 1 high school' in the country and has a better college admissions results w/o legacy admissions these 'bigly 3' enjoy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I cringe whenever I see the term big three on here. I lived in Beverly Hills for years and even in Los Angeles we never use terms like this. I also lived in Manhattan, and the same goes for New York. Obviously, these cities have prestigious schools and people simply knew which were the best schools. Quite frankly, hearing a term like “big 3” we’ll it sounds very small town an unsophisticated.

Agreed. Plus I really don’t think it’s necessary for Big 3 parents to remind the world and themselves that their grading scales are different. If you’re paying $50k for high school and are obsessed with prestige and college admissions, trust me - you don’t need to go to DCUM to learn your school’s grading scale and how it differs from publics.

Bottom line, there is rarely if ever any reason to specify that your kid goes to a Big 3. Except to get off on it, that is.

First - Big 3 is a DCUM created term and people use it for shorthand. Nobody would ever use this in real life.
Second - Those parents aren't writing on DCUM to remind other parents they are at a Big 3 - they are writing to seek OTHER Big 3 families to weigh in so they can have something comparable to their own experience.

If FCPS and MCPS had meaningfully different grading scales and methods for calculating GPA, nobody would be upset if a FCPS parent identified themselves as being FCPS when asking others to weigh in on their child's GPA regarding chances on a college acceptance.

You still haven’t addressed the topic! What are the admissions results of the BIG 3?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I cringe whenever I see the term big three on here. I lived in Beverly Hills for years and even in Los Angeles we never use terms like this. I also lived in Manhattan, and the same goes for New York. Obviously, these cities have prestigious schools and people simply knew which were the best schools. Quite frankly, hearing a term like “big 3” we’ll it sounds very small town an unsophisticated.

Agreed. Plus I really don’t think it’s necessary for Big 3 parents to remind the world and themselves that their grading scales are different. If you’re paying $50k for high school and are obsessed with prestige and college admissions, trust me - you don’t need to go to DCUM to learn your school’s grading scale and how it differs from publics.

Bottom line, there is rarely if ever any reason to specify that your kid goes to a Big 3. Except to get off on it, that is.

First - Big 3 is a DCUM created term and people use it for shorthand. Nobody would ever use this in real life.
Second - Those parents aren't writing on DCUM to remind other parents they are at a Big 3 - they are writing to seek OTHER Big 3 families to weigh in so they can have something comparable to their own experience.

If FCPS and MCPS had meaningfully different grading scales and methods for calculating GPA, nobody would be upset if a FCPS parent identified themselves as being FCPS when asking others to weigh in on their child's GPA regarding chances on a college acceptance.

You still haven’t addressed the topic! What are the admissions results of the BIG 3?

OP here. That is NOT the topic. The topic was doesn’t it seem like every other post on the college forum is by a parent who says their kid goes to a “Big 3”? And now I realize what’s really going on: it’s every other poster who IDENTIFIES their kid’s school as being a Big 3 parent. Most posters don’t identify their kid’s school at all, because they see no reason to, while Big 3 parents can’t help themselves. They live and breathe this stuff.

Thanks to the PPs who helped me make sense of this.

[Anonymous]

I cringe whenever I see the term big three on here. I lived in Beverly Hills for years and even in Los Angeles we never use terms like this. I also lived in Manhattan, and the same goes for New York. Obviously, these cities have prestigious schools and people simply knew which were the best schools. Quite frankly, hearing a term like “big 3” we’ll it sounds very small town an unsophisticated.

I cringe when people have to toss in they live in Beverly Hills (instead of just saying LA) or Manhattan (instead of just saying NYC). To me, that's much more tacky and unsophisticated than the term "Big Three," which is really only used on this anonymous board.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I cringe whenever I see the term big three on here. I lived in Beverly Hills for years and even in Los Angeles we never use terms like this. I also lived in Manhattan, and the same goes for New York. Obviously, these cities have prestigious schools and people simply knew which were the best schools. Quite frankly, hearing a term like “big 3” we’ll it sounds very small town an unsophisticated.

