After all the drama, Big3 college admissions are really as strong as ever this year

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is at NCS.
From what I can tell:
20% Ivies
10% U of Chicago
10% other top 20 universities
10% top 10 liberal arts colleges
Etc.
That is 50% of the class into TOP20 colleges/universities. Minimum.

Even with the deflated GPAs (well under 4.0), almost no APs, etc.

STA is similar.
Sidwell has pretty much gotten the entire class in top50 schools.
GDS is a bit uneven.

Am I the only one that actually thinks the %age going to top 20 schools should be much higher than 50%?

Curious if anyone knows the %age from 10 or 20 years ago.

No. Why should going to a freaking $50,000/year private high school entitle you to go to a top 20 school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is at NCS.
From what I can tell:
20% Ivies
10% U of Chicago
10% other top 20 universities
10% top 10 liberal arts colleges
Etc.
That is 50% of the class into TOP20 colleges/universities. Minimum.

Even with the deflated GPAs (well under 4.0), almost no APs, etc.

STA is similar.
Sidwell has pretty much gotten the entire class in top50 schools.
GDS is a bit uneven.

Am I the only one that actually thinks the %age going to top 20 schools should be much higher than 50%?

Curious if anyone knows the %age from 10 or 20 years ago.

No. Why should going to a freaking $50,000/year private high school entitle you to go to a top 20 school?

You are missing the point…OP is bragging that the school did so well with top 20 admissions…I thought they were going to say 80%+ were accepted Top 20…50% is fine, but I bet it was much higher in previous years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is at NCS.
From what I can tell:
20% Ivies
10% U of Chicago
10% other top 20 universities
10% top 10 liberal arts colleges
Etc.
That is 50% of the class into TOP20 colleges/universities. Minimum.

Even with the deflated GPAs (well under 4.0), almost no APs, etc.

STA is similar.
Sidwell has pretty much gotten the entire class in top50 schools.
GDS is a bit uneven.

Am I the only one that actually thinks the %age going to top 20 schools should be much higher than 50%?

Curious if anyone knows the %age from 10 or 20 years ago.

No. Why should going to a freaking $50,000/year private high school entitle you to go to a top 20 school?

You are missing the point…OP is bragging that the school did so well with top 20 admissions…I thought they were going to say 80%+ were accepted Top 20…50% is fine, but I bet it was much higher in previous years.

Not pp but I don’t think t20 colleges are accepting 50% of a particular high school’s class anymore. The admissions landscape & priorities have changed dramatically over the past 10-20 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is at NCS.
From what I can tell:
20% Ivies
10% U of Chicago
10% other top 20 universities
10% top 10 liberal arts colleges
Etc.
That is 50% of the class into TOP20 colleges/universities. Minimum.

Even with the deflated GPAs (well under 4.0), almost no APs, etc.

STA is similar.
Sidwell has pretty much gotten the entire class in top50 schools.
GDS is a bit uneven.

Am I the only one that actually thinks the %age going to top 20 schools should be much higher than 50%?

Curious if anyone knows the %age from 10 or 20 years ago.

No. Why should going to a freaking $50,000/year private high school entitle you to go to a top 20 school?

You are missing the point…OP is bragging that the school did so well with top 20 admissions…I thought they were going to say 80%+ were accepted Top 20…50% is fine, but I bet it was much higher in previous years.

Not pp but I don’t think t20 colleges are accepting 50% of a particular high school’s class anymore. The admissions landscape & priorities have changed dramatically over the past 10-20 years.

Yeah, but we are only talking about 40 kids. Remove U Chicago and it is 36 kids at 19 colleges. NCS and STA have done a great job tightening the relationship with U Chicago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is at NCS.
From what I can tell:
20% Ivies
10% U of Chicago
10% other top 20 universities
10% top 10 liberal arts colleges
Etc.
That is 50% of the class into TOP20 colleges/universities. Minimum.

Even with the deflated GPAs (well under 4.0), almost no APs, etc.

STA is similar.
Sidwell has pretty much gotten the entire class in top50 schools.
GDS is a bit uneven.

Am I the only one that actually thinks the %age going to top 20 schools should be much higher than 50%?

Curious if anyone knows the %age from 10 or 20 years ago.

No. Why should going to a freaking $50,000/year private high school entitle you to go to a top 20 school?

You are missing the point…OP is bragging that the school did so well with top 20 admissions…I thought they were going to say 80%+ were accepted Top 20…50% is fine, but I bet it was much higher in previous years.

