How Tough Is It To Get A's In Sidwell Math I-IV Track And Chem 1A?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd like my son to attend Sidwell for 9th grade, but I've heard horror stories about the Math I-IV track and Chem 1A. I've heard Math I-IV is unreasonably difficult and only truly mathematically brilliant students (not simply accelerated by a few grade levels), can get A's. I've heard of students getting C's/D's in the Math I-IV track, yet getting A's in Calculus II. Is advanced math that tough at Sidwell?

I've also heard that Chem 1A doesn't actually teach students through lecture, and they're expected to figure out the work with "reasoning skills". I've heard some parents would just hire tutors to actually teach their kids Chemistry outside of class, so they can actually do the work.

I want my son to be competitive for top 10/Ivy League admissions when he applies for college. I know that a 3.9+ GPA is expected for the most competitive colleges. How realistic is this at Sidwell?

If you didn't give your kid super smart genes, you're going to have a tough road ahead. Sorry!

.

Intelligence is only about 50-60% genetic. The average South Korean kid will perform as well as the top US kids in math. Their math curriculum is a helluva lot better at teaching math.

1. Your are being extremely hyperbolic.

2. It's not "curriculum" that leads to advantage, it's "far more hours of study".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd like my son to attend Sidwell for 9th grade, but I've heard horror stories about the Math I-IV track and Chem 1A. I've heard Math I-IV is unreasonably difficult and only truly mathematically brilliant students (not simply accelerated by a few grade levels), can get A's. I've heard of students getting C's/D's in the Math I-IV track, yet getting A's in Calculus II. Is advanced math that tough at Sidwell?

I've also heard that Chem 1A doesn't actually teach students through lecture, and they're expected to figure out the work with "reasoning skills". I've heard some parents would just hire tutors to actually teach their kids Chemistry outside of class, so they can actually do the work.

I want my son to be competitive for top 10/Ivy League admissions when he applies for college. I know that a 3.9+ GPA is expected for the most competitive colleges. How realistic is this at Sidwell?

.

OP I say this kindly. (And I have Sidwell kids/ grad): if your son is going to be competitive for admission to a top 10/ Ivy, you would know that by middle school.

You haven’t told us anything about your son. Is this his goal or yours?

The only thing more ridiculous than OP doing this for herself would be if it were her 8th grade kid doing this after OP poisoning the poor kid's mind.

[Anonymous]

Going to Sidwell is far more valuable than a T10 college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Going to Sidwell is far more valuable than a T10 college.

How so?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, if it's all about getting the highest gpa, do not go to private school, certainly not Sidwell. Send your kid there for a good education, not to play the numbers. You will drive him and all his teachers crazy.

Nope. Compare the college admissions results of the W public schools with those from the Big 3/5/7. The private schools routinely send a larger percentage of their students to Ivies and top 25 universities. I’m willing to bet the W school students have a higher average GPA than NCS/STA/Sidwell/GDS.

For the one millionth time: Public and private results can't be directly compared. The privates have different grading scales. They don't weight for honors or APs. They don't give many As period. Etc Etc. There are a zillion Ivy legacies and VIPs in the private school mix. They assemble classes of mostly high achievers whereas public have all-comers.

If you are a high achieving, unhooked kid with Ivy or similar goals I would bet a LOT that your admissions chances would be higher in public. You can either listen to this advice up front by the dozens of us who have given it or figure it out during senior year when your kid is applying to college.

Yet here you are trying to compare public GPAs to private GPAs. Which is it? You can’t have it both ways. Btw, there are many Sidwell students who are not Ivy legacies. Stop trying to perpetuate that myth.

I don't know exactly. The Sidwell kids I know all happen to be Ivy legacies (between both parents). I have kids at two different Big3 schools and at the one I know best I'd estimate that 75% of the kids in my child's class have one parent who is an Ivy legacy. It's an extraordinarily high percentage.

Listen, I'm not making this stuff up. My kids are not Ivy legacies. We actually went to a decent school that no longer gives any legacy preference. So my kids are in the general pool of applicants. And as I talk to other parents and look at the Instagram posts and look at Scoir data it all paints a pretty grim picture (if top 20 results are the goal) for unhooked kids. It depends on the year and the class. I've been following the Ivy admits to one of my children's schools for a few years. Two years ago there was ONE unhooked Ivy admit. Last year there were maybe 3-4. So it varies depending on who is in the mix, what their grades are, what the fancies of the admissions officers are that year. But I'm just here to say that overall it's pretty grim is you're a top student at a Big3 school and not a legacy. Your top 20 school odds can be very, very low if there are VIPs or multi-generational Ivy kids in the mix who have decent grades.

