Ranking privates academic rigor

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please stop trying to rank schools. It's meaningless.

My son’s highly ranked second best all-boys school in DC has not been better than private apart from smaller class size. Academics not better, clubs and opportunities not better, writing curicullum is worse.

I’ve read this like five times and literally can’t follow. Would someone please translate what is meant by the “second best all boys school….that has not been better than private…” So it is or is not a private? Why can’t I follow?

PP has hijacked several threads with beefs against a certain private all-boys school in DC (not STA or Gonzaga, so you do the math). PP must search for the school initials or name or the word “rigor” every 30 minutes or so because the negative posts appear like clockwork, even on irrelevant threads like this one. PP never foregoes an opportunity to shout from the mountaintops how severely mediocre they think it is.

Weird that you would think that someone is on a lot of threads and criticize them, yet you are on them as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i appreciated this more when you wanted your child crushed by college.

Well I didn’t want to say it, but I do want her taken down a notch in high school. It’s a big world and she needs to know it.

I came from a small town, local “whiz kid” and my elite college destroyed me that I think my life would have been better at my state public university. Being on your own and failing at everything when everyone seems to find it so easy, not a good place.

I’ll be the one to say it 😬

Feels like you may have some unresolved issues.

Don’t thrust those onto your own kids.

Hah I do. But my kid is full teenager and so arrogant about how smart they are. It drives me nuts. I mean, maybe she is really brilliant and hard working? But I want to test her mettle before she has to head out on her own. Her MS experience has not done that.

Are your parents Russian immigrants?
Probably you got their parenting style.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From what I know…. Through both personal experience at 3 of these schools and good friends at the others…..

GDS/Sidwell
Potomac
Maret/ Holton

Can’t comment on the others

I think most can agree with this, though I've heard somewhat mixed things about Maret lately.

No, no one would agree with this. No ranking would put Potomac ahead of Holton.
You too must be Potomac parents.

-No affiliation whatsoever with Holton

Lots of families have done both Holton and Potomac. Those I know would say Potomac is more rigorous.

What are the steps here, like are Potomac and Holton more just private for rich status and not academic, or actually just shy of the rigor of the top of the list?

I have had children go through both one of the Cathedral schools (STA/NCS) and Potomac. Potomac is not only not "just shy" it is every bit as rigorous. We chose it because we didn't like the pressure cooker environment of the other kid's school--Potomac is no less a pressure cooker and no less academic. The only difference is the location and there are more very wealthy NoVA families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please stop trying to rank schools. It's meaningless.

My son’s highly ranked second best all-boys school in DC has not been better than private apart from smaller class size. Academics not better, clubs and opportunities not better, writing curicullum is worse.

I’ve read this like five times and literally can’t follow. Would someone please translate what is meant by the “second best all boys school….that has not been better than private…” So it is or is not a private? Why can’t I follow?

NP
PP trying to say not better than public.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please stop trying to rank schools. It's meaningless.

My son’s highly ranked second best all-boys school in DC has not been better than private apart from smaller class size. Academics not better, clubs and opportunities not better, writing curicullum is worse.

I’ve read this like five times and literally can’t follow. Would someone please translate what is meant by the “second best all boys school….that has not been better than private…” So it is or is not a private? Why can’t I follow?

PP has hijacked several threads with beefs against a certain private all-boys school in DC (not STA or Gonzaga, so you do the math). PP must search for the school initials or name or the word “rigor” every 30 minutes or so because the negative posts appear like clockwork, even on irrelevant threads like this one. PP never foregoes an opportunity to shout from the mountaintops how severely mediocre they think it is.

Weird that you would think that someone is on a lot of threads and criticize them, yet you are on them as well.

Not that I need to justify myself to you, but I was reading this thread because I actually have a daughter that will be applying to HS in 2 years and am particularly curious about HA and Madeira (among others). Your post was the one that tried to hijack it to your unceasing gripes about “the second best all-boys school in DC”. I frankly don’t understand how your dislike of your DS’s school has any relevance to this thread whatsoever. There are plenty of threads on that school you can revive (unless they’ve all been closed by *cough* someone *cough* posing as different posters so as to make it appear there are more plaintive families than there really are).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please stop trying to rank schools. It's meaningless.

My son’s highly ranked second best all-boys school in DC has not been better than private apart from smaller class size. Academics not better, clubs and opportunities not better, writing curicullum is worse.

I’ve read this like five times and literally can’t follow. Would someone please translate what is meant by the “second best all boys school….that has not been better than private…” So it is or is not a private? Why can’t I follow?

PP has hijacked several threads with beefs against a certain private all-boys school in DC (not STA or Gonzaga, so you do the math). PP must search for the school initials or name or the word “rigor” every 30 minutes or so because the negative posts appear like clockwork, even on irrelevant threads like this one. PP never foregoes an opportunity to shout from the mountaintops how severely mediocre they think it is.

Weird that you would think that someone is on a lot of threads and criticize them, yet you are on them as well.

Not that I need to justify myself to you, but I was reading this thread because I actually have a daughter that will be applying to HS in 2 years and am particularly curious about HA and Madeira (among others). Your post was the one that tried to hijack it to your unceasing gripes about “the second best all-boys school in DC”. I frankly don’t understand how your dislike of your DS’s school has any relevance to this thread whatsoever. There are plenty of threads on that school you can revive (unless they’ve all been closed by *cough* someone *cough* posing as different posters so as to make it appear there are more plaintive families than there really are).

