Sidwell Junior - GPA concerns

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP You should be worried if your kid is shooting for Ivy's/Stanford/Duke/MIT and even highly selective state schools.

We are at another big 3 and the party line is "All the colleges know how hard our school is and that no one gets all A's" Our kid took the most rigorous classes and had a similar GPA- bit higher and a 1540 SAT plus good ec's etc etc. Guess what - Rejected early at Ivy. Friend with similar stats rejected at Michigan. I know a dozen examples. Yes alums, athletes and URM are still getting in - but the regular "smart" kids who don't have the 4.0 Plus because our schools don't weight and now we don't have AP's are getting shut out.

Things are changing the colleges want the 4.8's and don't care that our schools don't give out 4.0's easily And our schools are too arrogant to acknowledge it. If this continues to play out with lackluster admissions something will hopefully change. Too Late for my kid.

Your kid would have been rejected whether there was grade deflation or not. You don't get it. The only Big 3 kids the T20 want are hooked kids.

I'm still holding out some hope in RD for my 3.85+ kid...but it definitely feels bleak so far.

What is the class rank of 3.85 at Sidwell?

Roughly 20/25

Do you work at Sidwell? I think you made this up. There should not be 20/25 kids above 3.85 if the median is 3.55/3.60.

Did not make it up. Make of it what you will.

How many then at 3.9-4.0?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This class also had the Covid years and grading relaxed during those years or at least kids had a full year of online assessments (i.e things were wacky and kids could cheat, do things as a group, etc).

Cheating!?! Bite your tongue!

The real cheating is the number of kids faking ADHD type conditions and getting accommodations for school and standardized testing, a game that began in Middle School, presumably with payments to pliant psychologists. An alarmingly large number.

You’re not wrong. It’s a tricky game to play because accommodations end up on the transcript

Can anyone whose kids have accommendations confirm this? Sidwell's transcripts show the kids have accommendations, such as extended time?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP You should be worried if your kid is shooting for Ivy's/Stanford/Duke/MIT and even highly selective state schools.

We are at another big 3 and the party line is "All the colleges know how hard our school is and that no one gets all A's" Our kid took the most rigorous classes and had a similar GPA- bit higher and a 1540 SAT plus good ec's etc etc. Guess what - Rejected early at Ivy. Friend with similar stats rejected at Michigan. I know a dozen examples. Yes alums, athletes and URM are still getting in - but the regular "smart" kids who don't have the 4.0 Plus because our schools don't weight and now we don't have AP's are getting shut out.

Things are changing the colleges want the 4.8's and don't care that our schools don't give out 4.0's easily And our schools are too arrogant to acknowledge it. If this continues to play out with lackluster admissions something will hopefully change. Too Late for my kid.

Your kid would have been rejected whether there was grade deflation or not. You don't get it. The only Big 3 kids the T20 want are hooked kids.

I'm still holding out some hope in RD for my 3.85+ kid...but it definitely feels bleak so far.

What is the class rank of 3.85 at Sidwell?

Roughly 20/25

Do you work at Sidwell? I think you made this up. There should not be 20/25 kids above 3.85 if the median is 3.55/3.60.

Did not make it up. Make of it what you will.

How many then at 3.9-4.0?

10-15.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This class also had the Covid years and grading relaxed during those years or at least kids had a full year of online assessments (i.e things were wacky and kids could cheat, do things as a group, etc).

Cheating!?! Bite your tongue!

The real cheating is the number of kids faking ADHD type conditions and getting accommodations for school and standardized testing, a game that began in Middle School, presumably with payments to pliant psychologists. An alarmingly large number.

You’re not wrong. It’s a tricky game to play because accommodations end up on the transcript

Can anyone whose kids have accommendations confirm this? Sidwell's transcripts show the kids have accommendations, such as extended time?

To my knowledge, this is not the case. Likely even be legally prohibited. Accommodations do not show on the transcript. If they did, it would be the end of the accommodations game and most would stop playing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I will say it's interesting to learn that 25% of a Sidwell class (with a 3.85+) manages to go through 4 years without getting a B.

If that many are able to master the curriculum like this then lowering the grading bar just hurts these top kids and muddies the waters for their admissions.

Strictly speaking: You could offset some B+ grades with A grades and still end up at 3.85. But, as such, yes: 3.85 is excellent. Of course, Sidwell is still being hurt a bit, in my view, not by lowering the bar, but by keeping it as high as it is. A 3.85 kid at Sidwell or similar schools in DC should be doing very well in admissions to the very top schools (HYPS). But, this is generally not the case.

