Theory on Top Area Privates

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So the bottom of the class is getting into the likes of VT, UMD, CWRU, NEU, Colgate or Haverford. That seems optimistic.

I’d think more like JMU, Alabama, UVM, Muhlenberg, Ursinus.

THIS +100. No way the bottom of privates get into the others.

Depends on the SAT from my observation. If the SAT shows that the GPA is grade deflation (3.5 with above 1400), nationals in the 20s-30s are interested; if the SAT matches the GPA (3.3 and 1350+), then you are looking at SLACs in the 30s-40s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The crazy thing is that bottom of the class are sometimes former high A public school students. I know 2 of them. Straight high As in DPCS middle school. Very bright kids. Transfered to a Big3 in high school and got a C freshman year foreign language (because foreign language background was horrible in DCPS) and a B or B+ every year since in English and/or foreign language and now they're in the bottom of the class.

In retrospect these particular kids would have done much better staying in public.

Do you hear yourself? These particular kids would become adults who couldn't write their way out of a paper bag if they had stayed at JR or SWW. By your own description.

How is that "much better," exactly?

My J-R grad is at an Ivy double majoring in History and English. And has a 3.95 GPA. So, um, they are apparently writing themselves just fine out of your proverbial bag.

How is this possible? Did he teach himself to write at home? I"m genuinely curious. My kids came out of Deal and were barely able to write a coherent 5 paragraph essay despite having high As in ELA at Deal. They went on to a Big3 private and struggled mightily with the writing that was required of them. They both got Bs the first semester. Some Deal classmates got Cs and then Bs the entire way through.

They didn't learn anything at Deal but J-R (then Wilson) was a different story. AP classes- particularly the history ones- were rigorous and they worked on the Beacon (the school newspaper) all four years. I'm not saying it was the same as if they had gone to Maret or Sidwell, but it did the trick.

DP: My oldest barely had writing required in AP classes at J-R. How long ago was this and did they really learn to write in a Wilson AP class? Please be honest if you sent them to Writopia or something. Congrats on your kid doing so well, writing for the Beacon is a great help, but the kids I know who did so were already naturally good writers with parents who are writers -- no one in DCPS taught them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of the top high school students at public would be middle of the class at a top private.

If you look at the area public schools (including DCPS) you see a bunch of Presidential Scholars which means nearly perfect SAT scores (believe 1580 at least) and all in one sitting.

You really think those kids will be middle of the class at private schools?

Some would still be top of class, but a lot wouldn’t.

dp.. how would you even know this? Based on anecdotes? Your statement is ironic given the topic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of the top high school students at public would be middle of the class at a top private.

If you look at the area public schools (including DCPS) you see a bunch of Presidential Scholars which means nearly perfect SAT scores (believe 1580 at least) and all in one sitting.

You really think those kids will be middle of the class at private schools?

Some would still be top of class, but a lot wouldn’t.

dp.. how would you even know this? Based on anecdotes? Your statement is ironic given the topic.

College admissions offices agree with me, even if you don’t.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of the top high school students at public would be middle of the class at a top private.

??

No, these kids are just as smart, even if some aren't required to work as hard in high school; but the reverse is generally true. Since there are over a hundred kids in the top 20% of a public school class, most (but not all) in the bottom of a rigorous admission private school would be in the top percentages of their respective public school classes, but not at the very top.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of the top high school students at public would be middle of the class at a top private.

If you look at the area public schools (including DCPS) you see a bunch of Presidential Scholars which means nearly perfect SAT scores (believe 1580 at least) and all in one sitting.

You really think those kids will be middle of the class at private schools?

Some would still be top of class, but a lot wouldn’t.

dp.. how would you even know this? Based on anecdotes? Your statement is ironic given the topic.

College admissions offices agree with me, even if you don’t.

Your comment doesn’t even make sense. We are discussing public school kids with nearly perfect SAT scores…they are definitely faring better than middle of the road private kids and equal to top private kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of the top high school students at public would be middle of the class at a top private.

If you look at the area public schools (including DCPS) you see a bunch of Presidential Scholars which means nearly perfect SAT scores (believe 1580 at least) and all in one sitting.

You really think those kids will be middle of the class at private schools?

Some would still be top of class, but a lot wouldn’t.

dp.. how would you even know this? Based on anecdotes? Your statement is ironic given the topic.

College admissions offices agree with me, even if you don’t.

Your comment doesn’t even make sense. We are discussing public school kids with nearly perfect SAT scores…they are definitely faring better than middle of the road private kids and equal to top private kids.

