Sidwell College Admissions This Year

[Anonymous]

Parents in general are not posting here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What’s with the TJ crazies here? Thank goodness my kids aren’t at Sidwell or TJ. Both seem pretty toxic to me after reading this thread!

Probably Sidwell parents pretending to be TJ parents. That is what this thread is about; sabotaging others and making them look bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s with the TJ crazies here? Thank goodness my kids aren’t at Sidwell or TJ. Both seem pretty toxic to me after reading this thread!

Probably Sidwell parents pretending to be TJ parents. That is what this thread is about; sabotaging others and making them look bad.

+1

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:What happened with Brown? Why a washout?

An oversized number of kids applied ED and none were admitted and several were rejected outright.

Seems like Brown is sending a message to the Sidwell - you're letting too many apply.

Why is Brown so popular? It's a good school but not stupendously great compared to some others.

Agree why Brown? What about the other top Ivies?

Maybe it's not the top kids that are applying to Brown but the students that are ranked more in the middle. That could explain the big number of students applying.

Well Sidwell did recently have at least 7 students in one year accepted to Yale, maybe based on experience students and their parents felt that it was worth the reach?

Then why the heck are 15 middle kids applying to an ivy that only 1-3 kids will get in to? That makes no sense.

[Anonymous]

Not sidwell parent here hut kid’s college office advised that long shot ED is not working anymore. I took that to mean have very in range stats and pretty compelling application to have a chance. In other words, the days of kids getting in ED with stats below range are gone.

But also, I could see a situation where many sidwell kids were above the box on naviance, plus athletes, maybe? Thinking about my kid’s private and there are probably 15 kids in a combination of the most rigorous classes. As far as legacy goes, I get the sense that can only tip the scales if you are a competitive candidate otherwise (ie, two equal candidates and advantage goes to legacy).

But I have no active knowledge of the sidwell pool.

[Anonymous]

I am a Sidwell parent and the posts on this thread do not at all reflect my, or my close parent friends, views or ways of communicating. TJ is an excellent school, and Sidwell is an excellent school, and there are many, many more additional schools in the area. For my part, if we lived in a TJ jurisdiction, I would have recommended TJ for our son and would have chosen Sidwell for our daughter. On college counseling, we are not there yet so I can’t offer any direct knowledge. I have been impressed, though, with a college counseling offices outreach to the younger grades and our family really appreciates how the kids are encouraged to engage in activities that are meaningful to them and that they can learn from and figure out what their interests may be for the future. I don’t have anything directly useful to add to this discussion other than to state that it is holy dissonant with my experience and our kids experience. We have friends with kids across schools in the area and are glad that there are lots of options, including TJ. The whole town of this thread isn’t at all consistent with what I experience day to day in the Sidwell community. My husband and I are very thankful for the educational opportunities our kids are receiving and are glad that this area has so many terrific schools that offer such a wide range of experience to the next generation. Wishing everyone well and I’m sincerely hoping that this thread is representative of a small minority on all sides.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What happened with Brown? Why a washout?

An oversized number of kids applied ED and none were admitted and several were rejected outright.

Seems like Brown is sending a message to the Sidwell - you're letting too many apply.

Why is Brown so popular? It's a good school but not stupendously great compared to some others.

Agree why Brown? What about the other top Ivies?

Maybe it's not the top kids that are applying to Brown but the students that are ranked more in the middle. That could explain the big number of students applying.

Well Sidwell did recently have at least 7 students in one year accepted to Yale, maybe based on experience students and their parents felt that it was worth the reach?

Then why the heck are 15 middle kids applying to an ivy that only 1-3 kids will get in to? That makes no sense.

I have no idea about this specific incident, but can college offices really say to students, "X and Y are applying, so your chances are slim to none"? I would love to hear from folks with experience on how this is handled at schools, including boarding, where the school restricts the number of applicants to HYSM, etc.

[Anonymous]

They can say "you have over 10 classmates considering this school for ED, you may want to go with a different option"

But that doesn't mean that kid won't still apply ED to that school, because everyone thinks they may have a shot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What happened with Brown? Why a washout?

An oversized number of kids applied ED and none were admitted and several were rejected outright.

Seems like Brown is sending a message to the Sidwell - you're letting too many apply.

Why is Brown so popular? It's a good school but not stupendously great compared to some others.

Agree why Brown? What about the other top Ivies?

Maybe it's not the top kids that are applying to Brown but the students that are ranked more in the middle. That could explain the big number of students applying.

