Sidwell GDS and Michigan

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In general, the UMich kids I know of are great but not at the level academically of the T20 kids at my DC’s private. Don’t Get me wrong, they are excellent students, but not in the most rigorous classes etc.

This is inaccurate. Top privates send top students to Michigan every year. This year across the board all top popular universities are reporting receiving 20% more applications than ever before. Admissions rates have dropped dramatically at the popular colleges. Schools like USC, Michigan, UVA etc now have single digit acceptance rates. USC admissions rate is 6% this year. Out of state Michigan and UVA are also record low admission rates. The common app and TO has really encouraged anyone and everyone to apply and applications have skyrocketed at the popular top schools.

These both can be true. There are many schools with lots of applications that put the school at a single digit admit rate. But also at a DC private, the very top kids choosing to apply elsewhere. The kids applying/attending Michigan are qualified, great kids but perhaps not the very top of the class, who tend to apply to T20 (which doesn’t mean the Michigan kids aren’t smart kids who will be highly successful).

Your info is way out-of-date.

This year, pretty much the only Big3 kids who got in ED to top schools were hooked kids. The smart kids who aren't VIP legacies, URM or athletes were bumped. They ALL applied to Michigan.
It will be interesting to see how this shakes out because the only kids who got in to Michigan (that i know of) were very top kids. Many will take these spots.
I have a kid who is a junior with a 3.95 and wants a school like Michigan. Has no interest in the Ivies. There is a lot of this in 2023. Many kids who slaved away at the Big3 for 4 years want a big, fun school.

How do you know that information? You know everyone’s grade and connections?

Because it's confirmed by the schools' kid-run instagrams. And confirmed by my kid and their friends. And confirmed by the parents of seniors I talk to at sports games. And the parents that were at a school event that I was at yesterday (several of whom have talk to the college counseling office and even HOS about this) And by my friend who runs a college consulting business in NW. Sure, there may be a few unconnected kids slipping through entirely under the radar but in these tight-knit school communities it's really, really unlikely. There are a lot of parents concerned about this. I can't seem to get away from chatter about it wherever I go and I'm not the one starting the conversations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why does anyone want to go to a state school like Michigan where it is freezing.? The UM boosters here should get paid (if they are not already).

For the life of me, I don't get posters who go on and on about how the cold IS a big deal. I went to college in Chicago and grad school in Cleveland and I wasn't from a cold hometown. I don't remember the weather having any real impact on my quality of life. sure, it was cold for a chunk of the year--we got heavy coats and didn't hang out on sidewalks for long. but how much time do you really spend outdoors in college? Your mileage may vary but I did not find it to have any impact on my life.

I went to UVA and the relatively nice weather had a HUGE impact on my life! Hiking in the spring, studying outside, many games of frisbee/tag football, outdoor concerts, not to mention the outdoor parties and Foxfield. I DID spend a lot of time outdoors in college, and I would want the same for my kids. But I don't ski and hate the cold with the fury of a thousand suns, so this is a big part of quality of life for me. Glad you found a good match for you if the cold isn't a big deal to you, but it certainly is for other people!

[Anonymous]

And why are you assuming legacies are dumb?? Most of these kids are WAY overqualified to attend relative to their parents-this isn’t late 80’s or 90’s admissions anymore. Stupid assumption.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In general, the UMich kids I know of are great but not at the level academically of the T20 kids at my DC’s private. Don’t Get me wrong, they are excellent students, but not in the most rigorous classes etc.

This is inaccurate. Top privates send top students to Michigan every year. This year across the board all top popular universities are reporting receiving 20% more applications than ever before. Admissions rates have dropped dramatically at the popular colleges. Schools like USC, Michigan, UVA etc now have single digit acceptance rates. USC admissions rate is 6% this year. Out of state Michigan and UVA are also record low admission rates. The common app and TO has really encouraged anyone and everyone to apply and applications have skyrocketed at the popular top schools.

These both can be true. There are many schools with lots of applications that put the school at a single digit admit rate. But also at a DC private, the very top kids choosing to apply elsewhere. The kids applying/attending Michigan are qualified, great kids but perhaps not the very top of the class, who tend to apply to T20 (which doesn’t mean the Michigan kids aren’t smart kids who will be highly successful).

Your info is way out-of-date.