Haha that made me laugh. If you think that, then good for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of the top high school students at public would be middle of the class at a top private.

If you look at the area public schools (including DCPS) you see a bunch of Presidential Scholars which means nearly perfect SAT scores (believe 1580 at least) and all in one sitting.

You really think those kids will be middle of the class at private schools?

Some would still be top of class, but a lot wouldn’t.

dp.. how would you even know this? Based on anecdotes? Your statement is ironic given the topic.

College admissions offices agree with me, even if you don’t.

Your comment doesn’t even make sense. We are discussing public school kids with nearly perfect SAT scores…they are definitely faring better than middle of the road private kids and equal to top private kids.

Haha that made me laugh. If you think that, then good for you.

I know that. However, if you want to give little Jimmy a false ego boost that their middle of the road private school record will get them into MIT…go for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of the top high school students at public would be middle of the class at a top private.

If you look at the area public schools (including DCPS) you see a bunch of Presidential Scholars which means nearly perfect SAT scores (believe 1580 at least) and all in one sitting.

You really think those kids will be middle of the class at private schools?

Some would still be top of class, but a lot wouldn’t.

dp.. how would you even know this? Based on anecdotes? Your statement is ironic given the topic.

College admissions offices agree with me, even if you don’t.

Your comment doesn’t even make sense. We are discussing public school kids with nearly perfect SAT scores…they are definitely faring better than middle of the road private kids and equal to top private kids.

Haha that made me laugh. If you think that, then good for you.

I know that. However, if you want to give little Jimmy a false ego boost that their middle of the road private school record will get them into MIT…go for it.

At our school, plenty of the middle kids go ivy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of the top high school students at public would be middle of the class at a top private.

If you look at the area public schools (including DCPS) you see a bunch of Presidential Scholars which means nearly perfect SAT scores (believe 1580 at least) and all in one sitting.

You really think those kids will be middle of the class at private schools?

Some would still be top of class, but a lot wouldn’t.

dp.. how would you even know this? Based on anecdotes? Your statement is ironic given the topic.

College admissions offices agree with me, even if you don’t.

Your comment doesn’t even make sense. We are discussing public school kids with nearly perfect SAT scores…they are definitely faring better than middle of the road private kids and equal to top private kids.

Haha that made me laugh. If you think that, then good for you.

Well I think PP you’re replying to is basically correct. I don’t think the middle 25-50th percentile at a top private (that isn’t an elite boarding school or Harvard-Westlake or Dalton) gets as good a college outcome as the very top (top 2-3%) of a public school. But probably as well as those around the 10-15%. But feel like a broken record, I don’t really care about perceived worse outcome for college. Because the middle of the pack kids from our private crush it wherever they go to college. I compare what my DS does in HS to what his old MS friends and our neighbors do in FCPS and it’s not even close who’s getting better prepared.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The crazy thing is that bottom of the class are sometimes former high A public school students. I know 2 of them. Straight high As in DPCS middle school. Very bright kids. Transfered to a Big3 in high school and got a C freshman year foreign language (because foreign language background was horrible in DCPS) and a B or B+ every year since in English and/or foreign language and now they're in the bottom of the class.

In retrospect these particular kids would have done much better staying in public.

Do you hear yourself? These particular kids would become adults who couldn't write their way out of a paper bag if they had stayed at JR or SWW. By your own description.

How is that "much better," exactly?

My J-R grad is at an Ivy double majoring in History and English. And has a 3.95 GPA. So, um, they are apparently writing themselves just fine out of your proverbial bag.

How is this possible? Did he teach himself to write at home? I"m genuinely curious. My kids came out of Deal and were barely able to write a coherent 5 paragraph essay despite having high As in ELA at Deal. They went on to a Big3 private and struggled mightily with the writing that was required of them. They both got Bs the first semester. Some Deal classmates got Cs and then Bs the entire way through.

They didn't learn anything at Deal but J-R (then Wilson) was a different story. AP classes- particularly the history ones- were rigorous and they worked on the Beacon (the school newspaper) all four years. I'm not saying it was the same as if they had gone to Maret or Sidwell, but it did the trick.

DP: My oldest barely had writing required in AP classes at J-R. How long ago was this and did they really learn to write in a Wilson AP class? Please be honest if you sent them to Writopia or something. Congrats on your kid doing so well, writing for the Beacon is a great help, but the kids I know who did so were already naturally good writers with parents who are writers -- no one in DCPS taught them.