And BTW by posting this I'm not being an A$$. Quite the opposite--I'm hoping to provoke others to really think this through.
My kids are both in high school and their high schooling decision is done. (We're not going to pull them.) However, I wish I had given this some more thought prior to spending all this money. Or at least had gone in with my eyes open. I'm not sure I would have chosen something else but it always feels better to know as much as you can about a purchase before making the purchase. We didn't choose Big3 schools for the college outcomes but when you really pause and look at who is getting in, it's sobering to see that you can almost be locked out of top colleges at a Big3, regardless of how well your kid does. I'm not particularly comfortable with this.

Your posts are unnecessarily alarmist. If your child has high stats, great ECs, and top notch essays, they won’t be locked out of a top college—hooked or not. Your child may not get into an Ivy, but if they apply broadly (state flagships, SLACs, geographic diversity) and strategically (not just colleges with single digit admissions rates), they will get into a top school.
Calm down.

You are correct that this student will do fine and get into a school. But they are not alarmist - they are sharing the truth - parents thinking their unhooked kid is getting into a Ivy T10 (or even T20) need to understand the reality. And, having gone through it - it's often not apparent unless you are in the specific class which of the kids have hooks. Some are not apparent at all. The message is that you should not enter these schools with Ivy as goal - it should be that you want your child to go to that HS (and then take the warts that go with them....no school is perfect - and certainly none of the Big 3 are).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, if it's all about getting the highest gpa, do not go to private school, certainly not Sidwell. Send your kid there for a good education, not to play the numbers. You will drive him and all his teachers crazy.

Nope. Compare the college admissions results of the W public schools with those from the Big 3/5/7. The private schools routinely send a larger percentage of their students to Ivies and top 25 universities. I’m willing to bet the W school students have a higher average GPA than NCS/STA/Sidwell/GDS.

For the one millionth time: Public and private results can't be directly compared. The privates have different grading scales. They don't weight for honors or APs. They don't give many As period. Etc Etc. There are a zillion Ivy legacies and VIPs in the private school mix. They assemble classes of mostly high achievers whereas public have all-comers.

If you are a high achieving, unhooked kid with Ivy or similar goals I would bet a LOT that your admissions chances would be higher in public. You can either listen to this advice up front by the dozens of us who have given it or figure it out during senior year when your kid is applying to college.

Yet here you are trying to compare public GPAs to private GPAs. Which is it? You can’t have it both ways. Btw, there are many Sidwell students who are not Ivy legacies. Stop trying to perpetuate that myth.

I don't know exactly. The Sidwell kids I know all happen to be Ivy legacies (between both parents). I have kids at two different Big3 schools and at the one I know best I'd estimate that 75% of the kids in my child's class have one parent who is an Ivy legacy. It's an extraordinarily high percentage.

Listen, I'm not making this stuff up. My kids are not Ivy legacies. We actually went to a decent school that no longer gives any legacy preference. So my kids are in the general pool of applicants. And as I talk to other parents and look at the Instagram posts and look at Scoir data it all paints a pretty grim picture (if top 20 results are the goal) for unhooked kids. It depends on the year and the class. I've been following the Ivy admits to one of my children's schools for a few years. Two years ago there was ONE unhooked Ivy admit. Last year there were maybe 3-4. So it varies depending on who is in the mix, what their grades are, what the fancies of the admissions officers are that year. But I'm just here to say that overall it's pretty grim is you're a top student at a Big3 school and not a legacy. Your top 20 school odds can be very, very low if there are VIPs or multi-generational Ivy kids in the mix who have decent grades.

And BTW by posting this I'm not being an A$$. Quite the opposite--I'm hoping to provoke others to really think this through.
My kids are both in high school and their high schooling decision is done. (We're not going to pull them.) However, I wish I had given this some more thought prior to spending all this money. Or at least had gone in with my eyes open. I'm not sure I would have chosen something else but it always feels better to know as much as you can about a purchase before making the purchase. We didn't choose Big3 schools for the college outcomes but when you really pause and look at who is getting in, it's sobering to see that you can almost be locked out of top colleges at a Big3, regardless of how well your kid does. I'm not particularly comfortable with this.

