GDS - Wow!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look, GDS is an elite high school that enrolls lots of kids with connections. Even if they aren’t legacies, they all know people. That’s why these kids do so well with college admissions. The rich get richer. Not exactly a Man Bites Dog story.

Meaning? Their parents somehow pulled strings to get their kids in?

Not quite. Meaning that their privilege is so pervasive in so many ways, large and small, that them having great success in college admissions is preordained. It’s just the way the world works.

Fortunately, in the end it really doesn’t matter that much.

Their parents of these kids are outliers. They kids are bound to be successful.
The number one thing parents should be asking themselves if they want to know if their own kid could/will have this success with college admissions at GDS: "Have I pushed the limits of innovative thinking and success myself?" Sounds like I'm joking but I'm not. I think you either have these genes or you don't.

There are definitely exceptional parents in the group of Harvard admits and the Princeton admit, people who are at the intellectual forefront of this country. People like that also tend to have favors they can call in for their high achieving children; letters they can get written for them etc.

Letters are really frowned upon these days. A trustee at HYP told me that letters are viewed negatively unless coming from a sitting or prior POTUS or SCOTUS type. Anything else viewed as a negative signal.

The committees already know who the parents are, that they are alums, senior people in their fields, big donors. They don’t need a letter to remind them.

Getting a letter from CEO of a public company or someone who runs a think tank could actually hurt an application file or be neutral.

Obviously I’m happy to be wrong on this. And we’ll never really know how it really works.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look, GDS is an elite high school that enrolls lots of kids with connections. Even if they aren’t legacies, they all know people. That’s why these kids do so well with college admissions. The rich get richer. Not exactly a Man Bites Dog story.

Meaning? Their parents somehow pulled strings to get their kids in?

Not quite. Meaning that their privilege is so pervasive in so many ways, large and small, that them having great success in college admissions is preordained. It’s just the way the world works.

Fortunately, in the end it really doesn’t matter that much.

Their parents of these kids are outliers. They kids are bound to be successful.
The number one thing parents should be asking themselves if they want to know if their own kid could/will have this success with college admissions at GDS: "Have I pushed the limits of innovative thinking and success myself?" Sounds like I'm joking but I'm not. I think you either have these genes or you don't.

There are definitely exceptional parents in the group of Harvard admits and the Princeton admit, people who are at the intellectual forefront of this country. People like that also tend to have favors they can call in for their high achieving children; letters they can get written for them etc.

Yes, you and I are arguing the same thing! These are the kids of intellectual and thought leaders who are at the top of their respective careers in the US. if that is not you (and you're "just" a pediatrician or DC law partner or whatever) then these kids' college destinations are probably irrelevant to you and your kids--whether or not your kids attend GDS and even get all As when they're there.

It's pretty much always this way at GDS. Of course we all know about Ketanji Brown Jackson but it's been the case with a number of other Harvard admits in recent years. One was the child of perhaps the top person world-wide in my particular field. These are not ordinary families (or kids).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Crazy that GDS has so many Harvard admits! Doesn’t seem like any other school had ANYONE get in RD to any Ivys last night, much less Harvard. Instagrams very quiet….

I think GDS students set up their insta page set up so students can each post their own announcements. At some schools there are certain students that manage the insta and post for others so the process takes longer.

Nope the site is run by two students who have to receive a detailed form from the student before they post. - GDS senior parent

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At least one of the Harvard admits today is a legacy.

Legacy or whatever - if that's right that's 7 (including 3 EA) this year which is bananas.

Harvard Westlake in Los Angeles sent 13 to Harvard last year.

Harvard-Westlake has a much larger graduating class though

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At least one of the Harvard admits today is a legacy.

Legacy or whatever - if that's right that's 7 (including 3 EA) this year which is bananas.

Harvard Westlake in Los Angeles sent 13 to Harvard last year.

Harvard-Westlake has a much larger graduating class though

Bro if you are going to go there might as well start looking at top NYC schools like Dalton, etc. and Andover/Exeter.

[Anonymous]

GDS’s and Whitman’s results are impressive this year (those are the only two I looked at the instagrams, and I have a kid at Whitman).

I also have a 2023 grad from Whitman who had a lot of friends at GDS, and I think the results everywhere are better this year. Some of this I believe is that the admissions processes for the HS classes of 2021-23 were uniquely impacted by covid. My thoughts on this are ancedotal but I have friends and relatives in NYC-LA and they are reporting the same at their kids’ high schools.

[Anonymous]

Interesting article in the NYT about Harvard’s declining applications.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Interesting article in the NYT about Harvard’s declining applications.

Jewish applications down for sure and also many kids do not want to go to school in such a contentious atmosphere. Several jewish kids attacked on campus.

[Anonymous]

Don’t Kara Swisher’s kids go to GDS? She is famous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don’t Kara Swisher’s kids go to GDS? She is famous.

Neither of her older kids went to Ivies. Which kind of shows that plenty of connected people’s kids don’t go to Harvard. Some of the wealthiest people we know (net worth >$100 million) had kids that went to RISD, USC, Hamilton, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Crazy that GDS has so many Harvard admits! Doesn’t seem like any other school had ANYONE get in RD to any Ivys last night, much less Harvard. Instagrams very quiet….

It's Spring Break.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Interesting article in the NYT about Harvard’s declining applications.

Jewish applications down for sure and also many kids do not want to go to school in such a contentious atmosphere. Several jewish kids attacked on campus.

How do you know this? Or is it just conjecture and personal anecdotes? I have not seen any data about this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Interesting article in the NYT about Harvard’s declining applications.

Harvard still receives more than enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look, GDS is an elite high school that enrolls lots of kids with connections. Even if they aren’t legacies, they all know people. That’s why these kids do so well with college admissions. The rich get richer. Not exactly a Man Bites Dog story.

Meaning? Their parents somehow pulled strings to get their kids in?

Not quite. Meaning that their privilege is so pervasive in so many ways, large and small, that them having great success in college admissions is preordained. It’s just the way the world works.

Fortunately, in the end it really doesn’t matter that much.

Their parents of these kids are outliers. They kids are bound to be successful.
The number one thing parents should be asking themselves if they want to know if their own kid could/will have this success with college admissions at GDS: "Have I pushed the limits of innovative thinking and success myself?" Sounds like I'm joking but I'm not. I think you either have these genes or you don't.

There are definitely exceptional parents in the group of Harvard admits and the Princeton admit, people who are at the intellectual forefront of this country. People like that also tend to have favors they can call in for their high achieving children; letters they can get written for them etc.

Yes, you and I are arguing the same thing! These are the kids of intellectual and thought leaders who are at the top of their respective careers in the US. if that is not you (and you're "just" a pediatrician or DC law partner or whatever) then these kids' college destinations are probably irrelevant to you and your kids--whether or not your kids attend GDS and even get all As when they're there.

It's pretty much always this way at GDS. Of course we all know about Ketanji Brown Jackson but it's been the case with a number of other Harvard admits in recent years. One was the child of perhaps the top person world-wide in my particular field. These are not ordinary families (or kids).

puke

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t Kara Swisher’s kids go to GDS? She is famous.

Neither of her older kids went to Ivies. Which kind of shows that plenty of connected people’s kids don’t go to Harvard. Some of the wealthiest people we know (net worth >$100 million) had kids that went to RISD, USC, Hamilton, etc.

Well, obviously if your family is insanely wealthy, it really doesn’t matter where you go to college