Never went to Writopia (I had to look up what that was). No outside support, just Wilson. The Beacon was a ton of work and maybe that was the difference from the normal Wilson experience. Neither I nor my husband is a professional writer, though we both do have to write a lot for work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of the top high school students at public would be middle of the class at a top private.

If you look at the area public schools (including DCPS) you see a bunch of Presidential Scholars which means nearly perfect SAT scores (believe 1580 at least) and all in one sitting.

You really think those kids will be middle of the class at private schools?

Some would still be top of class, but a lot wouldn’t.

dp.. how would you even know this? Based on anecdotes? Your statement is ironic given the topic.

College admissions offices agree with me, even if you don’t.

Your comment doesn’t even make sense. We are discussing public school kids with nearly perfect SAT scores…they are definitely faring better than middle of the road private kids and equal to top private kids.

Haha that made me laugh. If you think that, then good for you.

Well I think PP you’re replying to is basically correct. I don’t think the middle 25-50th percentile at a top private (that isn’t an elite boarding school or Harvard-Westlake or Dalton) gets as good a college outcome as the very top (top 2-3%) of a public school. But probably as well as those around the 10-15%. But feel like a broken record, I don’t really care about perceived worse outcome for college. Because the middle of the pack kids from our private crush it wherever they go to college. I compare what my DS does in HS to what his old MS friends and our neighbors do in FCPS and it’s not even close who’s getting better prepared.

Interesting anecdote. My DS, a t20 university student now, definitely received better preparation in high school (FCPS IB) than the prep school kids he's surrounded by, all of whom flounder without constant hand-holding and one-on-one attention. Time management is something they especially struggle with. Professors won't negotiate with them about grades, and they can't believe it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The crazy thing is that bottom of the class are sometimes former high A public school students. I know 2 of them. Straight high As in DPCS middle school. Very bright kids. Transfered to a Big3 in high school and got a C freshman year foreign language (because foreign language background was horrible in DCPS) and a B or B+ every year since in English and/or foreign language and now they're in the bottom of the class.

In retrospect these particular kids would have done much better staying in public.

Do you hear yourself? These particular kids would become adults who couldn't write their way out of a paper bag if they had stayed at JR or SWW. By your own description.

How is that "much better," exactly?

My J-R grad is at an Ivy double majoring in History and English. And has a 3.95 GPA. So, um, they are apparently writing themselves just fine out of your proverbial bag.

How is this possible? Did he teach himself to write at home? I"m genuinely curious. My kids came out of Deal and were barely able to write a coherent 5 paragraph essay despite having high As in ELA at Deal. They went on to a Big3 private and struggled mightily with the writing that was required of them. They both got Bs the first semester. Some Deal classmates got Cs and then Bs the entire way through.

They didn't learn anything at Deal but J-R (then Wilson) was a different story. AP classes- particularly the history ones- were rigorous and they worked on the Beacon (the school newspaper) all four years. I'm not saying it was the same as if they had gone to Maret or Sidwell, but it did the trick.

DP: My oldest barely had writing required in AP classes at J-R. How long ago was this and did they really learn to write in a Wilson AP class? Please be honest if you sent them to Writopia or something. Congrats on your kid doing so well, writing for the Beacon is a great help, but the kids I know who did so were already naturally good writers with parents who are writers -- no one in DCPS taught them.

Never went to Writopia (I had to look up what that was). No outside support, just Wilson. The Beacon was a ton of work and maybe that was the difference from the normal Wilson experience. Neither I nor my husband is a professional writer, though we both do have to write a lot for work.

'

was your son a big (independent) reader?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At our NYC TT private, these kids go to Syracuse, Bucknell, SMU, GWU, Skidmore type schools. Definitely below top 20 SLAC!

Another non-DMV private - These kids tend to go to Syracuse, SMU, GW, American….

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of the top high school students at public would be middle of the class at a top private.

If you look at the area public schools (including DCPS) you see a bunch of Presidential Scholars which means nearly perfect SAT scores (believe 1580 at least) and all in one sitting.

You really think those kids will be middle of the class at private schools?

Some would still be top of class, but a lot wouldn’t.

dp.. how would you even know this? Based on anecdotes? Your statement is ironic given the topic.

College admissions offices agree with me, even if you don’t.

Your comment doesn’t even make sense. We are discussing public school kids with nearly perfect SAT scores…they are definitely faring better than middle of the road private kids and equal to top private kids.

Haha that made me laugh. If you think that, then good for you.

I know that. However, if you want to give little Jimmy a false ego boost that their middle of the road private school record will get them into MIT…go for it.

At our school, plenty of the middle kids go ivy.

She said these kids were the bottom of the class. Not middle kids.