Discussion on abysmal APS college results

[Anonymous]

I've had the same reaction that the top students in APS seem to underperform. I think it's in part just because there are so many excellent, well prepared APS students with really well curated resumes. I recall teachers in my rural district as being able to recommend top students as the best they've had in years (or ever), whereas there may be a dozen kids of that quality at any APS high school in any class. The overall quality of the pack is just so good that it's hard to distinguish yourself without something crazy like a trip to the Olympics or another major recognition.

I also suspect that, unlike private schools, there's no gatekeeping in APS so all the top APS students apply to the same top schools, reinforcing that the students don't stand out. Private schools will often manage this better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Colleges are a bit more expensive now, you know. Ivy League schools were already highly expensive and are even more so now.

I agree with the sentiments of other comments that it's different today. With so many "valedictorians" and 5.0 students, it is more difficult to stand out among a larger pool of applicants. More students look the same on paper. More students are applying to colleges. Fewer are getting in with better stats than their parents had decades ago.

Arlington is also a small County. Many attend private high schools. Colleges aren't looking to get all their students from the same schools or same geographical area. APS doesn't stand as far above the rest as it once did; but I don't know how its application and acceptance rates to the Ivies has been over the decades.

And here in Arlington, there are a lot of UVA-ers and VA-techers who revere those schools more than they do Harvard and Yale.

Every single UVA or Va Tech grad in Arlington wants their kid to be the one child in Arlington who gets into Harvard or Yale, regardless of how much they love their alma mater or think UVA/Va Tech provide an excellent education. Come on.

No they don't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've had the same reaction that the top students in APS seem to underperform. I think it's in part just because there are so many excellent, well prepared APS students with really well curated resumes. I recall teachers in my rural district as being able to recommend top students as the best they've had in years (or ever), whereas there may be a dozen kids of that quality at any APS high school in any class. The overall quality of the pack is just so good that it's hard to distinguish yourself without something crazy like a trip to the Olympics or another major recognition.

I also suspect that, unlike private schools, there's no gatekeeping in APS so all the top APS students apply to the same top schools, reinforcing that the students don't stand out. Private schools will often manage this better.

If I paid a boatload of money for private and they actively tried to manage who was seen by colleges then I’d be pretty annoyed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've had the same reaction that the top students in APS seem to underperform. I think it's in part just because there are so many excellent, well prepared APS students with really well curated resumes. I recall teachers in my rural district as being able to recommend top students as the best they've had in years (or ever), whereas there may be a dozen kids of that quality at any APS high school in any class. The overall quality of the pack is just so good that it's hard to distinguish yourself without something crazy like a trip to the Olympics or another major recognition.

I also suspect that, unlike private schools, there's no gatekeeping in APS so all the top APS students apply to the same top schools, reinforcing that the students don't stand out. Private schools will often manage this better.

If I paid a boatload of money for private and they actively tried to manage who was seen by colleges then I’d be pretty annoyed.

I do pay that boatload and guess what? Way more kids get into top schools. Waaaay more. So I guess it depends on what you think is the better outcome. The private school telling me which great school my kids have a better shot it given class makeup or alternatively your world where no children get in.

[Anonymous]

I would not characterize the admissions as abysmal. If you follow the Yorktown admissions on Instagram, there have been a good number of Ivy decisions. And, yes, lots of students choose UVA, but it is ranked better than U of I, so it is a financially smart choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Colleges are a bit more expensive now, you know. Ivy League schools were already highly expensive and are even more so now.

I agree with the sentiments of other comments that it's different today. With so many "valedictorians" and 5.0 students, it is more difficult to stand out among a larger pool of applicants. More students look the same on paper. More students are applying to colleges. Fewer are getting in with better stats than their parents had decades ago.

Arlington is also a small County. Many attend private high schools. Colleges aren't looking to get all their students from the same schools or same geographical area. APS doesn't stand as far above the rest as it once did; but I don't know how its application and acceptance rates to the Ivies has been over the decades.

And here in Arlington, there are a lot of UVA-ers and VA-techers who revere those schools more than they do Harvard and Yale.

Every single UVA or Va Tech grad in Arlington wants their kid to be the one child in Arlington who gets into Harvard or Yale, regardless of how much they love their alma mater or think UVA/Va Tech provide an excellent education. Come on.

NP here. I’m sure they don’t if they can’t afford Harvard or Yale, which is true for many.

Admission is need blind. I said admitted. And it’s one kid so I’m guessing it’s not really a problem you are grappling with ….

You clearly aren’t too deep into investigating college. Many UMC families in areas like Arlington don’t bother with ivies anymore. Too expensive and no merit aid. The price tag is nuts and you will not get any financial aid. My husband and I both went to ivies. We can’t afford that for our kids. They understand that. So they aren’t applying.

+1. DH and I both went to Ivies and none of our 4 recent APS graduates applied to an Ivy because (1) they knew we couldn't afford it and they wouldn't get any financial aid, and (2) neither of us believed our Ivy educations are worth paying $80-$90K a year. We were thrilled that three of the four ended up at UVA and the 4th at VT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Colleges are a bit more expensive now, you know. Ivy League schools were already highly expensive and are even more so now.

