Washington Latin's High School Program

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:+1000. It's easy to pretend that what Latin does will launch many an Ivy league offer eventually. A small school, public or private, suburban or urban, can only do so much on that score, particularly without selective admissions in the mix. Not that most Latin parents necessarily mind.

I hope that Washington Latin will have success in preparing students for a rigorous and successful college career anywhere and be a haven from the must-get-into-an-Ivy admissions frenzy that is out of control in so many places. Ages 14 -18 should be honored for the unique passages that happen at that age, not for an on ramp acceleration to getting into a specific set of universities. What a sickness.

[Anonymous]

Funny discussion.

I have a child at Latin and I am an Ivy graduate (Brown, if you want to call it an Ivy lol). And when I see how much happier he seems compared to me when I was as a high schooler (with my workload from hell, AP tests up the gazoo) ... and I think "Ivy Schmivy. He'll figure out his way."

I know that doesn't match the level of neurosis that is often displayed in these sorts of discussions. Oh well. lol

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: I hope that Washington Latin will have success in preparing students for a rigorous and successful college career anywhere and be a haven from the must-get-into-an-Ivy admissions frenzy that is out of control in so many places. Ages 14 -18 should be honored for the unique passages that happen at that age, not for an on ramp acceleration to getting into a specific set of universities. What a sickness.

>>><<<!! See my post above.>

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why doesn't DC have a public STEM high school on par with TJ and Blair? There's certainly a need for one.

DC has a pubic STEM high school -- Banneker. Why isn't it on par with TJ and Blair? That question probably deserves its own thread.

[Anonymous]

Banneker isn't STEM. McKinley is closest to STEM among DCPS options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Funny discussion.

I have a child at Latin and I am an Ivy graduate (Brown, if you want to call it an Ivy lol). And when I see how much happier he seems compared to me when I was as a high schooler (with my workload from hell, AP tests up the gazoo) ... and I think "Ivy Schmivy. He'll figure out his way."

I know that doesn't match the level of neurosis that is often displayed in these sorts of discussions. Oh well. lol

I love you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Funny discussion.

I have a child at Latin and I am an Ivy graduate (Brown, if you want to call it an Ivy lol). And when I see how much happier he seems compared to me when I was as a high schooler (with my workload from hell, AP tests up the gazoo) ... and I think "Ivy Schmivy. He'll figure out his way."

I know that doesn't match the level of neurosis that is often displayed in these sorts of discussions. Oh well. lol

I love you.

Thanks. My son does too. Sometimes. lol

[Anonymous]

So high school kids need to take a gazillion AP tests so they can get into a "superior" Ivy League school that funnels its freshmen into massive lecture courses taught by graduate students? Sounds like a good advertisement for small liberal arts colleges to me!

[Anonymous]

Very happy WL parent writing now, also a graduate of an Ivy... One of WL's biggest strengths is its advisory system at the middle and upper school levels. Advisors spend a lot of in-school and after school time with their advisees, know them well, and offer regular individualized guidance, encouragement, moral support, etc.. They are great points of contact for parents. So, while I care a lot about rigor of WL's high school classes (and have aspiration for my kids to get into intellectually rigorous colleges that fit their personalities), it also makes a huge difference knowing that my kids also have a strong mentor/advocate/quarterback/cheerleader/counselor in the wings - helping them navigate, appreciate, and make the most of their high school years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Funny discussion.

I have a child at Latin and I am an Ivy graduate (Brown, if you want to call it an Ivy lol). And when I see how much happier he seems compared to me when I was as a high schooler (with my workload from hell, AP tests up the gazoo) ... and I think "Ivy Schmivy. He'll figure out his way."

I know that doesn't match the level of neurosis that is often displayed in these sorts of discussions. Oh well. lol

Brown of course is an Ivy but not HYP tier.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for that clarification. I'm sure PP appreciates the information as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Funny discussion.

I have a child at Latin and I am an Ivy graduate (Brown, if you want to call it an Ivy lol). And when I see how much happier he seems compared to me when I was as a high schooler (with my workload from hell, AP tests up the gazoo) ... and I think "Ivy Schmivy. He'll figure out his way."

I know that doesn't match the level of neurosis that is often displayed in these sorts of discussions. Oh well. lol

Brown of course is an Ivy but not HYP tier.

Hence the preemptive "if you want to call it an Ivy. I call it more Ivy than Cornell.
HYP grad here and I love you too. I just hope we get our daughter into Latin this year.
It would absolutely be the perfect place for her, as would a small, nurturing, liberal arts college where classes are taught by professors and football games (if they even happen) are kind of a joke and there are no sororities or fraternities and there is a diverse student body. And except for the issues of how many graduate students Brown has, and how large it is, it kind of meets my criteria.