This year, pretty much the only Big3 kids who got in ED to top schools were hooked kids. The smart kids who aren't VIP legacies, URM or athletes were bumped. They ALL applied to Michigan.
It will be interesting to see how this shakes out because the only kids who got in to Michigan (that i know of) were very top kids. Many will take these spots.
I have a kid who is a junior with a 3.95 and wants a school like Michigan. Has no interest in the Ivies. There is a lot of this in 2023. Many kids who slaved away at the Big3 for 4 years want a big, fun school.

I have a very smart, near 4.0 unhooked junior at Big3. This made me very sad and angry. Hard working, smart kids are not rewarded. Dumb legacies, VIPs are going to ivies. Where this country is heading for?

Your kid is not getting into an Ivy from a Big3 in 2023 based on grades/accomplishments alone.
Last year there was ONE unhooked kid from my kid's Big3 school.
SINGULAR.

You need to readjust your thinking or pull your kid. It isn't happening in this current environment.

This is true. Big3 parent. Alum of a "top Ivy" or whatever they call it and not a VIP alum. Just a good alum who donates a bit each year. Kid was 4.0 from a big 3, SCEA/ED, and was flat rejected (this is one of the Ivies that started rejecting instead of deferring most)

Just facts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In general, the UMich kids I know of are great but not at the level academically of the T20 kids at my DC’s private. Don’t Get me wrong, they are excellent students, but not in the most rigorous classes etc.

This is inaccurate. Top privates send top students to Michigan every year. This year across the board all top popular universities are reporting receiving 20% more applications than ever before. Admissions rates have dropped dramatically at the popular colleges. Schools like USC, Michigan, UVA etc now have single digit acceptance rates. USC admissions rate is 6% this year. Out of state Michigan and UVA are also record low admission rates. The common app and TO has really encouraged anyone and everyone to apply and applications have skyrocketed at the popular top schools.

These both can be true. There are many schools with lots of applications that put the school at a single digit admit rate. But also at a DC private, the very top kids choosing to apply elsewhere. The kids applying/attending Michigan are qualified, great kids but perhaps not the very top of the class, who tend to apply to T20 (which doesn’t mean the Michigan kids aren’t smart kids who will be highly successful).

Your info is way out-of-date.

This year, pretty much the only Big3 kids who got in ED to top schools were hooked kids. The smart kids who aren't VIP legacies, URM or athletes were bumped. They ALL applied to Michigan.
It will be interesting to see how this shakes out because the only kids who got in to Michigan (that i know of) were very top kids. Many will take these spots.
I have a kid who is a junior with a 3.95 and wants a school like Michigan. Has no interest in the Ivies. There is a lot of this in 2023. Many kids who slaved away at the Big3 for 4 years want a big, fun school.

I have a very smart, near 4.0 unhooked junior at Big3. This made me very sad and angry. Hard working, smart kids are not rewarded. Dumb legacies, VIPs are going to ivies. Where this country is heading for?

Your kid is not getting into an Ivy from a Big3 in 2023 based on grades/accomplishments alone.
Last year there was ONE unhooked kid from my kid's Big3 school.
SINGULAR.

You need to readjust your thinking or pull your kid. It isn't happening in this current environment.

This is true. Big3 parent. Alum of a "top Ivy" or whatever they call it and not a VIP alum. Just a good alum who donates a bit each year. Kid was 4.0 from a big 3, SCEA/ED, and was flat rejected (this is one of the Ivies that started rejecting instead of deferring most)

Just facts.

BTW this is not just DMV area top private schools. I've spoke to friends in NYC, Houston, LA - same everywhere. The institutional mandates at Top Ivies (and everywhere mostly) have changed,

The private school "advantage" if there was one is gone.

The reason to send your kid to these $50k schools is not to juice Princeton/Harvard odds but that you think that their learning style and access to resources will be better w/ smaller class size etc. It makes the value equation certainly worth thinking through and I would personally not have sent my kids to our Big3 if I knew when we applied in 6th grade where the world would be 6 years later in terms of colleges' priorities/test optional etc. At some schools - the top flagship states - the private school thing is now a disadvantage b/c of weighted GPA calc and fact that AP course work is scarce now (long thread on this last week).