NP-Unfortunately, you yourself managed to inadvertently hijack this forum with your rant. So what, it happens on nearly all these threads. Manage your emotions and move on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please stop trying to rank schools. It's meaningless.

My son’s highly ranked second best all-boys school in DC has not been better than private apart from smaller class size. Academics not better, clubs and opportunities not better, writing curicullum is worse.

You're obviously in no position to judge writing instruction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please stop trying to rank schools. It's meaningless.

My son’s highly ranked second best all-boys school in DC has not been better than private apart from smaller class size. Academics not better, clubs and opportunities not better, writing curicullum is worse.

You're obviously in no position to judge writing instruction.

What’s with these people on here who don’t miss a chance with the criticism and sarcasm regarding
grammar or writing?

[Anonymous]

My DD graduated from NCS. She never bought into the NCS pressure cooker; she didn’t care about her grades and was probably in the middle of the class. She got a 35 on the ACT, which no one expected given her grades. She attributes that to how high the academic standards are at NCS. She has been happily surprised at how easy college is, and other NCS grads frequently say college is easier. DD is on the Dean’s List every semester - and so is almost every other NCS alum at her school. But I know many grads of GDS and Sidwell who also find college easy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i appreciated this more when you wanted your child crushed by college.

Well I didn’t want to say it, but I do want her taken down a notch in high school. It’s a big world and she needs to know it.

I came from a small town, local “whiz kid” and my elite college destroyed me that I think my life would have been better at my state public university. Being on your own and failing at everything when everyone seems to find it so easy, not a good place.

I’ll be the one to say it 😬

Feels like you may have some unresolved issues.

Don’t thrust those onto your own kids.

Hah I do. But my kid is full teenager and so arrogant about how smart they are. It drives me nuts. I mean, maybe she is really brilliant and hard working? But I want to test her mettle before she has to head out on her own. Her MS experience has not done that.

8th graders are all like that. It works itself out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please stop trying to rank schools. It's meaningless.

My son’s highly ranked second best all-boys school in DC has not been better than private apart from smaller class size. Academics not better, clubs and opportunities not better, writing curicullum is worse.

You're obviously in no position to judge writing instruction.

Just stop with that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you want your daughter to be crushed by competition in HS, you should have had her apply to the top magnet schools in MD or VA. Even a top high school like Whitman - the top 10% of kids who are competing for Ivy admissions are cut-throat competitive. It is more of a sink or swim environment.

Eh, I have one at one of the listed privates and one in SMCS in MCPS. They're just different types of crushing. The magnet has very intense science and math, but everything outside the program is easy and usually requires little effort. The challenge is largely the speed at which new concepts are introduced and then built upon in the magnet classes.

At the private, all of the core classes and have periods of intensity and it's primarily the overlap of that intensity that is tough - when you have a paper, a lab report, and two tests that require actual studying all in the same week (plus other reading/daily assignments), it becomes a lot. In the magnet, you're concentrating on 2-3 classes very intensely; in the private, you're covering 6.

Thinking about the two going to college, I have no concern with my private school student (who plans to major in engineering) academically. I have some concern about the SMCS student's ability to write college-level essays, but that may be unfounded. That child never has issues in English so I don't see that work.

All the privates listed by OP are great. Pick the one that is right for your family based on co-ed/single sex, commute, community, whatever. You can probably find ego crushing intensity at all of them if that's what you want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please stop trying to rank schools. It's meaningless.

My son’s highly ranked second best all-boys school in DC has not been better than private apart from smaller class size. Academics not better, clubs and opportunities not better, writing curicullum is worse.

You're obviously in no position to judge writing instruction.

What’s with these people on here who don’t miss a chance with the criticism and sarcasm regarding
grammar or writing?

Private education?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please stop trying to rank schools. It's meaningless.

My son’s highly ranked second best all-boys school in DC has not been better than private apart from smaller class size. Academics not better, clubs and opportunities not better, writing curicullum is worse.

You're obviously in no position to judge writing instruction.

What’s with these people on here who don’t miss a chance with the criticism and sarcasm regarding
grammar or writing?

Private education?

They like the “one up” feeling it gives them I suspect. It’s really silly as this is forum is not a measure of writing skills.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you want your daughter to be crushed by competition in HS, you should have had her apply to the top magnet schools in MD or VA. Even a top high school like Whitman - the top 10% of kids who are competing for Ivy admissions are cut-throat competitive. It is more of a sink or swim environment.

Eh, I have one at one of the listed privates and one in SMCS in MCPS. They're just different types of crushing. The magnet has very intense science and math, but everything outside the program is easy and usually requires little effort. The challenge is largely the speed at which new concepts are introduced and then built upon in the magnet classes.

At the private, all of the core classes and have periods of intensity and it's primarily the overlap of that intensity that is tough - when you have a paper, a lab report, and two tests that require actual studying all in the same week (plus other reading/daily assignments), it becomes a lot. In the magnet, you're concentrating on 2-3 classes very intensely; in the private, you're covering 6.

Thinking about the two going to college, I have no concern with my private school student (who plans to major in engineering) academically. I have some concern about the SMCS student's ability to write college-level essays, but that may be unfounded. That child never has issues in English so I don't see that work.

All the privates listed by OP are great. Pick the one that is right for your family based on co-ed/single sex, commute, community, whatever. You can probably find ego crushing intensity at all of them if that's what you want.

I doubt you have a kid in MCPS SMCS.