If you have 6 classes in a year and get 5 straight As and one B+ you already fall to a 3.83.

A
A
A
A
A
B+
=
3.83

And that means you never even had an A-. A 3.85 allows tiny room for any error

Yes, very true. My personal opinion: This is why top schools don't worry about variations around 3.85/3.9. You hardly want to penalize kids for one bad grade..or some risk they took. Once you clear a basic GPA threshold, other application factors take over.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This class also had the Covid years and grading relaxed during those years or at least kids had a full year of online assessments (i.e things were wacky and kids could cheat, do things as a group, etc).

Cheating!?! Bite your tongue!

The real cheating is the number of kids faking ADHD type conditions and getting accommodations for school and standardized testing, a game that began in Middle School, presumably with payments to pliant psychologists. An alarmingly large number.

You’re not wrong. It’s a tricky game to play because accommodations end up on the transcript

Can anyone whose kids have accommendations confirm this? Sidwell's transcripts show the kids have accommendations, such as extended time?

To my knowledge, this is not the case. Likely even be legally prohibited. Accommodations do not show on the transcript. If they did, it would be the end of the accommodations game and most would stop playing.

Not illegal Section 504 and Title II do not contain specific confidentiality requirements
There’s a way to signal part when the school thinks the parents are pushing it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This class also had the Covid years and grading relaxed during those years or at least kids had a full year of online assessments (i.e things were wacky and kids could cheat, do things as a group, etc).

Cheating!?! Bite your tongue!

The real cheating is the number of kids faking ADHD type conditions and getting accommodations for school and standardized testing, a game that began in Middle School, presumably with payments to pliant psychologists. An alarmingly large number.

You’re not wrong. It’s a tricky game to play because accommodations end up on the transcript

Can anyone whose kids have accommendations confirm this? Sidwell's transcripts show the kids have accommendations, such as extended time?

To my knowledge, this is not the case. Likely even be legally prohibited. Accommodations do not show on the transcript. If they did, it would be the end of the accommodations game and most would stop playing.

Not illegal Section 504 and Title II do not contain specific confidentiality requirements
There’s a way to signal part when the school thinks the parents are pushing it

Good to know. Are you saying that Sidwell does this? Or are your expressing your view that Sidwell should do this? Asking to better understand your post.

[Anonymous]

Troll. If you were at SFS you’d know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP You should be worried if your kid is shooting for Ivy's/Stanford/Duke/MIT and even highly selective state schools.

We are at another big 3 and the party line is "All the colleges know how hard our school is and that no one gets all A's" Our kid took the most rigorous classes and had a similar GPA- bit higher and a 1540 SAT plus good ec's etc etc. Guess what - Rejected early at Ivy. Friend with similar stats rejected at Michigan. I know a dozen examples. Yes alums, athletes and URM are still getting in - but the regular "smart" kids who don't have the 4.0 Plus because our schools don't weight and now we don't have AP's are getting shut out.

Things are changing the colleges want the 4.8's and don't care that our schools don't give out 4.0's easily And our schools are too arrogant to acknowledge it. If this continues to play out with lackluster admissions something will hopefully change. Too Late for my kid.

Your kid would have been rejected whether there was grade deflation or not. You don't get it. The only Big 3 kids the T20 want are hooked kids.

I'm still holding out some hope in RD for my 3.85+ kid...but it definitely feels bleak so far.

What is the class rank of 3.85 at Sidwell?

Roughly 20/25

Do you work at Sidwell? I think you made this up. There should not be 20/25 kids above 3.85 if the median is 3.55/3.60.

Did not make it up. Make of it what you will.

How many then at 3.9-4.0?

10-15.

The PP gave answers of number of students have 3.85 and 3.90 is a troll. It is obvious to see how he gets this:

If the median is 3.55/3.60 (confirmed by the school as other posters claimed), let's take the higher median, 3.60

If the median is 3.60 and there are 120 students in a grade, there are about 60 kids above 3.60,
there are eight 5% from 3.60 to 4.0. So, each 5% has 7.5 students

At 3.85 GPA, you have three 5%, so 7.5*3 = 22.5
At 3.90 GPA, you have two 5%, so 7.5*2 = 15

Hence, the PP determined there are 20/25 kids have 3.85 or above
10-15 kdis have 3.9-4.0

But you cannot distribute students evenly to each 5%. There are way more kids between 3.60 to 3.70 than kids between 3.80 to 3.90

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP You should be worried if your kid is shooting for Ivy's/Stanford/Duke/MIT and even highly selective state schools.