The education kids have gotten at Big3 has been amazing - especially in humanities for our kids, less so STEM - BUT i truly cant say that that it's been worth that amount of money - if the lens was solely college admissions which is not their only mission but surely has to be considered one of the primary missions of these schools whether they want to admit it or not

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In general, the UMich kids I know of are great but not at the level academically of the T20 kids at my DC’s private. Don’t Get me wrong, they are excellent students, but not in the most rigorous classes etc.

This is inaccurate. Top privates send top students to Michigan every year. This year across the board all top popular universities are reporting receiving 20% more applications than ever before. Admissions rates have dropped dramatically at the popular colleges. Schools like USC, Michigan, UVA etc now have single digit acceptance rates. USC admissions rate is 6% this year. Out of state Michigan and UVA are also record low admission rates. The common app and TO has really encouraged anyone and everyone to apply and applications have skyrocketed at the popular top schools.

These both can be true. There are many schools with lots of applications that put the school at a single digit admit rate. But also at a DC private, the very top kids choosing to apply elsewhere. The kids applying/attending Michigan are qualified, great kids but perhaps not the very top of the class, who tend to apply to T20 (which doesn’t mean the Michigan kids aren’t smart kids who will be highly successful).

Your info is way out-of-date.

This year, pretty much the only Big3 kids who got in ED to top schools were hooked kids. The smart kids who aren't VIP legacies, URM or athletes were bumped. They ALL applied to Michigan.
It will be interesting to see how this shakes out because the only kids who got in to Michigan (that i know of) were very top kids. Many will take these spots.
I have a kid who is a junior with a 3.95 and wants a school like Michigan. Has no interest in the Ivies. There is a lot of this in 2023. Many kids who slaved away at the Big3 for 4 years want a big, fun school.

I have a very smart, near 4.0 unhooked junior at Big3. This made me very sad and angry. Hard working, smart kids are not rewarded. Dumb legacies, VIPs are going to ivies. Where this country is heading for?

Let me know how many very smart, 4.0/99th percentile ssat 8th graders from MD/VA public middle schools were admitted to your child’s high school. Zero, or close to it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That is relatively new for Sidwell and Princeton. For the last 40+ years, it is probably the Ivy that had the least interest and matriculation.

Agree the local private school princeton "feeders" have been St Albans, NCS, and to a lesser extent Landon (lacrosse mostly). STA routinely had 4 to 6 kids a year go to Princeton.

whoa--that's wild. Times have changed. I have a STA kid and they have 0-2 now. Always legacies and in recent years only VIP legacies.

This is true, in my year at Princeton (90s), each Princeton class had 4 to 7 St Albans kids, 3 to 4 NCS kids, 1 to 3 Landon kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Michigan is a very popular school in this area which makes it hard to get in.

It is no doubt a good school, but a lot of the interest in Michigan is driven by the large number of alumni in the area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In general, the UMich kids I know of are great but not at the level academically of the T20 kids at my DC’s private. Don’t Get me wrong, they are excellent students, but not in the most rigorous classes etc.

This is inaccurate. Top privates send top students to Michigan every year. This year across the board all top popular universities are reporting receiving 20% more applications than ever before. Admissions rates have dropped dramatically at the popular colleges. Schools like USC, Michigan, UVA etc now have single digit acceptance rates. USC admissions rate is 6% this year. Out of state Michigan and UVA are also record low admission rates. The common app and TO has really encouraged anyone and everyone to apply and applications have skyrocketed at the popular top schools.

These both can be true. There are many schools with lots of applications that put the school at a single digit admit rate. But also at a DC private, the very top kids choosing to apply elsewhere. The kids applying/attending Michigan are qualified, great kids but perhaps not the very top of the class, who tend to apply to T20 (which doesn’t mean the Michigan kids aren’t smart kids who will be highly successful).

Your info is way out-of-date.

This year, pretty much the only Big3 kids who got in ED to top schools were hooked kids. The smart kids who aren't VIP legacies, URM or athletes were bumped. They ALL applied to Michigan.
It will be interesting to see how this shakes out because the only kids who got in to Michigan (that i know of) were very top kids. Many will take these spots.
I have a kid who is a junior with a 3.95 and wants a school like Michigan. Has no interest in the Ivies. There is a lot of this in 2023. Many kids who slaved away at the Big3 for 4 years want a big, fun school.