Your posts are unnecessarily alarmist. If your child has high stats, great ECs, and top notch essays, they won’t be locked out of a top college—hooked or not. Your child may not get into an Ivy, but if they apply broadly (state flagships, SLACs, geographic diversity) and strategically (not just colleges with single digit admissions rates), they will get into a top school.
Calm down.

You are correct that this student will do fine and get into a school. But they are not alarmist - they are sharing the truth - parents thinking their unhooked kid is getting into an Ivy T10 (or even T20) need to understand the reality. And, having gone through it - it's often not apparent unless you are in the specific class which of the kids have hooks. Some are not apparent at all. The message is that you should not enter these schools with Ivy as goal - it should be that you want your child to go to that HS (and then take the warts that go with them....no school is perfect - and certainly none of the Big 3 are).

She’s being alarmist because an Ivy/T10 admit isn’t guaranteed anywhere. People on this thread have posted that unhooked students have a “better” chance of getting into an Ivy+ from public school, without a shred of evidence. Where’s the proof? Your anecdotes and 3rd hand information aren’t facts. You would have to know details about each candidate that you simply don’t have access to as a casual observer.

What we know for sure (FACTS) is that schools like Sidwell consistently send a higher percentage of students to Ivy+ schools than any W school. And all of the Sidwell admits aren’t hooked. You also fail to acknowledge that many W admits to Ivy+ colleges are hooked.

Once again, calm down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, if it's all about getting the highest gpa, do not go to private school, certainly not Sidwell. Send your kid there for a good education, not to play the numbers. You will drive him and all his teachers crazy.

Nope. Compare the college admissions results of the W public schools with those from the Big 3/5/7. The private schools routinely send a larger percentage of their students to Ivies and top 25 universities. I’m willing to bet the W school students have a higher average GPA than NCS/STA/Sidwell/GDS.

For the one millionth time: Public and private results can't be directly compared. The privates have different grading scales. They don't weight for honors or APs. They don't give many As period. Etc Etc. There are a zillion Ivy legacies and VIPs in the private school mix. They assemble classes of mostly high achievers whereas public have all-comers.

If you are a high achieving, unhooked kid with Ivy or similar goals I would bet a LOT that your admissions chances would be higher in public. You can either listen to this advice up front by the dozens of us who have given it or figure it out during senior year when your kid is applying to college.

Yet here you are trying to compare public GPAs to private GPAs. Which is it? You can’t have it both ways. Btw, there are many Sidwell students who are not Ivy legacies. Stop trying to perpetuate that myth.

I don't know exactly. The Sidwell kids I know all happen to be Ivy legacies (between both parents). I have kids at two different Big3 schools and at the one I know best I'd estimate that 75% of the kids in my child's class have one parent who is an Ivy legacy. It's an extraordinarily high percentage.

Listen, I'm not making this stuff up. My kids are not Ivy legacies. We actually went to a decent school that no longer gives any legacy preference. So my kids are in the general pool of applicants. And as I talk to other parents and look at the Instagram posts and look at Scoir data it all paints a pretty grim picture (if top 20 results are the goal) for unhooked kids. It depends on the year and the class. I've been following the Ivy admits to one of my children's schools for a few years. Two years ago there was ONE unhooked Ivy admit. Last year there were maybe 3-4. So it varies depending on who is in the mix, what their grades are, what the fancies of the admissions officers are that year. But I'm just here to say that overall it's pretty grim is you're a top student at a Big3 school and not a legacy. Your top 20 school odds can be very, very low if there are VIPs or multi-generational Ivy kids in the mix who have decent grades.

And BTW by posting this I'm not being an A$$. Quite the opposite--I'm hoping to provoke others to really think this through.
My kids are both in high school and their high schooling decision is done. (We're not going to pull them.) However, I wish I had given this some more thought prior to spending all this money. Or at least had gone in with my eyes open. I'm not sure I would have chosen something else but it always feels better to know as much as you can about a purchase before making the purchase. We didn't choose Big3 schools for the college outcomes but when you really pause and look at who is getting in, it's sobering to see that you can almost be locked out of top colleges at a Big3, regardless of how well your kid does. I'm not particularly comfortable with this.