We are at another big 3 and the party line is "All the colleges know how hard our school is and that no one gets all A's" Our kid took the most rigorous classes and had a similar GPA- bit higher and a 1540 SAT plus good ec's etc etc. Guess what - Rejected early at Ivy. Friend with similar stats rejected at Michigan. I know a dozen examples. Yes alums, athletes and URM are still getting in - but the regular "smart" kids who don't have the 4.0 Plus because our schools don't weight and now we don't have AP's are getting shut out.

Things are changing the colleges want the 4.8's and don't care that our schools don't give out 4.0's easily And our schools are too arrogant to acknowledge it. If this continues to play out with lackluster admissions something will hopefully change. Too Late for my kid.

Your kid would have been rejected whether there was grade deflation or not. You don't get it. The only Big 3 kids the T20 want are hooked kids.

I'm still holding out some hope in RD for my 3.85+ kid...but it definitely feels bleak so far.

What is the class rank of 3.85 at Sidwell?

Roughly 20/25

Do you work at Sidwell? I think you made this up. There should not be 20/25 kids above 3.85 if the median is 3.55/3.60.

Did not make it up. Make of it what you will.

How many then at 3.9-4.0?

10-15.

The PP gave answers of number of students have 3.85 and 3.90 is a troll. It is obvious to see how he gets this:

If the median is 3.55/3.60 (confirmed by the school as other posters claimed), let's take the higher median, 3.60

If the median is 3.60 and there are 120 students in a grade, there are about 60 kids above 3.60,
there are eight 5% from 3.60 to 4.0. So, each 5% has 7.5 students

At 3.85 GPA, you have three 5%, so 7.5*3 = 22.5
At 3.90 GPA, you have two 5%, so 7.5*2 = 15

Hence, the PP determined there are 20/25 kids have 3.85 or above
10-15 kdis have 3.9-4.0

But you cannot distribute students evenly to each 5%. There are way more kids between 3.60 to 3.70 than kids between 3.80 to 3.90

And you would know this because you work there?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP You should be worried if your kid is shooting for Ivy's/Stanford/Duke/MIT and even highly selective state schools.

We are at another big 3 and the party line is "All the colleges know how hard our school is and that no one gets all A's" Our kid took the most rigorous classes and had a similar GPA- bit higher and a 1540 SAT plus good ec's etc etc. Guess what - Rejected early at Ivy. Friend with similar stats rejected at Michigan. I know a dozen examples. Yes alums, athletes and URM are still getting in - but the regular "smart" kids who don't have the 4.0 Plus because our schools don't weight and now we don't have AP's are getting shut out.

Things are changing the colleges want the 4.8's and don't care that our schools don't give out 4.0's easily And our schools are too arrogant to acknowledge it. If this continues to play out with lackluster admissions something will hopefully change. Too Late for my kid.

Your kid would have been rejected whether there was grade deflation or not. You don't get it. The only Big 3 kids the T20 want are hooked kids.

I'm still holding out some hope in RD for my 3.85+ kid...but it definitely feels bleak so far.

What is the class rank of 3.85 at Sidwell?

Roughly 20/25

Do you work at Sidwell? I think you made this up. There should not be 20/25 kids above 3.85 if the median is 3.55/3.60.

Did not make it up. Make of it what you will.

How many then at 3.9-4.0?

10-15.

The PP gave answers of number of students have 3.85 and 3.90 is a troll. It is obvious to see how he gets this:

If the median is 3.55/3.60 (confirmed by the school as other posters claimed), let's take the higher median, 3.60

If the median is 3.60 and there are 120 students in a grade, there are about 60 kids above 3.60,
there are eight 5% from 3.60 to 4.0. So, each 5% has 7.5 students

At 3.85 GPA, you have three 5%, so 7.5*3 = 22.5
At 3.90 GPA, you have two 5%, so 7.5*2 = 15

Hence, the PP determined there are 20/25 kids have 3.85 or above
10-15 kdis have 3.9-4.0

But you cannot distribute students evenly to each 5%. There are way more kids between 3.60 to 3.70 than kids between 3.80 to 3.90

I am the PP who gave the previous numbers. And I understand your argument above. It is a good one! However, I can tell you that the mistake you are making is in your final assumption: "There are way more kids between 3.60 to 3.70 than kids between 3.80 to 3.90." This would be true of, say, a Normal distribution. However, the "law of large numbers" does NOT apply here. The sample distribution is non-normal. There is odd bunching between 3.8 and 3.9 in a way that empirically invalidates your assumption. I won't say more as I do not want to "out" myself. Please do check with CCO/Admin, if you can, to confirm this yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP You should be worried if your kid is shooting for Ivy's/Stanford/Duke/MIT and even highly selective state schools.