I agree with the sentiments of other comments that it's different today. With so many "valedictorians" and 5.0 students, it is more difficult to stand out among a larger pool of applicants. More students look the same on paper. More students are applying to colleges. Fewer are getting in with better stats than their parents had decades ago.

Arlington is also a small County. Many attend private high schools. Colleges aren't looking to get all their students from the same schools or same geographical area. APS doesn't stand as far above the rest as it once did; but I don't know how its application and acceptance rates to the Ivies has been over the decades.

And here in Arlington, there are a lot of UVA-ers and VA-techers who revere those schools more than they do Harvard and Yale.

Every single UVA or Va Tech grad in Arlington wants their kid to be the one child in Arlington who gets into Harvard or Yale, regardless of how much they love their alma mater or think UVA/Va Tech provide an excellent education. Come on.

NP here. I’m sure they don’t if they can’t afford Harvard or Yale, which is true for many.

Admission is need blind. I said admitted. And it’s one kid so I’m guessing it’s not really a problem you are grappling with ….

You clearly aren’t too deep into investigating college. Many UMC families in areas like Arlington don’t bother with ivies anymore. Too expensive and no merit aid. The price tag is nuts and you will not get any financial aid. My husband and I both went to ivies. We can’t afford that for our kids. They understand that. So they aren’t applying.

+1. DH and I both went to Ivies and none of our 4 recent APS graduates applied to an Ivy because (1) they knew we couldn't afford it and they wouldn't get any financial aid, and (2) neither of us believed our Ivy educations are worth paying $80-$90K a year. We were thrilled that three of the four ended up at UVA and the 4th at VT.

Congrats to you (I wrote the post above). We are hoping for similar results. My undergraduate ivy was a great education. But my parents paid $18,000 a year for it. Not $80,000. Can’t swing that for my kids. And seems less valuable today honestly.

[Anonymous]

I live in Arlington and I attended an Ivy. But the cost is too high now and I’ll encourage my kids to apply to state schools. I bet there are a lot of others in similar situations.

[Anonymous]

Oh my goodness, all of you are so smart to not be applying to Harvard from Arlington Public Schools so you won’t have to pay those exorbitant tuition fees for an overpriced education that just isn’t worth it anymore. Said all the people who had ZERO chance of admission.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh my goodness, all of you are so smart to not be applying to Harvard from Arlington Public Schools so you won’t have to pay those exorbitant tuition fees for an overpriced education that just isn’t worth it anymore. Said all the people who had ZERO chance of admission.

I am one of the posters above. I live in Arlington but kids don’t attend arlington high schools. Kids from my kids’ schools get into ivies in fairly significant numbers. (At least for around here). Oldest has at least as good a chance as anyone else. Still not planning to apply.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh my goodness, all of you are so smart to not be applying to Harvard from Arlington Public Schools so you won’t have to pay those exorbitant tuition fees for an overpriced education that just isn’t worth it anymore. Said all the people who had ZERO chance of admission.

Many VA parents force their kids to go to state schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live in Arlington and I attended an Ivy. But the cost is too high now and I’ll encourage my kids to apply to state schools. I bet there are a lot of others in similar situations.

Same for me. I went to Yale but can’t afford an Ivy for my daughter. She can go to any in state school in Virginia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh my goodness, all of you are so smart to not be applying to Harvard from Arlington Public Schools so you won’t have to pay those exorbitant tuition fees for an overpriced education that just isn’t worth it anymore. Said all the people who had ZERO chance of admission.

Amazingly, a lot of us are not obsessed with the Ivies. Many of us in DC are from places that did not have great in-state options and wanted to get out and could get into an Ivy in the 90's if we were the top student at our school and had good SAT scores. But in 2024--we live in Virginia, the in-state options are pretty good, what kids have to do to try to get into an Ivy is insane and its still a crapshoot, plus if they get in it costs 4x what UVA or W&M or VT costs, so....why would we act like Princeton or Yale is the be-all, end-all for them?

It might have been my ticket out of Maine but my UMC kid from McLean has lots more choices than I did. If they want to apply to OOS schools, that's fine, we'll find a way to swing the difference in tuition. But we have not created a culture at home that we expect them to go out of state or to a "T20" college. I didn't grow up with that pressure and I'm not putting it on my kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in Arlington and I attended an Ivy. But the cost is too high now and I’ll encourage my kids to apply to state schools. I bet there are a lot of others in similar situations.

Same for me. I went to Yale but can’t afford an Ivy for my daughter. She can go to any in state school in Virginia.

I find it telling that so many Ivy grads can’t afford to send their kid to an Ivy. DH and I both went to a state school. We can easily afford private HS, Ivy tuition, second home, etc. I guess it’s really not the golden ticket everyone thinks it is. Smart kids do well wherever they go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in Arlington and I attended an Ivy. But the cost is too high now and I’ll encourage my kids to apply to state schools. I bet there are a lot of others in similar situations.

Same for me. I went to Yale but can’t afford an Ivy for my daughter. She can go to any in state school in Virginia.

I find it telling that so many Ivy grads can’t afford to send their kid to an Ivy. DH and I both went to a state school. We can easily afford private HS, Ivy tuition, second home, etc. I guess it’s really not the golden ticket everyone thinks it is. Smart kids do well wherever they go.

You can just hear the smugness emanating from this post. Ever occur to you that not all Ivy grads choose to chase the highest paying career?