Academic Difference Between GDS and Sidwell?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think if your kid goes to Sidwell and gets a 3.75 GPA, they are doing really well and will be in the mix for top schools. Sounds like your kid might have an athletic hook, which will help a lot

If you mean top schools like T20 without a hook and a 3.75 - this is not likely. (Maybe ED Chicago)

Well, maybe things have changed, but my kid got into a T20 with no hook and a 3.6 just a couple years ago.

Yes - they have changed! Families need to understand this. No sour grapes here - but there are a few of us trying to be "real" with the updated experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there an academic difference between either school? It seems like GDS is easier to graduate from with an Ivy-worthy GPA than Sidwell. I'm not insulting GDS, nor am I trolling. My kid is applying to both of these schools and is an athlete the coaches are interested in.

If we are shooting for a 3.9+ GPA, would GDS be a better fit? I think he like Sidwell's facilities and culture better, but GDS may be an easier journey for someone looking to get stellar grades.

What does this forum think?

Based on this year’s IG posts, 2023 Sidwell students had better luck gaining admission to Ivy+ colleges than GDS students. It may vary from year to year though.

All hooked except one or two.

The vast majority of Sidwell and GDS parents are college graduates. Therefore, their children are “hooked” (legacies) at some college(s). If you or your spouse didn’t graduate from an Ivy+, that’s too bad for your child. They can always use the hook his/her parents provided. But that’s not good enough for you, is it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there an academic difference between either school? It seems like GDS is easier to graduate from with an Ivy-worthy GPA than Sidwell. I'm not insulting GDS, nor am I trolling. My kid is applying to both of these schools and is an athlete the coaches are interested in.

If we are shooting for a 3.9+ GPA, would GDS be a better fit? I think he like Sidwell's facilities and culture better, but GDS may be an easier journey for someone looking to get stellar grades.

What does this forum think?

Based on this year’s IG posts, 2023 Sidwell students had better luck gaining admission to Ivy+ colleges than GDS students. It may vary from year to year though.

All hooked except one or two.

In other words, the same way it works at other elite private schools around this country.

Yes - but until recently Sidwell kids did have a chance to get into Ivy or at least T20 with high gpa (3.85+) and rigor. This was just not the case for '23 (other than ED Chicago and a couple of others). This even pushed down into the T20-T40 for lower GPA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The vast majority of Sidwell and GDS parents are college graduates. Therefore, their children are “hooked” (legacies) at some college(s). If you or your spouse didn’t graduate from an Ivy+, that’s too bad for your child. They can always use the hook his/her parents provided. But that’s not good enough for you, is it?

There are way more legacies at the W schools than at Sidwell and GDS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there an academic difference between either school? It seems like GDS is easier to graduate from with an Ivy-worthy GPA than Sidwell. I'm not insulting GDS, nor am I trolling. My kid is applying to both of these schools and is an athlete the coaches are interested in.

If we are shooting for a 3.9+ GPA, would GDS be a better fit? I think he like Sidwell's facilities and culture better, but GDS may be an easier journey for someone looking to get stellar grades.

What does this forum think?

Based on this year’s IG posts, 2023 Sidwell students had better luck gaining admission to Ivy+ colleges than GDS students. It may vary from year to year though.

All hooked except one or two.

In other words, the same way it works at other elite private schools around this country.

Yes - but until recently Sidwell kids did have a chance to get into Ivy or at least T20 with high gpa (3.85+) and rigor. This was just not the case for '23 (other than ED Chicago and a couple of others). This even pushed down into the T20-T40 for lower GPA.

Sidwell students with 3.85+ GPAs still have a shot at T20 colleges. Is it tougher than it used to be? Yes, but that’s life. The only thing that is inevitable is change.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The vast majority of Sidwell and GDS parents are college graduates. Therefore, their children are “hooked” (legacies) at some college(s). If you or your spouse didn’t graduate from an Ivy+, that’s too bad for your child. They can always use the hook his/her parents provided. But that’s not good enough for you, is it?

There are way more legacies at the W schools than at Sidwell and GDS.

Whatever is happening at W schools is not relevant to what we are trying to share to current Sidwell/GDS parents based on recent experiences. OP is asking about GDS/Sidwell.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The vast majority of Sidwell and GDS parents are college graduates. Therefore, their children are “hooked” (legacies) at some college(s). If you or your spouse didn’t graduate from an Ivy+, that’s too bad for your child. They can always use the hook his/her parents provided. But that’s not good enough for you, is it?

There are way more legacies at the W schools than at Sidwell and GDS.