I wanted to go to Brown and, according to my father "major in underwater basketweaving" or Oberlin, but was overwhelmingly pressured into going to HYP and chose Princeton, which is the smallest, where you are taught by teachers, where because of needs blind admissions it was incredibly diverse, and I made my best friends and met my husband there and was about as far away from family influence as I could get (no sibs or cousins there, they were all at Harvard and Yale lol!) .

So right now Latin is [b]our "personal reach" school [b]and it would absolutely transform my daughter's life. Plus I know I would be in good company in terms of the parent population Thanks for posting.

Princeton grad who would be ok with a kid going to Princeton, or not (don't much care as long as my child is happy and learns from professors and peers). I actually have football players who became life long friends, and if you knew how I felt about jocks before I went to college... that for me was also a diverse educational experience. Working class kids who knew that their knees would be permanently shot by their mid 30s but decided to do it anyway to go to Princeton.

Three places I will absolutely not let them go? California (too far away), Harvard or Yale (two places where you have to shout your talent from the rooftops to be heard by professors, and odds are almost every other student is shouting just as loud). I did not have to shout at Princeton and it was the first time I realized I actually had something intellectually valuable to contribute to a discussion (I grew up here went to NCS and that kinda says it all).

Wish us luck. And good for you for using your voice to share your wisdom.

I think the wise "Ivy grads," having made friends later in life who are equally happy and successful in different ways (when you don't find out where they went to college for a year or so while you talk about your kids, your job, your life - and then you frequently find out that they went to HYP or Stanford) are much less driven to get their kids into the Ivy League because they have more perspective on how far it will take you depending on where you want to go (if you want to be a law professor and clerk for the Supreme Court, you ought to go to Yale Law if you can), what getting in and the pressure to get in might take out of your child, and how much (or how little) it really matters in the end. That there are probably 50 colleges your children could go to, be happy at, and get a stellar education depending on their interests.

All the studies show the HYP name makes the biggest difference for the poorest kids, and it certainly did for my friends, many of whom went directly to Wall Street, pulled their entire families out of poverty, are incredibly loyal alums, and have founded scholarships in their names for kids like them from East LA (the first time that happened I thought my friend had died but he was just in London, working at Barclays, living the good life, and wanting to give back). And fortunately now Princeton at least will pay their entire tuition if they are qualified to be students there. What a wonderful world this has become for some of the kids who need it most.

THAT makes me proud to be a Princeton graduate, and since I do not have that kind of cash I do skype interviews every year for kids in California in places that the West Coast interviewers cannot get to, students who are children of migrant workers, some who are Dreamers and cannot get financial aid from most places except the Ivy League - no state university in California can give financial aid to a child who was brought here from Mexico at six months, but Princeton can and does. The only sad part for me is that Princeton is now so selective they hardly ever get in - hell I'm not sure I would get in now. But sometimes they do, and since I know the holes my friends fell into I try really hard only to try to push for the kids I know could make it once they get there, and I have succeeded a couple of times and stay in touch with them, reminding them that last year over half the first years used the writing center to get help on essays at least once etc.

I figure if I cannot donate a lot of money, I can at least give my time where I think it counts the most. But I'm not sure I would want my kid to go to Princeton now. I just know for these kids it profoundly increases their earning power and alters their lives - to go from having been homeless to being Princeton grads in law school or working on Wall Street and then getting MBA's. So every time I get one in (and the candidates are incredible) I feel like I have done something good for the student and for Princeton. Maybe you should try it!

[Anonymous]

I think most Ivys are moving away from judging kids on quantity of APs. The AP curriculum is rigid and rote, and the best high schools are abandoning it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think most Ivys are moving away from judging kids on quantity of APs. The AP curriculum is rigid and rote, and the best high schools are abandoning it.

This is interesting. Please name some of these top public schools who have abandoned AP. Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous]

Maret ditched APs ten years ago, Sidwell is moving in that direction, and many of the country's oldest and most prestigious prep schools, mostly in New England, have embraced the International Baccalaureate Diploma curriculum of late.

I see WL's problem as offering academic streaming in a too-little-too-late fashion. Year after year, MS kids who can barely read are dropped in the same WL classes as those who are read college-level texts for fun. By 9th grade, the first year when honors classes are offered, it's clear that the stragglers have held back some of the high fliers. It isn't a great system, but you can work around it if your MS kid is a bookworm at home, and if you supplement with math (like crazy!). The HS isn't bad, but isn't the best for bright sparks with National Merit Scholarship Semifinalist capability. Those kids still generally go private, to the burbs, or Wilson or Walls. Latin's college counseling is more supportive than high octane.

I didn't deal with these academic streaming or college counseling concerns as a happy Boston Latin student (and future Ivy student), so I cringe when the two schools programs compared around town. I keep that thought to myself, because the good white liberal Latin boosters have bulldozer instincts.