Walls- Is it really as great as people say

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Walls used to be more prestigious. They got rid of the entry test and have watered down academic standards.

The college admissions were pretty impressive last year. What other measures do you have for this claim?

College admissions were OK but not great, given the size of the school. You can’t just look at the handful who got into T10 colleges.

Plus, that graduating class was admitted with the Walls old admissions test.

Quite a few kids went to top schools-at least seven are at Ivies. The majority of middle-class and UMC families don't care about T25(not T10 BS you made up) colleges. It's about merit-based aid and scholarships! SWW does a good job in that aspect.

I know kids that turned down Ivies for full rides at other schools. Parents that are able pay are not even buying in anymore. It's about ROI not some imaginary prestige.

Last year’s college admissions were very good. But that class took the entrance exam and there were a lot of bright motivated kids in that class. I have no idea how consistent the makeup of the class is year to year

[Anonymous]

If all you care about are Ivies (but not Cornell and Penn) please just do yourself a favor and send your kid to private school. Walls will never send more than a few kids to each Ivy a year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If all you care about are Ivies (but not Cornell and Penn) please just do yourself a favor and send your kid to private school. Walls will never send more than a few kids to each Ivy a year.

No one is getting into an Ivy from the top privates anymore unless their parent(s) went to the Ivy AND they (the parents) are VIPS or big donors. And maybe the very top two kids in the class. Maybe. (and that--(being the top kid)--is an incredible feat of talent and luck).
It's much easier to get into an Ivy unhooked in 2023 from Walls than it is from Sidwell or similar.

Signed, a private school parent who has been watching this play out up close.

[Anonymous]

My observation of watching the friends of my three kids who went to Lafayette ES and Deal MS, all of whom graduated over the last 7 years: there is no observable difference in the overall patterns of where the Walls vs Wilson (now Jackson Reed) went to colleges. Mix of selective, highly selective, and elite colleges, both public and private. The handful of kids that went to Ivies from both schools were legacies and/or athletes. Pretty much the pattern you'd expect.

Those who went from Deal to private high schools probably were more likely to go to private colleges compared to the kids who went to Walls or Wilson.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If all you care about are Ivies (but not Cornell and Penn) please just do yourself a favor and send your kid to private school. Walls will never send more than a few kids to each Ivy a year.

No one is getting into an Ivy from the top privates anymore unless their parent(s) went to the Ivy AND they (the parents) are VIPS or big donors. And maybe the very top two kids in the class. Maybe. (and that--(being the top kid)--is an incredible feat of talent and luck).
It's much easier to get into an Ivy unhooked in 2023 from Walls than it is from Sidwell or similar.

Signed, a private school parent who has been watching this play out up close.

Andover and Exeter seem to be doing ok...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My observation of watching the friends of my three kids who went to Lafayette ES and Deal MS, all of whom graduated over the last 7 years: there is no observable difference in the overall patterns of where the Walls vs Wilson (now Jackson Reed) went to colleges. Mix of selective, highly selective, and elite colleges, both public and private. The handful of kids that went to Ivies from both schools were legacies and/or athletes. Pretty much the pattern you'd expect.

Those who went from Deal to private high schools probably were more likely to go to private colleges compared to the kids who went to Walls or Wilson.

My kid graduated from Walls in the last three years. Admitted to Ivy and attends there now. No hook, no legacy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If all you care about are Ivies (but not Cornell and Penn) please just do yourself a favor and send your kid to private school. Walls will never send more than a few kids to each Ivy a year.

No one is getting into an Ivy from the top privates anymore unless their parent(s) went to the Ivy AND they (the parents) are VIPS or big donors. And maybe the very top two kids in the class. Maybe. (and that--(being the top kid)--is an incredible feat of talent and luck).
It's much easier to get into an Ivy unhooked in 2023 from Walls than it is from Sidwell or similar.

Signed, a private school parent who has been watching this play out up close.

Andover and Exeter seem to be doing ok...

1)I was talking about the DC privates
2)The vast majority of the Andover and Exeter Ivy admits are hooked: URM, legacy, recruited athletes. I'm talking unhooked kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My observation of watching the friends of my three kids who went to Lafayette ES and Deal MS, all of whom graduated over the last 7 years: there is no observable difference in the overall patterns of where the Walls vs Wilson (now Jackson Reed) went to colleges. Mix of selective, highly selective, and elite colleges, both public and private. The handful of kids that went to Ivies from both schools were legacies and/or athletes. Pretty much the pattern you'd expect.

Those who went from Deal to private high schools probably were more likely to go to private colleges compared to the kids who went to Walls or Wilson.