Not pp but I don’t think t20 colleges are accepting 50% of a particular high school’s class anymore. The admissions landscape & priorities have changed dramatically over the past 10-20 years.

Yeah, but we are only talking about 40 kids. Remove U Chicago and it is 36 kids at 19 colleges. NCS and STA have done a great job tightening the relationship with U Chicago.

32 kids at 19 colleges.

[Anonymous]

The title of this post is BS. GDS parent here and GDS had a bad year. No going to lie or sugar coat it- last year was stellar, this year is not anywhere near that in terms of ivy league and top 15 schools. Lackluster overall. Of course the school's party line is that this was a "weak class" which is not true. Maybe less connected than last year i.e. no Supreme Court Justice's kids... but not weak. I know for a fact Sidwell and St Albans also had worse years than in the past despite the boosterism in these posts.

I think GDS's arrogance (and this goes for the other Big 3's as well) in thinking that all the colleges "know how hard GDS is" is coming home to roost. Nope. They don't know and don't care that many GDS teachers don't give A's. And our kids are seeing the impact. Case in point: Kids with 36 and 35 ACT or 1570 SAT's with high (for GDS) GPA's in the most rigorous classes (we don't have AP's anymore) are getting shut out at schools they would have gotten into 5 years ago. It's a new world, and GDS needs to keep up with the competition- which in part, is public school kids with 5.0 weighted GPA's. I'm not knocking the public schools or even saying the grade inflation is a bad thing, it's just that colleges are not comparing apples with apples when it comes to rigor. GDS kids are not getting credit for how ridiculously hard the classes are. And frankly, yes, I'm happy my kid will be well prepared but getting into a good college that is a good match for them is ALSO part of the equation of sending your kid to private. At this point I actually feel being in a private is a negative when it comes to the admissions game. Whether or not it will be a positive as my kid moves through life, who knows.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op seems to be exaggerating a bit as Sidwell list looks good but definitely has schools outside T50.

Much of the impressive Sidwell list is hooked.

You have no firsthand knowledge to back up this claim. There’s no way in the world you know where all of their parents attended college. None…so stop it.

LinkedIn & the internet in general exist. You search the last name & “DC” and, say, Dartmouth alumni dinner attendance lists come up.

Complete BS. At least half of Sidwell’s posted Ivy admits have common surnames, are not URMs, and do not mention sports in the future college plans. There’s zero chance that you can be certain that Sidwell student, “John Robinson,” (fictional name) is a Brown University legacy. There are simply too many Robinsons in DC. Further, John Robinson’s parents may actually live and work in Maryland or Virginia.

As a Sidwell insider, you can be quite certain, however.

You’re a Sidwell insider who has to use LinkedIn and internet searches to find parental information? Mmmkay.

Once again, complete and utter BS. Sidwell doesn’t ask about parents’ education background on admissions applications. The only way that administrators, teachers, other students, and you would know the parents’ colleges is if they ask the students. You DID not ask all of the aforementioned students for that information.

Now, get off Al Gore’s internet and go do something productive with your Sunday.

What?? You do realize that parents talk to each other, right? And aren't necessarily secretive about their backgrounds?

Np. Sidwell asks about parents’ educations and work profiles on applications (standard for private schools) and I frequently Google search the parents of the kids who I go to school with…Why not? If someone mentions that all their siblings went to Georgetown or something like that I’ll Google to see if their family donated a building (this actually happened and their family did donate a building).

My rising 9th grader applied/was accepted to Sidwell this past March. There are exactly zero questions on Sidwell’s application that ask where the applicant’s parents attended school. ZERO

You have not even joined the school and you are yapping like some expert.

In 11th and 12th grade, the college counselors ask for this information blatantly.

Unlike you I have string reading comprehension skills. I replied to the post that stated that Sidwell asks about APPLICANTS’ parents college attendance on the admissions application. That statement is blatantly and demonstrably false. Period.

I'm not the PP - but I am pretty sure our application asked these details but that was pre-COVID

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The title of this post is BS. GDS parent here and GDS had a bad year. No going to lie or sugar coat it- last year was stellar, this year is not anywhere near that in terms of ivy league and top 15 schools. Lackluster overall. Of course the school's party line is that this was a "weak class" which is not true. Maybe less connected than last year i.e. no Supreme Court Justice's kids... but not weak. I know for a fact Sidwell and St Albans also had worse years than in the past despite the boosterism in these posts.

