Is it true the Big 3 kids are getting hammered this year- and by that I mean bad admissions results?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm so confused about these posts complaining how Big 3 kids are getting hammered this year. I thought the whole reason everyone sends their kids to private school is not for college placement but to instill that love of learning? I thought parents didn't care about college outcomes?

So why are so many parents complaining about where their Big 3/private school children and their college outcomes?

Maybe because the course work is so much more rigorous at the Big 3 that the perception is that they are more deserving?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid who is a sophomore at a Big 3 and by that let's say I mean St Albans/NCS, GDS, Sidwell or Maret. I have heard through my school grapevine that this year the kids at the elite privates are having terrible results-
especially the unhooked kids. I have heard that they are negatively affected by test-optional, the elimination of AP's and grade deflation.

Ok please tell me your experiences- Big 3 parents only please...I am not interested in hearing how well your W school kid did, or how stupid you think I am for paying private school tuition.

The rumors are true. It's been horrible. Half a mil in private and ended up exactly where we would have if we stayed with our highly regarded public school.

Hahahahaha. *Points and laughs.*

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid who is a sophomore at a Big 3 and by that let's say I mean St Albans/NCS, GDS, Sidwell or Maret. I have heard through my school grapevine that this year the kids at the elite privates are having terrible results-
especially the unhooked kids. I have heard that they are negatively affected by test-optional, the elimination of AP's and grade deflation.

Ok please tell me your experiences- Big 3 parents only please...I am not interested in hearing how well your W school kid did, or how stupid you think I am for paying private school tuition.

I would simply say to consider the self-interest of the people making these assessments. It can’t possibly be that this was an insanely competitive admissions year and their kids just didn’t make the cut; it has to be that less-worthy kids, whose parents didn’t pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for private school, somehow had an advantage. Come on.

A test optional public school candidate with a GPA that is higher than 4.0 (because of weighting and the fact that the took AP classes) looks really great compared to a big 3 GPA of 3.4 with no APs and a 33 ACT.

Lots of kids with super high SAT scores not getting in either. https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMeagueyw/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s puzzling. Most private schools have been in-person or at least hybrid, while the public schools have floundered. Watered down grading, cheating, test optional. I’d be very wary of a 4.5 gpa coming out of a public this year. But, I suppose these colleges aren’t worried about it.

It really wouldn’t be a good look for colleges to penalize public school students for their schools’ floundering and disproportionately reward private students whose schools had the resources to remain in-person. C’mon, read the room.

[Anonymous]

I am following Instagram accounts for college admittance at Big 3 and they look pretty good to me. Which school is getting slaughtered?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid who is a sophomore at a Big 3 and by that let's say I mean St Albans/NCS, GDS, Sidwell or Maret. I have heard through my school grapevine that this year the kids at the elite privates are having terrible results-
especially the unhooked kids. I have heard that they are negatively affected by test-optional, the elimination of AP's and grade deflation.

Ok please tell me your experiences- Big 3 parents only please...I am not interested in hearing how well your W school kid did, or how stupid you think I am for paying private school tuition.

The rumors are true. It's been horrible. Half a mil in private and ended up exactly where we would have if we stayed with our highly regarded public school.

Hahahahaha. *Points and laughs.*

PP was foolish to believe that any college outcome was guaranteed.

But my kid’s been in person all year, not peering into a screen. I feel like my money was well spent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s puzzling. Most private schools have been in-person or at least hybrid, while the public schools have floundered. Watered down grading, cheating, test optional. I’d be very wary of a 4.5 gpa coming out of a public this year. But, I suppose these colleges aren’t worried about it.

That’s why you aren’t an admissions counselor. You don’t know what you are talking about. For someone who thinks they’re so smart, you sure bought into a lot of incorrect assumptions about alleged lack of rigor in public schools and during distance learning. Not to mention any 4.5 would have been through junior year so DL wasn’t really a factor.