Your posts are unnecessarily alarmist. If your child has high stats, great ECs, and top notch essays, they won’t be locked out of a top college—hooked or not. Your child may not get into an Ivy, but if they apply broadly (state flagships, SLACs, geographic diversity) and strategically (not just colleges with single digit admissions rates), they will get into a top school.
Calm down.

You are correct that this student will do fine and get into a school. But they are not alarmist - they are sharing the truth - parents thinking their unhooked kid is getting into an Ivy T10 (or even T20) need to understand the reality. And, having gone through it - it's often not apparent unless you are in the specific class which of the kids have hooks. Some are not apparent at all. The message is that you should not enter these schools with Ivy as goal - it should be that you want your child to go to that HS (and then take the warts that go with them....no school is perfect - and certainly none of the Big 3 are).

She’s being alarmist because an Ivy/T10 admit isn’t guaranteed anywhere. People on this thread have posted that unhooked students have a “better” chance of getting into an Ivy+ from public school, without a shred of evidence. Where’s the proof? Your anecdotes and 3rd hand information aren’t facts. You would have to know details about each candidate that you simply don’t have access to as a casual observer.

What we know for sure (FACTS) is that schools like Sidwell consistently send a higher percentage of students to Ivy+ schools than any W school. And all of the Sidwell admits aren’t hooked. You also fail to acknowledge that many W admits to Ivy+ colleges are hooked.

Once again, calm down.

She’s just being a typical Big X parent lamenting their lot.

“grim” (twice!) “sobering”

Please.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, if it's all about getting the highest gpa, do not go to private school, certainly not Sidwell. Send your kid there for a good education, not to play the numbers. You will drive him and all his teachers crazy.

Nope. Compare the college admissions results of the W public schools with those from the Big 3/5/7. The private schools routinely send a larger percentage of their students to Ivies and top 25 universities. I’m willing to bet the W school students have a higher average GPA than NCS/STA/Sidwell/GDS.

For the one millionth time: Public and private results can't be directly compared. The privates have different grading scales. They don't weight for honors or APs. They don't give many As period. Etc Etc. There are a zillion Ivy legacies and VIPs in the private school mix. They assemble classes of mostly high achievers whereas public have all-comers.

If you are a high achieving, unhooked kid with Ivy or similar goals I would bet a LOT that your admissions chances would be higher in public. You can either listen to this advice up front by the dozens of us who have given it or figure it out during senior year when your kid is applying to college.

Yet here you are trying to compare public GPAs to private GPAs. Which is it? You can’t have it both ways. Btw, there are many Sidwell students who are not Ivy legacies. Stop trying to perpetuate that myth.

I don't know exactly. The Sidwell kids I know all happen to be Ivy legacies (between both parents). I have kids at two different Big3 schools and at the one I know best I'd estimate that 75% of the kids in my child's class have one parent who is an Ivy legacy. It's an extraordinarily high percentage.

Listen, I'm not making this stuff up. My kids are not Ivy legacies. We actually went to a decent school that no longer gives any legacy preference. So my kids are in the general pool of applicants. And as I talk to other parents and look at the Instagram posts and look at Scoir data it all paints a pretty grim picture (if top 20 results are the goal) for unhooked kids. It depends on the year and the class. I've been following the Ivy admits to one of my children's schools for a few years. Two years ago there was ONE unhooked Ivy admit. Last year there were maybe 3-4. So it varies depending on who is in the mix, what their grades are, what the fancies of the admissions officers are that year. But I'm just here to say that overall it's pretty grim is you're a top student at a Big3 school and not a legacy. Your top 20 school odds can be very, very low if there are VIPs or multi-generational Ivy kids in the mix who have decent grades.

And BTW by posting this I'm not being an A$$. Quite the opposite--I'm hoping to provoke others to really think this through.
My kids are both in high school and their high schooling decision is done. (We're not going to pull them.) However, I wish I had given this some more thought prior to spending all this money. Or at least had gone in with my eyes open. I'm not sure I would have chosen something else but it always feels better to know as much as you can about a purchase before making the purchase. We didn't choose Big3 schools for the college outcomes but when you really pause and look at who is getting in, it's sobering to see that you can almost be locked out of top colleges at a Big3, regardless of how well your kid does. I'm not particularly comfortable with this.

Your posts are unnecessarily alarmist. If your child has high stats, great ECs, and top notch essays, they won’t be locked out of a top college—hooked or not. Your child may not get into an Ivy, but if they apply broadly (state flagships, SLACs, geographic diversity) and strategically (not just colleges with single digit admissions rates), they will get into a top school.
Calm down.