Based on sheer numbers, there are also way more students at the W schools than Sidwell and GDS. A higher percentage of Sidwell grads are heading to Ivy+ schools than the W schools I looked at recently. That’s what really matters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The vast majority of Sidwell and GDS parents are college graduates. Therefore, their children are “hooked” (legacies) at some college(s). If you or your spouse didn’t graduate from an Ivy+, that’s too bad for your child. They can always use the hook his/her parents provided. But that’s not good enough for you, is it?

There are way more legacies at the W schools than at Sidwell and GDS.

Nope

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Whatever is happening at W schools is not relevant to what we are trying to share to current Sidwell/GDS parents based on recent experiences. OP is asking about GDS/Sidwell.

Of course it's relevant, because you're making it sound like Sidwell and GDS have the only legacies in the DC area applying to selective colleges and that it's somehow a magic bullet for admission. There are way more legacies applying to the same schools from public schools. Even with potentially improved odds, most legacies still aren't getting in, whether they're applying from public or private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Whatever is happening at W schools is not relevant to what we are trying to share to current Sidwell/GDS parents based on recent experiences. OP is asking about GDS/Sidwell.

Of course it's relevant, because you're making it sound like Sidwell and GDS have the only legacies in the DC area applying to selective colleges and that it's somehow a magic bullet for admission. There are way more legacies applying to the same schools from public schools. Even with potentially improved odds, most legacies still aren't getting in, whether they're applying from public or private.

I never said anything of the sort

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Colleges know the academic rigor involved at both schools, so getting less than a 3.9 may not be a dealbreaker. What it really comes down to is whether your kid prefers a progressive approach or a traditional one.

Lol wishful thinking. Why would a college take a 3.5 from either of these school when they can take someone who gets 4.0 of higher from the same school or one of the numbers similar or more rigorous private and public schools throughout the country?

Yeah, I think the issue here is that very bright kids at these schools get a 3.5 GPA. However, even though DCUM talks non-stop about how hard they are, there are certainly kids smart enough to get a 3.9-4.0 GPA there. There are kids that do it every year.

When Ivies are only admitting <3 students per school, they are going to take the top GPAs, URM, Legacy, VIP/Donor applicants. The typical big law child with a 3.6 GPA/1500+ SAT will be tossed into the trashcan. They don't fit any institutional priority or aren't the among top students in their class.

+1

The top “ranked” students we know at either school work extremely hard to get all As and don’t do any sports. Just a stem club.

You kid really has to choose that. Getting a 3.6 versus a very rare 3.9 is literally hours more per week, with a parent or tutor also teaching and testing you along the way.

And as for college goals, it’s a total crapshoot. Not enough seats at any of the ivies for all the amazing students, with top grades, tests, coursework.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there an academic difference between either school? It seems like GDS is easier to graduate from with an Ivy-worthy GPA than Sidwell. I'm not insulting GDS, nor am I trolling. My kid is applying to both of these schools and is an athlete the coaches are interested in.

If we are shooting for a 3.9+ GPA, would GDS be a better fit? I think he like Sidwell's facilities and culture better, but GDS may be an easier journey for someone looking to get stellar grades.

What does this forum think?

Based on this year’s IG posts, 2023 Sidwell students had better luck gaining admission to Ivy+ colleges than GDS students. It may vary from year to year though.

All hooked except one or two.

The vast majority of Sidwell and GDS parents are college graduates. Therefore, their children are “hooked” (legacies) at some college(s). If you or your spouse didn’t graduate from an Ivy+, that’s too bad for your child. They can always use the hook his/her parents provided. But that’s not good enough for you, is it?

Pls don’t conflate one of the 400,000 Harvard alums with real legacies whose families are wealthy, successful, and has donated millions over the years.

Every alums kid cannot get a seat as said parent’s alum. Stop pretending that’s a “leg up.”

[Anonymous]

It’s not like I stalked them so I can’t know this for sure, but I will say this: when I was a Biglaw partner virtually every other partner I knew sent their kids to private, and many, many of them went to the Big 3 and GDS. Virtually none of their kids ended up in Ivies, including kids whose parents are very well known in this town.

[Anonymous]

Having a parent who graduated wherever is NOT a hook at that place. It’s mathematically impossible. None of these colleges have added capacity in decades, only Princeton.

It’s to the benefit of T50 colleges and top state programs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s not like I stalked them so I can’t know this for sure, but I will say this: when I was a Biglaw partner virtually every other partner I knew sent their kids to private, and many, many of them went to the Big 3 and GDS. Virtually none of their kids ended up in Ivies, including kids whose parents are very well known in this town.

There’s also the private school coddle factor plus general lack of grit in many student cohorts these days.