But this idea that public schools lack rigor is idiotic and elitist

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid who is a sophomore at a Big 3 and by that let's say I mean St Albans/NCS, GDS, Sidwell or Maret. I have heard through my school grapevine that this year the kids at the elite privates are having terrible results-
especially the unhooked kids. I have heard that they are negatively affected by test-optional, the elimination of AP's and grade deflation.

Ok please tell me your experiences- Big 3 parents only please...I am not interested in hearing how well your W school kid did, or how stupid you think I am for paying private school tuition.

The rumors are true. It's been horrible. Half a mil in private and ended up exactly where we would have if we stayed with our highly regarded public school.

Hahahahaha. *Points and laughs.*

PP was foolish to believe that any college outcome was guaranteed.

But my kid’s been in person all year, not peering into a screen. I feel like my money was well spent.

Mine peered into a screen and didn’t need to sit in a classroom with peers in order to learn. Less hand holding, more independent work. That was attractive to colleges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am following Instagram accounts for college admittance at Big 3 and they look pretty good to me. Which school is getting slaughtered?

Is it Maret?

STA and GDS are doing really well.

[Anonymous]

Mixed from what I heard at all schools. Kids that are wealthy and connected doing well (2nd tier ivy) but other kids that would have been competitive for ivy previous years not doing Well.

[Anonymous]

My kids’ top private in another city had much better placement in 2020. We will see what 2021 brought but even if it was a slaughter they’ll even out in the end.

At any rate, I earnestly send my kid to private for the education, not the placement. If all I cared about was Ivy placement I’d spend the money on making my kids pointy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid who is a sophomore at a Big 3 and by that let's say I mean St Albans/NCS, GDS, Sidwell or Maret. I have heard through my school grapevine that this year the kids at the elite privates are having terrible results-
especially the unhooked kids. I have heard that they are negatively affected by test-optional, the elimination of AP's and grade deflation.

Ok please tell me your experiences- Big 3 parents only please...I am not interested in hearing how well your W school kid did, or how stupid you think I am for paying private school tuition.

The rumors are true. It's been horrible. Half a mil in private and ended up exactly where we would have if we stayed with our highly regarded public school.

Hahahahaha. *Points and laughs.*

PP was foolish to believe that any college outcome was guaranteed.

But my kid’s been in person all year, not peering into a screen. I feel like my money was well spent.

Mine peered into a screen and didn’t need to sit in a classroom with peers in order to learn. Less hand holding, more independent work. That was attractive to colleges.

Great! So everybody’s happy.

[Anonymous]

I have twins --one at DCPS and one who left for a Big3 school in 7th per the child's request (2 years ago). I'd estimate that the public school kid is learning 20% of what the Big3 kid is learning.
The was pre-pandemic and during the pandemic.
My public school kid is getting high As in all classes and is taking the hardest math the school offers (Algebra 2 in 8th grade). She/he does debate and Model UN and
every academic extracurricular I can make him/her do. However, she/he is skating through school with two 45 minutes classes per day and no school on Wednesdays.
Meanwhile, the Big3 kid is working his/her tail off as usual.

I'm a huge public school advocate (I attended them and my 3 kids have attended them for a total of 28 years of instruction). However, there the difference between
learning between private and our public is insane. I care nothing about prestige and we're not wealthy.
I recognize that the public school kid will probably have better college admissions (which is crazy, given that he/she can barely write) but she/he will likely graduate
with a perfect GPA (barely some sort of academic disaster) while the private school kid will end up with something well under 4.0 but with a far, far deeper and broader
understanding of history and literature and a well developed ability to write and reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it's great!

Signed, the OP of the "we did it right" thread

Thanks, your ten year old advice was spot-on! Very relevant for a black swan year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids’ top private in another city had much better placement in 2020. We will see what 2021 brought but even if it was a slaughter they’ll even out in the end.

At any rate, I earnestly send my kid to private for the education, not the placement. If all I cared about was Ivy placement I’d spend the money on making my kids pointy.

I am a big 3 parent and I admit that I was expecting acceptances to schools ranked in the 25-50 range for my DC. Lots of rejections and waitlists.