You are correct that this student will do fine and get into a school. But they are not alarmist - they are sharing the truth - parents thinking their unhooked kid is getting into an Ivy T10 (or even T20) need to understand the reality. And, having gone through it - it's often not apparent unless you are in the specific class which of the kids have hooks. Some are not apparent at all. The message is that you should not enter these schools with Ivy as goal - it should be that you want your child to go to that HS (and then take the warts that go with them....no school is perfect - and certainly none of the Big 3 are).

She’s being alarmist because an Ivy/T10 admit isn’t guaranteed anywhere. People on this thread have posted that unhooked students have a “better” chance of getting into an Ivy+ from public school, without a shred of evidence. Where’s the proof? Your anecdotes and 3rd hand information aren’t facts. You would have to know details about each candidate that you simply don’t have access to as a casual observer.

What we know for sure (FACTS) is that schools like Sidwell consistently send a higher percentage of students to Ivy+ schools than any W school. And all of the Sidwell admits aren’t hooked. You also fail to acknowledge that many W admits to Ivy+ colleges are hooked.

Once again, calm down.

Well - good luck to those of you hanging onto the fantasy. She's right.

Don't attend for better college placement (if you are not hooked). Attend because you like the school and the curriculum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, if it's all about getting the highest gpa, do not go to private school, certainly not Sidwell. Send your kid there for a good education, not to play the numbers. You will drive him and all his teachers crazy.

Nope. Compare the college admissions results of the W public schools with those from the Big 3/5/7. The private schools routinely send a larger percentage of their students to Ivies and top 25 universities. I’m willing to bet the W school students have a higher average GPA than NCS/STA/Sidwell/GDS.

For the one millionth time: Public and private results can't be directly compared. The privates have different grading scales. They don't weight for honors or APs. They don't give many As period. Etc Etc. There are a zillion Ivy legacies and VIPs in the private school mix. They assemble classes of mostly high achievers whereas public have all-comers.

If you are a high achieving, unhooked kid with Ivy or similar goals I would bet a LOT that your admissions chances would be higher in public. You can either listen to this advice up front by the dozens of us who have given it or figure it out during senior year when your kid is applying to college.

Yet here you are trying to compare public GPAs to private GPAs. Which is it? You can’t have it both ways. Btw, there are many Sidwell students who are not Ivy legacies. Stop trying to perpetuate that myth.

I don't know exactly. The Sidwell kids I know all happen to be Ivy legacies (between both parents). I have kids at two different Big3 schools and at the one I know best I'd estimate that 75% of the kids in my child's class have one parent who is an Ivy legacy. It's an extraordinarily high percentage.

Listen, I'm not making this stuff up. My kids are not Ivy legacies. We actually went to a decent school that no longer gives any legacy preference. So my kids are in the general pool of applicants. And as I talk to other parents and look at the Instagram posts and look at Scoir data it all paints a pretty grim picture (if top 20 results are the goal) for unhooked kids. It depends on the year and the class. I've been following the Ivy admits to one of my children's schools for a few years. Two years ago there was ONE unhooked Ivy admit. Last year there were maybe 3-4. So it varies depending on who is in the mix, what their grades are, what the fancies of the admissions officers are that year. But I'm just here to say that overall it's pretty grim is you're a top student at a Big3 school and not a legacy. Your top 20 school odds can be very, very low if there are VIPs or multi-generational Ivy kids in the mix who have decent grades.

And BTW by posting this I'm not being an A$$. Quite the opposite--I'm hoping to provoke others to really think this through.
My kids are both in high school and their high schooling decision is done. (We're not going to pull them.) However, I wish I had given this some more thought prior to spending all this money. Or at least had gone in with my eyes open. I'm not sure I would have chosen something else but it always feels better to know as much as you can about a purchase before making the purchase. We didn't choose Big3 schools for the college outcomes but when you really pause and look at who is getting in, it's sobering to see that you can almost be locked out of top colleges at a Big3, regardless of how well your kid does. I'm not particularly comfortable with this.

Your posts are unnecessarily alarmist. If your child has high stats, great ECs, and top notch essays, they won’t be locked out of a top college—hooked or not. Your child may not get into an Ivy, but if they apply broadly (state flagships, SLACs, geographic diversity) and strategically (not just colleges with single digit admissions rates), they will get into a top school.
Calm down.