My kid graduated from Walls in the last three years. Admitted to Ivy and attends there now. No hook, no legacy.

I know a bunch of Walls kids who went to Ivies over the past few years with no hook or legacy (and Stanford, Wash U, UCLA, Northwestern, Duke, Carnegie Mellon, etc.)

[Anonymous]

Same is true for Wilson….

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If all you care about are Ivies (but not Cornell and Penn) please just do yourself a favor and send your kid to private school. Walls will never send more than a few kids to each Ivy a year.

No one is getting into an Ivy from the top privates anymore unless their parent(s) went to the Ivy AND they (the parents) are VIPS or big donors. And maybe the very top two kids in the class. Maybe. (and that--(being the top kid)--is an incredible feat of talent and luck).
It's much easier to get into an Ivy unhooked in 2023 from Walls than it is from Sidwell or similar.

Signed, a private school parent who has been watching this play out up close.

Come, unhooked applicants still get in, just not much, right. I've interviewed as a volunteer for my Ivy in the Metro area for 25 years. Most legacy applicants to Ivies are rejected. The problem is now that test scores are deemphasized in admissions, and Affirmative Action officially has been nixed, it's much harder to predict who will get in than in the past.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My observation of watching the friends of my three kids who went to Lafayette ES and Deal MS, all of whom graduated over the last 7 years: there is no observable difference in the overall patterns of where the Walls vs Wilson (now Jackson Reed) went to colleges. Mix of selective, highly selective, and elite colleges, both public and private. The handful of kids that went to Ivies from both schools were legacies and/or athletes. Pretty much the pattern you'd expect.

Those who went from Deal to private high schools probably were more likely to go to private colleges compared to the kids who went to Walls or Wilson.

Mom of 2 whose kids went to Key/Hardy- same thing. No difference between Walls/Wilson kids results once you account for self selection.

[Anonymous]

Are the kids better behaved at Walls vs the stuff that goes on at JR?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If all you care about are Ivies (but not Cornell and Penn) please just do yourself a favor and send your kid to private school. Walls will never send more than a few kids to each Ivy a year.

No one is getting into an Ivy from the top privates anymore unless their parent(s) went to the Ivy AND they (the parents) are VIPS or big donors. And maybe the very top two kids in the class. Maybe. (and that--(being the top kid)--is an incredible feat of talent and luck).
It's much easier to get into an Ivy unhooked in 2023 from Walls than it is from Sidwell or similar.

Signed, a private school parent who has been watching this play out up close.

Come, unhooked applicants still get in, just not much, right. I've interviewed as a volunteer for my Ivy in the Metro area for 25 years. Most legacy applicants to Ivies are rejected. The problem is now that test scores are deemphasized in admissions, and Affirmative Action officially has been nixed, it's much harder to predict who will get in than in the past.

uh, not really. Last year (2023) at my kid's Big3 high school there was ONE unhooked Ivy matriculation (out of 20+ Ivies total). This is down markedly from the days of old.
The rest were all hooked. The strongest academic students who were not hooked (say the top 20 kids in the class) were shut out of Ivies and top 20 schools (except for the one.)

2024 will be interesting with the technical end of AA. Who knows how this will work out in practice.

[Anonymous]

Good, glad to hear that fewer DC Big3 students are cracking Ivies these days. The more public-school students who are admitted the better for our society.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If all you care about are Ivies (but not Cornell and Penn) please just do yourself a favor and send your kid to private school. Walls will never send more than a few kids to each Ivy a year.

No one is getting into an Ivy from the top privates anymore unless their parent(s) went to the Ivy AND they (the parents) are VIPS or big donors. And maybe the very top two kids in the class. Maybe. (and that--(being the top kid)--is an incredible feat of talent and luck).
It's much easier to get into an Ivy unhooked in 2023 from Walls than it is from Sidwell or similar.

Signed, a private school parent who has been watching this play out up close.

Come, unhooked applicants still get in, just not much, right. I've interviewed as a volunteer for my Ivy in the Metro area for 25 years. Most legacy applicants to Ivies are rejected. The problem is now that test scores are deemphasized in admissions, and Affirmative Action officially has been nixed, it's much harder to predict who will get in than in the past.

uh, not really. Last year (2023) at my kid's Big3 high school there was ONE unhooked Ivy matriculation (out of 20+ Ivies total). This is down markedly from the days of old.
The rest were all hooked. The strongest academic students who were not hooked (say the top 20 kids in the class) were shut out of Ivies and top 20 schools (except for the one.)

2024 will be interesting with the technical end of AA. Who knows how this will work out in practice.

What are you doing on this thread? Um, there's a thread for private school families to complain on. Please decamp there.