Well Sidwell did recently have at least 7 students in one year accepted to Yale, maybe based on experience students and their parents felt that it was worth the reach?

Then why the heck are 15 middle kids applying to an ivy that only 1-3 kids will get in to? That makes no sense.

I have no idea about this specific incident, but can college offices really say to students, "X and Y are applying, so your chances are slim to none"? I would love to hear from folks with experience on how this is handled at schools, including boarding, where the school restricts the number of applicants to HYSM, etc.

My kid’s private school said they will make recommendations on where to apply, including ED strategy (starting with schools in which kid is interested). And, I have heard anecdotally of situations where they tell kid that other stronger stats kids are applying too (of course not specifics). But they also told us they would support whatever application son wants to make. We are happy for the intel and figure follow the strategy, lol.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What happened with Brown? Why a washout?

An oversized number of kids applied ED and none were admitted and several were rejected outright.

Seems like Brown is sending a message to the Sidwell - you're letting too many apply.

Why is Brown so popular? It's a good school but not stupendously great compared to some others.

Agree why Brown? What about the other top Ivies?

Maybe it's not the top kids that are applying to Brown but the students that are ranked more in the middle. That could explain the big number of students applying.

Well Sidwell did recently have at least 7 students in one year accepted to Yale, maybe based on experience students and their parents felt that it was worth the reach?

Then why the heck are 15 middle kids applying to an ivy that only 1-3 kids will get in to? That makes no sense.

I have no idea about this specific incident, but can college offices really say to students, "X and Y are applying, so your chances are slim to none"? I would love to hear from folks with experience on how this is handled at schools, including boarding, where the school restricts the number of applicants to HYSM, etc.

My kid’s private school said they will make recommendations on where to apply, including ED strategy (starting with schools in which kid is interested). And, I have heard anecdotally of situations where they tell kid that other stronger stats kids are applying too (of course not specifics). But they also told us they would support whatever application son wants to make. We are happy for the intel and figure follow the strategy, lol.

DC not @ Sidwell, but a similar private in another city. College counselor was fairly frank with DC, who didn't always want to hear it. But it sunk in at some point and DC chose ED accordingly. If DC had regrets - was one of first to get in ED - that evaporated when no one got in to the two schools DC would probably have described as "dream" schools. DC even shocked when that news came out as they were - on paper - strong students and stronger than DC.

Will be interesting to see what happens for what will be the college class of 2027. Good friend's DC already working on list - one of those type of kids. While clearly in the far upper strata of students in that class, this DC is being very deliberate on constructing a reach/target/safety list from the very start and is going to see targets/safeties first.

GL to all seniors (and their parents) who are still waiting!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They can say "you have over 10 classmates considering this school for ED, you may want to go with a different option"

But that doesn't mean that kid won't still apply ED to that school, because everyone thinks they may have a shot.

At elite schools like sidwell, how do they not have relationships with elite admissions officers to get pre-reads?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They can say "you have over 10 classmates considering this school for ED, you may want to go with a different option"

But that doesn't mean that kid won't still apply ED to that school, because everyone thinks they may have a shot.

At elite schools like sidwell, how do they not have relationships with elite admissions officers to get pre-reads?

College admissions offices are so under-staffed, can’t even finish reading submitted applications these days.

[Anonymous]

I have a child who graduated from Stuyvesant HS in NYC, which is a large, public, test-in school. Parents and kids were given full access to Naviance and we found it really helpful in generating a college list. It was packed with data for the school and really good information. I'm really surprised that Sidwell doesn't give parents full access to Naviance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They can say "you have over 10 classmates considering this school for ED, you may want to go with a different option"

But that doesn't mean that kid won't still apply ED to that school, because everyone thinks they may have a shot.

At elite schools like sidwell, how do they not have relationships with elite admissions officers to get pre-reads?

College admissions offices are so under-staffed, can’t even finish reading submitted applications these days.

It's usually the regional reps that you reach out to, not the AD. It's their job, so no, they aren't too busy to take those calls. Even students can call them. When you go on a tour, you are given the business card of your regional rep.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a child who graduated from Stuyvesant HS in NYC, which is a large, public, test-in school. Parents and kids were given full access to Naviance and we found it really helpful in generating a college list. It was packed with data for the school and really good information. I'm really surprised that Sidwell doesn't give parents full access to Naviance.

Who else wants to inveigh against the highly constrained Naviance policy now in effect at Sidwell Friends? Bronx Science? Poly Prep???