New STA parent seeking advice, suggestions, or just plain "I wish I had known X" info

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lets clarify the prior entry. Some kids at STA do get straight A's, but they need to be very bright and very hard-working to get those results. Other kids get mostly C's and a few B's. There is a normal distribution and there is NO grade inflation. Current kids are compared against the achievement of former graduates, not just thier current classmates.

Is it true that high schoolers still get into top 20 colleges with more than one c on their report cards? Are these mainly recruited athletes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lets clarify the prior entry. Some kids at STA do get straight A's, but they need to be very bright and very hard-working to get those results. Other kids get mostly C's and a few B's. There is a normal distribution and there is NO grade inflation. Current kids are compared against the achievement of former graduates, not just thier current classmates.

Is it true that high schoolers still get into top 20 colleges with more than one c on their report cards? Are these mainly recruited athletes?

I think you would have to ask a college counselor for this type of information. There are so many variables, such as whether the C grade was in 9th grade, followed by very strong work in the upper class years. And yes, whether or not a particular student is recruited for a sport is an important variable. My own sense is that if there is a strong upward trajectory and some real excellence in one or more academic subjects, an early C is not a killer for competitive colleges. But that is just based on anecdotal evidence and a college counselor can tell you more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lets clarify the prior entry. Some kids at STA do get straight A's, but they need to be very bright and very hard-working to get those results. Other kids get mostly C's and a few B's. There is a normal distribution and there is NO grade inflation. Current kids are compared against the achievement of former graduates, not just thier current classmates.

Is it true that high schoolers still get into top 20 colleges with more than one c on their report cards? Are these mainly recruited athletes?

Mine did. Wasn't a recruit. Fairly stereotypical STA boy. Even some top schools seem to adjust their curve for STA, given the overall strength of the student population, if the boards, sports and extra curriculars are solid. There are so many factors colleges look to in assembling a class that's well rounded, they don't just rank and stack by a few data points. My sense is an average STA kid has a bit better than a B, most have very good boards, and most have some talents that are well developed that top schools find attractive, so most end up at top 20 or 30 schools.

[Anonymous]

How good is college counseling for the bottom half? In other words, do they advocate strongly for the best schools, or do they either ignore you or relegate you to the bottom feeder schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How good is college counseling for the bottom half? In other words, do they advocate strongly for the best schools, or do they either ignore you or relegate you to the bottom feeder schools?

I have found it quite good. They do really spend a lot of time with each student, and the guys in the bottom half may be the ones who benefit most from getting feedback on their essays, for example. I like their approach. I also think they "get boys" -- that they will procrastinate and not "do what they are supposed to" in terms of checklists or deadlines but may still be feeling great anxiety over the college applications process. I like that they don't assume the disorganized or procrastinating kid is not worthy of time/attention/TLC.

[Anonymous]

What is the experience like for boarders?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is the experience like for boarders?

I think it depends a lot on where, geographically, the student is from. Some students are from the area but have a difficult commute, and it is sort of a "five day boarding" type program where they may go home most weekends. There are some international kids or kids not from this region who would not fall into the "five day boarding" sort of category. I think for those students, many will end up forming friendships with St. Albans kids and often going home with them for the weekends. It's a different experience from a school that has as its dominant identity "boarding school with some days students" -- St. Albans is definitely a "day school with boarders" -- but the boarding kids seem fully socially integrated and seem to have a very good experience. There are not a lot of boarding schools in this area, and DC has a lot to offer, so it is an intriguing option under some circumstances but it is also different from the classic "New England boarding school experience" (which can be fantastic). Episcopal High School is very highly regarded by families who have gone there, and for a girl Madeira is a very positive option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lets clarify the prior entry. Some kids at STA do get straight A's, but they need to be very bright and very hard-working to get those results. Other kids get mostly C's and a few B's. There is a normal distribution and there is NO grade inflation. Current kids are compared against the achievement of former graduates, not just thier current classmates.

Is it true that high schoolers still get into top 20 colleges with more than one c on their report cards? Are these mainly recruited athletes?

Sure - and some STA boys with no C's end up at schools like Indiana because that is the best fit for them. About 20% of the typical graduating class will end up in "Top 20" colleges - which seems to be higher than any other school in the area - though most don't publish matriculation stats.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lets clarify the prior entry. Some kids at STA do get straight A's, but they need to be very bright and very hard-working to get those results. Other kids get mostly C's and a few B's. There is a normal distribution and there is NO grade inflation. Current kids are compared against the achievement of former graduates, not just thier current classmates.

Is it true that high schoolers still get into top 20 colleges with more than one c on their report cards? Are these mainly recruited athletes?

Sure - and some STA boys with no C's end up at schools like Indiana because that is the best fit for them. About 20% of the typical graduating class will end up in "Top 20" colleges - which seems to be higher than any other school in the area - though most don't publish matriculation stats.