I think GDS's arrogance (and this goes for the other Big 3's as well) in thinking that all the colleges "know how hard GDS is" is coming home to roost. Nope. They don't know and don't care that many GDS teachers don't give A's. And our kids are seeing the impact. Case in point: Kids with 36 and 35 ACT or 1570 SAT's with high (for GDS) GPA's in the most rigorous classes (we don't have AP's anymore) are getting shut out at schools they would have gotten into 5 years ago. It's a new world, and GDS needs to keep up with the competition- which in part, is public school kids with 5.0 weighted GPA's. I'm not knocking the public schools or even saying the grade inflation is a bad thing, it's just that colleges are not comparing apples with apples when it comes to rigor. GDS kids are not getting credit for how ridiculously hard the classes are. And frankly, yes, I'm happy my kid will be well prepared but getting into a good college that is a good match for them is ALSO part of the equation of sending your kid to private. At this point I actually feel being in a private is a negative when it comes to the admissions game. Whether or not it will be a positive as my kid moves through life, who knows.

At a different Big 3 and agree. I have no problem with the rigor or even the grading. But these schools need to add back some sort of weighting into their GPA and provide weighted rankings (even if that ranking is just for colleges to see) so AOs can get a better sense of what the kid did at their own school. Many kids were accepted at competitive schools despite taking the less rigorous path.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The title of this post is BS. GDS parent here and GDS had a bad year. No going to lie or sugar coat it- last year was stellar, this year is not anywhere near that in terms of ivy league and top 15 schools. Lackluster overall. Of course the school's party line is that this was a "weak class" which is not true. Maybe less connected than last year i.e. no Supreme Court Justice's kids... but not weak. I know for a fact Sidwell and St Albans also had worse years than in the past despite the boosterism in these posts.

I think GDS's arrogance (and this goes for the other Big 3's as well) in thinking that all the colleges "know how hard GDS is" is coming home to roost. Nope. They don't know and don't care that many GDS teachers don't give A's. And our kids are seeing the impact. Case in point: Kids with 36 and 35 ACT or 1570 SAT's with high (for GDS) GPA's in the most rigorous classes (we don't have AP's anymore) are getting shut out at schools they would have gotten into 5 years ago. It's a new world, and GDS needs to keep up with the competition- which in part, is public school kids with 5.0 weighted GPA's. I'm not knocking the public schools or even saying the grade inflation is a bad thing, it's just that colleges are not comparing apples with apples when it comes to rigor. GDS kids are not getting credit for how ridiculously hard the classes are. And frankly, yes, I'm happy my kid will be well prepared but getting into a good college that is a good match for them is ALSO part of the equation of sending your kid to private. At this point I actually feel being in a private is a negative when it comes to the admissions game. Whether or not it will be a positive as my kid moves through life, who knows.

The identical post could have been written by me (Maret parent). I know we are more of a top 10 DC school but we had the same experience this year. We are "URM" and did better than many but friends are not happy. Yes, there are some good acceptances but each is a major hook trust me. There is a very different story happening with these local public school kids in my friend's peer group where the unhooked are getting great results (Top 5, Top 10).

[Anonymous]

To Maret and GDS parents above - setting admissions aside - are your kids glad they attended Maret/GDS? Did they enjoy the experience, teachers, classmates? I know it was tricky because of COVID (especially those who started in 9th) - so I understand that there is also that factor.

This is a genuine question - trying to determine HS placement in next few years for our younger children - already familiar with Sidwell/STA-NCS.

[Anonymous]

Another parent from another DMV school: the shift away from APs has hurt these students. Families are told the schools know the rigor of your curriculum. Maybe they do, but how much do they care when they spend a couple of minutes on each application? And if you want to apply to the UC schools or ones abroad, good luck without any APs.

A little more guidance early on would have been helpful.

But yes, I'm very happy about the education and opportunities dc has received at this DMV independent school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To Maret and GDS parents above - setting admissions aside - are your kids glad they attended Maret/GDS? Did they enjoy the experience, teachers, classmates? I know it was tricky because of COVID (especially those who started in 9th) - so I understand that there is also that factor.

This is a genuine question - trying to determine HS placement in next few years for our younger children - already familiar with Sidwell/STA-NCS.

GDS is hard to get into. We were waitlisted but got into Maret. Nice experience. Not top academics. If you want "the best" college admissions and unhooked I would not recommend it. Also, the head is Whittle head so we are glad this is our last year. Lot's of discussion on this one.