Agreed. Plus I really don’t think it’s necessary for Big 3 parents to remind the world and themselves that their grading scales are different. If you’re paying $50k for high school and are obsessed with prestige and college admissions, trust me - you don’t need to go to DCUM to learn your school’s grading scale and how it differs from publics.

Bottom line, there is rarely if ever any reason to specify that your kid goes to a Big 3. Except to get off on it, that is.

First - Big 3 is a DCUM created term and people use it for shorthand. Nobody would ever use this in real life.
Second - Those parents aren't writing on DCUM to remind other parents they are at a Big 3 - they are writing to seek OTHER Big 3 families to weigh in so they can have something comparable to their own experience.

If FCPS and MCPS had meaningfully different grading scales and methods for calculating GPA, nobody would be upset if a FCPS parent identified themselves as being FCPS when asking others to weigh in on their child's GPA regarding chances on a college acceptance.

And they have to knock TJ at time since TJ is considered the 'No. 1 high school' in the country and has a better college admissions results w/o legacy admissions these 'bigly 3' enjoy.

You are triggering the 'big 3' boosters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I cringe whenever I see the term big three on here. I lived in Beverly Hills for years and even in Los Angeles we never use terms like this. I also lived in Manhattan, and the same goes for New York. Obviously, these cities have prestigious schools and people simply knew which were the best schools. Quite frankly, hearing a term like “big 3” we’ll it sounds very small town an unsophisticated.

I cringe when people have to toss in they live in Beverly Hills (instead of just saying LA) or Manhattan (instead of just saying NYC). To me, that's much more tacky and unsophisticated than the term "Big Three," which is really only used on this anonymous board.

Guess she really triggered you, huh?

[Anonymous]

There are a lot of Big3 posters because we we're uneasy about how college admissions are going to work out. We're sitting here with kids with 3.4 GPAs and 1550 SAT scores and wondering how the heck this is supposed to work out. The schools tell us to "trust the process" and historically it does but it does feel a bit uneasy at times.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I cringe whenever I see the term big three on here. I lived in Beverly Hills for years and even in Los Angeles we never use terms like this. I also lived in Manhattan, and the same goes for New York. Obviously, these cities have prestigious schools and people simply knew which were the best schools. Quite frankly, hearing a term like “big 3” we’ll it sounds very small town an unsophisticated.

Agreed. Plus I really don’t think it’s necessary for Big 3 parents to remind the world and themselves that their grading scales are different. If you’re paying $50k for high school and are obsessed with prestige and college admissions, trust me - you don’t need to go to DCUM to learn your school’s grading scale and how it differs from publics.

Bottom line, there is rarely if ever any reason to specify that your kid goes to a Big 3. Except to get off on it, that is.

First - Big 3 is a DCUM created term and people use it for shorthand. Nobody would ever use this in real life.
Second - Those parents aren't writing on DCUM to remind other parents they are at a Big 3 - they are writing to seek OTHER Big 3 families to weigh in so they can have something comparable to their own experience.

If FCPS and MCPS had meaningfully different grading scales and methods for calculating GPA, nobody would be upset if a FCPS parent identified themselves as being FCPS when asking others to weigh in on their child's GPA regarding chances on a college acceptance.

You still haven’t addressed the topic! What are the admissions results of the BIG 3?

OP here. That is NOT the topic. The topic was doesn’t it seem like every other post on the college forum is by a parent who says their kid goes to a “Big 3”? And now I realize what’s really going on: it’s every other poster who IDENTIFIES their kid’s school as being a Big 3 parent. Most posters don’t identify their kid’s school at all, because they see no reason to, while Big 3 parents can’t help themselves. They live and breathe this stuff.

Thanks to the PPs who helped me make sense of this.

The subject heading is vague.