We are at another big 3 and the party line is "All the colleges know how hard our school is and that no one gets all A's" Our kid took the most rigorous classes and had a similar GPA- bit higher and a 1540 SAT plus good ec's etc etc. Guess what - Rejected early at Ivy. Friend with similar stats rejected at Michigan. I know a dozen examples. Yes alums, athletes and URM are still getting in - but the regular "smart" kids who don't have the 4.0 Plus because our schools don't weight and now we don't have AP's are getting shut out.

Things are changing the colleges want the 4.8's and don't care that our schools don't give out 4.0's easily And our schools are too arrogant to acknowledge it. If this continues to play out with lackluster admissions something will hopefully change. Too Late for my kid.

Your kid would have been rejected whether there was grade deflation or not. You don't get it. The only Big 3 kids the T20 want are hooked kids.

I'm still holding out some hope in RD for my 3.85+ kid...but it definitely feels bleak so far.

What is the class rank of 3.85 at Sidwell?

Roughly 20/25

Do you work at Sidwell? I think you made this up. There should not be 20/25 kids above 3.85 if the median is 3.55/3.60.

Did not make it up. Make of it what you will.

How many then at 3.9-4.0?

10-15.

The PP gave answers of number of students have 3.85 and 3.90 is a troll. It is obvious to see how he gets this:

If the median is 3.55/3.60 (confirmed by the school as other posters claimed), let's take the higher median, 3.60

If the median is 3.60 and there are 120 students in a grade, there are about 60 kids above 3.60,
there are eight 5% from 3.60 to 4.0. So, each 5% has 7.5 students

At 3.85 GPA, you have three 5%, so 7.5*3 = 22.5
At 3.90 GPA, you have two 5%, so 7.5*2 = 15

Hence, the PP determined there are 20/25 kids have 3.85 or above
10-15 kdis have 3.9-4.0

But you cannot distribute students evenly to each 5%. There are way more kids between 3.60 to 3.70 than kids between 3.80 to 3.90

And you would know this because you work there?

Different poster but but for one, it seems really unlikely that there are 7.5 (let's say 8) kids above a 3.95. A 3.95 is all As plus no more than one A minus per year.
Are there really 8 kids in each class like this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP You should be worried if your kid is shooting for Ivy's/Stanford/Duke/MIT and even highly selective state schools.

We are at another big 3 and the party line is "All the colleges know how hard our school is and that no one gets all A's" Our kid took the most rigorous classes and had a similar GPA- bit higher and a 1540 SAT plus good ec's etc etc. Guess what - Rejected early at Ivy. Friend with similar stats rejected at Michigan. I know a dozen examples. Yes alums, athletes and URM are still getting in - but the regular "smart" kids who don't have the 4.0 Plus because our schools don't weight and now we don't have AP's are getting shut out.

Things are changing the colleges want the 4.8's and don't care that our schools don't give out 4.0's easily And our schools are too arrogant to acknowledge it. If this continues to play out with lackluster admissions something will hopefully change. Too Late for my kid.

Your kid would have been rejected whether there was grade deflation or not. You don't get it. The only Big 3 kids the T20 want are hooked kids.

I'm still holding out some hope in RD for my 3.85+ kid...but it definitely feels bleak so far.

What is the class rank of 3.85 at Sidwell?

Roughly 20/25

Do you work at Sidwell? I think you made this up. There should not be 20/25 kids above 3.85 if the median is 3.55/3.60.

Did not make it up. Make of it what you will.

How many then at 3.9-4.0?

10-15.