[Anonymous]

My very hot take is private school admissions for middle of the pack private school kids seem great and better than their public school peers. I know a lot of kids who are bright but didn’t take the hardest classes (though I am sure they worked a lot too) and are getting into T50 and too public flagships. I also think the academic kids had top 20 choices or close to with a lot of merit money but Ivies and top 10 schools were tough without a hook -which makes sense because the admissions rates are sub 7%.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The title of this post is BS. GDS parent here and GDS had a bad year. No going to lie or sugar coat it- last year was stellar, this year is not anywhere near that in terms of ivy league and top 15 schools. Lackluster overall. Of course the school's party line is that this was a "weak class" which is not true. Maybe less connected than last year i.e. no Supreme Court Justice's kids... but not weak. I know for a fact Sidwell and St Albans also had worse years than in the past despite the boosterism in these posts.

I think GDS's arrogance (and this goes for the other Big 3's as well) in thinking that all the colleges "know how hard GDS is" is coming home to roost. Nope. They don't know and don't care that many GDS teachers don't give A's. And our kids are seeing the impact. Case in point: Kids with 36 and 35 ACT or 1570 SAT's with high (for GDS) GPA's in the most rigorous classes (we don't have AP's anymore) are getting shut out at schools they would have gotten into 5 years ago. It's a new world, and GDS needs to keep up with the competition- which in part, is public school kids with 5.0 weighted GPA's. I'm not knocking the public schools or even saying the grade inflation is a bad thing, it's just that colleges are not comparing apples with apples when it comes to rigor. GDS kids are not getting credit for how ridiculously hard the classes are. And frankly, yes, I'm happy my kid will be well prepared but getting into a good college that is a good match for them is ALSO part of the equation of sending your kid to private. At this point I actually feel being in a private is a negative when it comes to the admissions game. Whether or not it will be a positive as my kid moves through life, who knows.

You answered your own question. The colleges and universities are not looking for "average smart" upper middle class white kids unless there is some compelling story. The difference in GPA between a 3.85 GDS kid and a 4.4 Whitman kid is not going to make a difference to an admissions officer committee.

This isn't GDS, Sidwell, STA/NCS's fault. It is a changing world. Anyone choosing these schools for college admissions is choosing for the wrong reason. The schools are not undermining the applicants chances, but it isn't 1975 where 50% of the classes were going to Ivy's.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op seems to be exaggerating a bit as Sidwell list looks good but definitely has schools outside T50.

Much of the impressive Sidwell list is hooked.

You have no firsthand knowledge to back up this claim. There’s no way in the world you know where all of their parents attended college. None…so stop it.

LinkedIn & the internet in general exist. You search the last name & “DC” and, say, Dartmouth alumni dinner attendance lists come up.

Complete BS. At least half of Sidwell’s posted Ivy admits have common surnames, are not URMs, and do not mention sports in the future college plans. There’s zero chance that you can be certain that Sidwell student, “John Robinson,” (fictional name) is a Brown University legacy. There are simply too many Robinsons in DC. Further, John Robinson’s parents may actually live and work in Maryland or Virginia.

As a Sidwell insider, you can be quite certain, however.

You’re a Sidwell insider who has to use LinkedIn and internet searches to find parental information? Mmmkay.

Once again, complete and utter BS. Sidwell doesn’t ask about parents’ education background on admissions applications. The only way that administrators, teachers, other students, and you would know the parents’ colleges is if they ask the students. You DID not ask all of the aforementioned students for that information.

Now, get off Al Gore’s internet and go do something productive with your Sunday.

What?? You do realize that parents talk to each other, right? And aren't necessarily secretive about their backgrounds?

Np. Sidwell asks about parents’ educations and work profiles on applications (standard for private schools) and I frequently Google search the parents of the kids who I go to school with…Why not? If someone mentions that all their siblings went to Georgetown or something like that I’ll Google to see if their family donated a building (this actually happened and their family did donate a building).

My rising 9th grader applied/was accepted to Sidwell this past March. There are exactly zero questions on Sidwell’s application that ask where the applicant’s parents attended school. ZERO

You have not even joined the school and you are yapping like some expert.

In 11th and 12th grade, the college counselors ask for this information blatantly.

Unlike you I have strong reading comprehension skills. I replied to the post that stated that Sidwell asks about APPLICANTS’ parents college attendance on the admissions application. That statement is blatantly and demonstrably false. Period.

I'm not the PP - but I am pretty sure our application asked these details but that was pre-COVID

Things have changed because we just applied this year. There were no questions on the admissions application that asked about the parents’ education.