You are correct that this student will do fine and get into a school. But they are not alarmist - they are sharing the truth - parents thinking their unhooked kid is getting into an Ivy T10 (or even T20) need to understand the reality. And, having gone through it - it's often not apparent unless you are in the specific class which of the kids have hooks. Some are not apparent at all. The message is that you should not enter these schools with Ivy as goal - it should be that you want your child to go to that HS (and then take the warts that go with them....no school is perfect - and certainly none of the Big 3 are).

She’s being alarmist because an Ivy/T10 admit isn’t guaranteed anywhere. People on this thread have posted that unhooked students have a “better” chance of getting into an Ivy+ from public school, without a shred of evidence. Where’s the proof? Your anecdotes and 3rd hand information aren’t facts. You would have to know details about each candidate that you simply don’t have access to as a casual observer.

What we know for sure (FACTS) is that schools like Sidwell consistently send a higher percentage of students to Ivy+ schools than any W school. And all of the Sidwell admits aren’t hooked. You also fail to acknowledge that many W admits to Ivy+ colleges are hooked.

Once again, calm down.

Well - good luck to those of you hanging onto the fantasy. She's right.

Don't attend for better college placement (if you are not hooked). Attend because you like the school and the curriculum.

Ok, Chicken Little.
Just because your unhooked child, and “their unhooked friends” were unlucky in their pursuit of Ivy+/Tier whatever schools, doesn’t mean that other unhooked private school students will meet the same fate. Your concern trolling is tiresome.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd like my son to attend Sidwell for 9th grade, but I've heard horror stories about the Math I-IV track and Chem 1A. I've heard Math I-IV is unreasonably difficult and only truly mathematically brilliant students (not simply accelerated by a few grade levels), can get A's. I've heard of students getting C's/D's in the Math I-IV track, yet getting A's in Calculus II. Is advanced math that tough at Sidwell?

I've also heard that Chem 1A doesn't actually teach students through lecture, and they're expected to figure out the work with "reasoning skills". I've heard some parents would just hire tutors to actually teach their kids Chemistry outside of class, so they can actually do the work.

I want my son to be competitive for top 10/Ivy League admissions when he applies for college. I know that a 3.9+ GPA is expected for the most competitive colleges. How realistic is this at Sidwell?

Why are you stuck on an Ivy or Top 10 when you have no idea what his major will be?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Going to Sidwell is far more valuable than a T10 college.

How so?

Connections. How the world works.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have kids at STA and NCS and the honors math tracks are similarly difficult. Maybe not as theoretical as Sidwell's I-IV track but well above typical pre-calc and calc classes as the exam problems require application of concepts in novel ways. Only about 10-15% of each graduating class makes it through (and they grades at-large are not dumb cohorts of kids). My kids came from public and it was sobering--after years of easy As in accelerated public math classes they really struggled to get low As in honors pre-calc and BC calc. There are many Bs given out in both. The kids who do well go on to excel as college math majors, etc.

Calc 1 at Sidwell is more advanced than AB Calc. It has BC Calc material in it, but the kids get no credit for this on their transcripts, which is vintage Sidwell.

[Anonymous]

You all worry too much and focus on the wrong things. Love your kids for who they are. It will work out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have kids at STA and NCS and the honors math tracks are similarly difficult. Maybe not as theoretical as Sidwell's I-IV track but well above typical pre-calc and calc classes as the exam problems require application of concepts in novel ways. Only about 10-15% of each graduating class makes it through (and they grades at-large are not dumb cohorts of kids). My kids came from public and it was sobering--after years of easy As in accelerated public math classes they really struggled to get low As in honors pre-calc and BC calc. There are many Bs given out in both. The kids who do well go on to excel as college math majors, etc.

Calc 1 at Sidwell is more advanced than AB Calc. It has BC Calc material in it, but the kids get no credit for this on their transcripts, which is vintage Sidwell.

+1. Yes, classic Sidwell. Based on personal experience (one Sidwell grad. and one current US student), Sidwell will work students to death in a given class—but without any formal/transcript acknowledgement. Some teachers will put things on tests that have never been covered in class…because they’re testing “conceptual knowledge and application.” Ugh!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Going to Sidwell is far more valuable than a T10 college.

How so?

Connections. How the world works.

So, connections made at Sidwell are stronger/more meaningful than the connections made at a T10 college? That’s surprising. Please explain.