With the caveat that these kids are getting into college on their own merits -- they were bright and talented when they got to high school -- the above numbers are actually low. For at least the past 5 years, 20% or more of the graduating class has gone to the Ivies/Stanford. St. Albans has a graduating class of 75 most years, so 15 kids matriculating at the Ivies/Stanford is 20% of the class. If you expand the list to "top 20 schools," pulling in places like Duke, UChicago (both of which rank higher than the Ivies on a number of charts), Northwestern, etc., then the percentage of the St. Albans class going to a "top 20 school" is considerably higher than 20%.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lets clarify the prior entry. Some kids at STA do get straight A's, but they need to be very bright and very hard-working to get those results. Other kids get mostly C's and a few B's. There is a normal distribution and there is NO grade inflation. Current kids are compared against the achievement of former graduates, not just thier current classmates.

Is it true that high schoolers still get into top 20 colleges with more than one c on their report cards? Are these mainly recruited athletes?

Sure - and some STA boys with no C's end up at schools like Indiana because that is the best fit for them. About 20% of the typical graduating class will end up in "Top 20" colleges - which seems to be higher than any other school in the area - though most don't publish matriculation stats.

With the caveat that these kids are getting into college on their own merits -- they were bright and talented when they got to high school -- the above numbers are actually low. For at least the past 5 years, 20% or more of the graduating class has gone to the Ivies/Stanford. St. Albans has a graduating class of 75 most years, so 15 kids matriculating at the Ivies/Stanford is 20% of the class. If you expand the list to "top 20 schools," pulling in places like Duke, UChicago (both of which rank higher than the Ivies on a number of charts), Northwestern, etc., then the percentage of the St. Albans class going to a "top 20 school" is considerably higher than 20%.

St Albans doesn't release its year on year matriculation list, but there has been some suggestion that it is not as PP suggests above. 20% is probably about right if you say "Top20" is USNEWS Top 15 national +Top 5 SLAC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lets clarify the prior entry. Some kids at STA do get straight A's, but they need to be very bright and very hard-working to get those results. Other kids get mostly C's and a few B's. There is a normal distribution and there is NO grade inflation. Current kids are compared against the achievement of former graduates, not just thier current classmates.

Is it true that high schoolers still get into top 20 colleges with more than one c on their report cards? Are these mainly recruited athletes?

Sure - and some STA boys with no C's end up at schools like Indiana because that is the best fit for them. About 20% of the typical graduating class will end up in "Top 20" colleges - which seems to be higher than any other school in the area - though most don't publish matriculation stats.

With the caveat that these kids are getting into college on their own merits -- they were bright and talented when they got to high school -- the above numbers are actually low. For at least the past 5 years, 20% or more of the graduating class has gone to the Ivies/Stanford. St. Albans has a graduating class of 75 most years, so 15 kids matriculating at the Ivies/Stanford is 20% of the class. If you expand the list to "top 20 schools," pulling in places like Duke, UChicago (both of which rank higher than the Ivies on a number of charts), Northwestern, etc., then the percentage of the St. Albans class going to a "top 20 school" is considerably higher than 20%.

St Albans doesn't release its year on year matriculation list, but there has been some suggestion that it is not as PP suggests above. 20% is probably about right if you say "Top20" is USNEWS Top 15 national +Top 5 SLAC.

People have posted past matriculation lists that were accurate -- I think there's a thread that said something like "great college admissions year at St. Albans" that had a recent year posted that looked accurate to me. Last year (class of '13) out of the class of 75 I believe that 12 boys matriculated at HYP alone -- you only need 3 more at an Ivy (and they had more than 3) to hit 20% for just the Ivy League. I think the 20% figure sounds high to people but if you translate it into 15 boys it is not unreasonable, particularly given that STA has lots of National Merit Semifinalists, legacies, sports recruits, etc. There is a wide range of colleges represented but the top 20 schools percentage is high.

It's not that relevant a discussion, in my view, other than for the point that (1) there are a lot of talented students at St. Albans, as is the case at a number of other independent and public schools in this region; and (2) the relatively high numbers who get into a school like Harvard or Yale (I've seen the numbers as an alumni interview for my college) suggest that the colleges are quite familiar with the local independent schools and do not artificially only take 1-2 kids. But if your child (like mine) is not a NMSF straight-A kind of kid, those schools really won't be an option anyway. However, with the benefit of Naviance it's much easier to get a sense of what schools your student will have a good chance at.

[Anonymous]

There are a lot of unofficial numbers thrown around, but these have been shot down or proved to be five year lists. The fact is STA does release it's matriculation list and anyone who says they do is blowing smoke.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are a lot of unofficial numbers thrown around, but these have been shot down or proved to be five year lists. The fact is STA does release it's matriculation list and anyone who says they do is blowing smoke.

I don't think anyone has said the school has released an official list. I have in past years seen a list compiled by students in the student newspaper and assume the occasional DCUM lists that pop up are drawn from that. I don't think it's a good idea to share that information on DCUM, and obviously it's not verifiable either. Furthermore, as they say for mutual funds, past performance is no guarantee of future performance, so such lists are of limited utility.

[Anonymous]

Tell me anything and everything about the transition from middle school to upper school, please.

[Anonymous]

I just think it's wrong to fuel false expectations that STA is a ticket to admission to a Top 20 college. No college admission officer has ever gone on record to say that they favor students from STA over other schools. Moreover, once you take away legacies, affirmative action beneficiaries and athletes, the odds are quite long.

Choose STA for the right reasons, but don't be tricked into thinking STA is a ticket to the Top 20.