The PP gave answers of number of students have 3.85 and 3.90 is a troll. It is obvious to see how he gets this:

If the median is 3.55/3.60 (confirmed by the school as other posters claimed), let's take the higher median, 3.60

If the median is 3.60 and there are 120 students in a grade, there are about 60 kids above 3.60,
there are eight 5% from 3.60 to 4.0. So, each 5% has 7.5 students

At 3.85 GPA, you have three 5%, so 7.5*3 = 22.5
At 3.90 GPA, you have two 5%, so 7.5*2 = 15

Hence, the PP determined there are 20/25 kids have 3.85 or above
10-15 kdis have 3.9-4.0

But you cannot distribute students evenly to each 5%. There are way more kids between 3.60 to 3.70 than kids between 3.80 to 3.90

I am the PP who gave the previous numbers. And I understand your argument above. It is a good one! However, I can tell you that the mistake you are making is in your final assumption: "There are way more kids between 3.60 to 3.70 than kids between 3.80 to 3.90." This would be true of, say, a Normal distribution. However, the "law of large numbers" does NOT apply here. The sample distribution is non-normal. There is odd bunching between 3.8 and 3.9 in a way that empirically invalidates your assumption. I won't say more as I do not want to "out" myself. Please do check with CCO/Admin, if you can, to confirm this yourself.

I would bet there is bunching between 3.8 and 3.9 and almost no kids at all about a 3.95. The 3.95+ kids have received all As but a max of one A- per year.

[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 You should be worried if your kid is shooting for Ivy's/Stanford/Duke/MIT and even highly selective state schools.

We are at another big 3 and the party line is "All the colleges know how hard our school is and that no one gets all A's" Our kid took the most rigorous classes and had a similar GPA- bit higher and a 1540 SAT plus good ec's etc etc. Guess what - Rejected early at Ivy. Friend with similar stats rejected at Michigan. I know a dozen examples. Yes alums, athletes and URM are still getting in - but the regular "smart" kids who don't have the 4.0 Plus because our schools don't weight and now we don't have AP's are getting shut out.

Things are changing the colleges want the 4.8's and don't care that our schools don't give out 4.0's easily And our schools are too arrogant to acknowledge it. If this continues to play out with lackluster admissions something will hopefully change. Too Late for my kid.

Your kid would have been rejected whether there was grade deflation or not. You don't get it. The only Big 3 kids the T20 want are hooked kids.

I'm still holding out some hope in RD for my 3.85+ kid...but it definitely feels bleak so far.

What is the class rank of 3.85 at Sidwell?

Roughly 20/25

Do you work at Sidwell? I think you made this up. There should not be 20/25 kids above 3.85 if the median is 3.55/3.60.

Did not make it up. Make of it what you will.

How many then at 3.9-4.0?

10-15.

The PP gave answers of number of students have 3.85 and 3.90 is a troll. It is obvious to see how he gets this:

If the median is 3.55/3.60 (confirmed by the school as other posters claimed), let's take the higher median, 3.60

If the median is 3.60 and there are 120 students in a grade, there are about 60 kids above 3.60,
there are eight 5% from 3.60 to 4.0. So, each 5% has 7.5 students

At 3.85 GPA, you have three 5%, so 7.5*3 = 22.5
At 3.90 GPA, you have two 5%, so 7.5*2 = 15

Hence, the PP determined there are 20/25 kids have 3.85 or above
10-15 kdis have 3.9-4.0

But you cannot distribute students evenly to each 5%. There are way more kids between 3.60 to 3.70 than kids between 3.80 to 3.90

And you would know this because you work there?

Different poster but but for one, it seems really unlikely that there are 7.5 (let's say 8) kids above a 3.95. A 3.95 is all As plus no more than one A minus per year.
Are there really 8 kids in each class like this?

Yes, there are (give or take a couple in any given year).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This class also had the Covid years and grading relaxed during those years or at least kids had a full year of online assessments (i.e things were wacky and kids could cheat, do things as a group, etc).

Cheating!?! Bite your tongue!

The real cheating is the number of kids faking ADHD type conditions and getting accommodations for school and standardized testing, a game that began in Middle School, presumably with payments to pliant psychologists. An alarmingly large number.

You’re not wrong. It’s a tricky game to play because accommodations end up on the transcript

Can anyone whose kids have accommendations confirm this? Sidwell's transcripts show the kids have accommendations, such as extended time?

To my knowledge, this is not the case. Likely even be legally prohibited. Accommodations do not show on the transcript. If they did, it would be the end of the accommodations game and most would stop playing.

Not illegal Section 504 and Title II do not contain specific confidentiality requirements
There’s a way to signal part when the school thinks the parents are pushing it

Troll.

Transcripts
7.
May a transcript for a student with a disability indicate that the student has a disability, has been enrolled in a special education program, or has received special education or related services?
No. A student’s transcript generally is intended to inform postsecondary institutions or prospective employers of a student’s academic credentials and achievements. Information that a student has a disability, or has received special education or related services due to having a disability, does not constitute information about the student’s academic credentials and achievements.

https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague-qa-20081017.html