Better college admissions for a not top student from public or private?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The experience at public high school can have a prison feel, from the cafeteria food and cement building to the attitude of students who are not there for an education, that I did not want for my child.

More broadly, focus on the environment where child would thrive. There is a fit aspect for your individual child.

What public school do you feed? I mean Whitman’s new buildings look great. Honestly, the age of the school and the wealth of the district is more important than private vs public.

I have to believe Sidwell will overhaul their US in the near future. That physical building is in very bad shape…especially compared to brand new GDS and STA.

“ That physical building is in very bad shape…” Tell me you’re a Sidwell hater, without telling me you’re a Sidwell hater. 😂

Btw, Sidwell will build a brand new Upper School building on the new property, and gut and renovate the current US building to turn it into the LS building. But haters will still hate…

Not a hater at all…you literally agreed with me that the US physical building is in bad shape and they are building a new one. That is what I figured.

You win the prize for putting words in someone’s mouth! I did not and I do not agree with you at all. Sidwell’s US building looks great to me. I especially love the two story library with the fireplace. I simply said that the US will get a brand new building when the LS moves from Bethesda to DC.

Mmmkay Sidwell hater?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son is a good student, not perfect. I am not trying to get him into an ivy, more like T20-T50 school.

It seems like most kids from private (>50%) attend good schools.

Would his chances of getting into a good college be better from a private school?

We are also not looking at Big 3 privates. Will likely be looking at Bullis, Landon or similar.

NP. Haven’t read rest of the thread. Your question is that it depends on the type of school.

Large state flagships with requirement to take a certain percentage from public - public is better.

2nd tier public - doesn’t matter.

Large competitive private university - private is better but not by a huge margin

SLAC - private is better.

Less competitive LAC - doesn’t matter

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I think my kid would be at the top 15-20% of our highly regarded public. There are a lot of very smart kids at our public. I do not think he would be top 10%. I see him taking a mix of honors and a few APs and won’t be straight As. Our public has kids taking 15+ APs and my son won’t be one of those kids.

I have no idea where DS would fall in a decent but not Big3 private. From looking at the college lists, it seems like one half or at least the top 1/3 of private school students seem to be going to what I consider good college. I originally thought it was T50 but it is more like T30. I can’t say for sure but it feels like chances may be better from private.

We are not URM, first gen and will not be a recruited athlete. DS will be legacy.

Your son’s on track to get into some place more in the Top 40 to Top 200, like Fordham, George Washington University or Indiana University, or maybe a liberal arts college like Gettysburg College.

If your son catches fire on his own and somehow pushes himself into a Top 50 research university or the equivalent, that’s great, but your son isn’t currently on track to get into one of those and do well, and you shouldn’t be wrecking his life by trying to turn him into something that he’s not to fit with your outdated ideas about college prestige levels.

Love him and respect him for the wonderful, energetic kid that he is now, send him to high school where you think he’d be happy and learn a lot, and talk to him very clearly about the financial constraints involved. If you have the money to pay for four years of private school, at, say, $90,000 each, help him explore the great options he can get for that. If you’ll have to struggle to pay $40,000 per year, stop badmouthing Ohio State. If you’re in the DMV area and can’t spend $50,000 per year, it’s out of your price range, anyway.

THIS. Also, don’t turn your nose up at Ohio State. The Big 10 schools are very popular right now and therefore more selective.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The experience at public high school can have a prison feel, from the cafeteria food and cement building to the attitude of students who are not there for an education, that I did not want for my child.

More broadly, focus on the environment where child would thrive. There is a fit aspect for your individual child.

What public school do you feed? I mean Whitman’s new buildings look great. Honestly, the age of the school and the wealth of the district is more important than private vs public.

I have to believe Sidwell will overhaul their US in the near future. That physical building is in very bad shape…especially compared to brand new GDS and STA.

“ That physical building is in very bad shape…” Tell me you’re a Sidwell hater, without telling me you’re a Sidwell hater. 😂

Btw, Sidwell will build a brand new Upper School building on the new property, and gut and renovate the current US building to turn it into the LS building. But haters will still hate…

Not a hater at all…you literally agreed with me that the US physical building is in bad shape and they are building a new one. That is what I figured.

You win the prize for putting words in someone’s mouth! I did not and I do not agree with you at all. Sidwell’s US building looks great to me. I especially love the two story library with the fireplace. I simply said that the US will get a brand new building when the LS moves from Bethesda to DC.

Mmmkay Sidwell hater?

Sure…you love the water stained ceilings and the dank cafeteria…you are likely the same poster all over DCUM who refuses to accept Sidwell has deficiencies.

You will probably argue that the baseball field with netting holes, awful grass, deteriorating stands, and a crap bullpen area is just lovely. You will probably try to claim it’s better than STA’s amazing baseball field.

But I agree…the new US will probably be great (though why aren’t you complaining about building it…since you love the current building).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The experience at public high school can have a prison feel, from the cafeteria food and cement building to the attitude of students who are not there for an education, that I did not want for my child.

More broadly, focus on the environment where child would thrive. There is a fit aspect for your individual child.

What public school do you feed? I mean Whitman’s new buildings look great. Honestly, the age of the school and the wealth of the district is more important than private vs public.

I have to believe Sidwell will overhaul their US in the near future. That physical building is in very bad shape…especially compared to brand new GDS and STA.

“ That physical building is in very bad shape…” Tell me you’re a Sidwell hater, without telling me you’re a Sidwell hater. 😂

Btw, Sidwell will build a brand new Upper School building on the new property, and gut and renovate the current US building to turn it into the LS building. But haters will still hate…

Not a hater at all…you literally agreed with me that the US physical building is in bad shape and they are building a new one. That is what I figured.

You win the prize for putting words in someone’s mouth! I did not and I do not agree with you at all. Sidwell’s US building looks great to me. I especially love the two story library with the fireplace. I simply said that the US will get a brand new building when the LS moves from Bethesda to DC.

Mmmkay Sidwell hater?

Sure…you love the water stained ceilings and the dank cafeteria…you are likely the same poster all over DCUM who refuses to accept Sidwell has deficiencies.

You will probably argue that the baseball field with netting holes, awful grass, deteriorating stands, and a crap bullpen area is just lovely. You will probably try to claim it’s better than STA’s amazing baseball field.

But I agree…the new US will probably be great (though why aren’t you complaining about building it…since you love the current building).

No place is perfect, but you’re really grasping at straws (water stained ceilings, dank cafeteria, awful grass on the baseball field).

I hope that you love your child’s school as much as you hate Sidwell. The good news for everyone: your children don’t attend Sidwell!