How do you know that information? You know everyone’s grade and connections?

Because it's confirmed by the schools' kid-run instagrams. And confirmed by my kid and their friends. And confirmed by the parents of seniors I talk to at sports games. And the parents that were at a school event that I was at yesterday (several of whom have talk to the college counseling office and even HOS about this) And by my friend who runs a college consulting business in NW. Sure, there may be a few unconnected kids slipping through entirely under the radar but in these tight-knit school communities it's really, really unlikely. There are a lot of parents concerned about this. I can't seem to get away from chatter about it wherever I go and I'm not the one starting the conversations.

Have heard the same from my senior kid at a Big3 - 100% have been VIP Legacy, URM, athletic recruits this year. There is one at our school who has not reported on insta and even those are in that category of VIP legacy, URM etc

BTW what outside CC from NYC told me is meaningful legacy donor is gifts of at least $1m and more likely $5m!! gulp.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In general, the UMich kids I know of are great but not at the level academically of the T20 kids at my DC’s private. Don’t Get me wrong, they are excellent students, but not in the most rigorous classes etc.

This is inaccurate. Top privates send top students to Michigan every year. This year across the board all top popular universities are reporting receiving 20% more applications than ever before. Admissions rates have dropped dramatically at the popular colleges. Schools like USC, Michigan, UVA etc now have single digit acceptance rates. USC admissions rate is 6% this year. Out of state Michigan and UVA are also record low admission rates. The common app and TO has really encouraged anyone and everyone to apply and applications have skyrocketed at the popular top schools.

These both can be true. There are many schools with lots of applications that put the school at a single digit admit rate. But also at a DC private, the very top kids choosing to apply elsewhere. The kids applying/attending Michigan are qualified, great kids but perhaps not the very top of the class, who tend to apply to T20 (which doesn’t mean the Michigan kids aren’t smart kids who will be highly successful).

Your info is way out-of-date.

This year, pretty much the only Big3 kids who got in ED to top schools were hooked kids. The smart kids who aren't VIP legacies, URM or athletes were bumped. They ALL applied to Michigan.
It will be interesting to see how this shakes out because the only kids who got in to Michigan (that i know of) were very top kids. Many will take these spots.

I have a kid who is a senior and I am going on their acceptances. Maybe our kids go to different schools.
I have a kid who is a junior with a 3.95 and wants a school like Michigan. Has no interest in the Ivies. There is a lot of this in 2023. Many kids who slaved away at the Big3 for 4 years want a big, fun school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In general, the UMich kids I know of are great but not at the level academically of the T20 kids at my DC’s private. Don’t Get me wrong, they are excellent students, but not in the most rigorous classes etc.

This is inaccurate. Top privates send top students to Michigan every year. This year across the board all top popular universities are reporting receiving 20% more applications than ever before. Admissions rates have dropped dramatically at the popular colleges. Schools like USC, Michigan, UVA etc now have single digit acceptance rates. USC admissions rate is 6% this year. Out of state Michigan and UVA are also record low admission rates. The common app and TO has really encouraged anyone and everyone to apply and applications have skyrocketed at the popular top schools.

These both can be true. There are many schools with lots of applications that put the school at a single digit admit rate. But also at a DC private, the very top kids choosing to apply elsewhere. The kids applying/attending Michigan are qualified, great kids but perhaps not the very top of the class, who tend to apply to T20 (which doesn’t mean the Michigan kids aren’t smart kids who will be highly successful).

Your info is way out-of-date.

This year, pretty much the only Big3 kids who got in ED to top schools were hooked kids. The smart kids who aren't VIP legacies, URM or athletes were bumped. They ALL applied to Michigan.
It will be interesting to see how this shakes out because the only kids who got in to Michigan (that i know of) were very top kids. Many will take these spots.

I have a kid who is a junior with a 3.95 and wants a school like Michigan. Has no interest in the Ivies. There is a lot of this in 2023. Many kids who slaved away at the Big3 for 4 years want a big, fun school.

I have a kid who is a senior and I am going on their acceptances. Maybe our kids go to different schools.

[Anonymous]

So, my kid at one of these so-called schools would say that, this year, many of the legacy kids are also the top students. But I also know of at least 3 kids who got into either USNWR T20 or top SLACs at my kid's school with no hook. I know of legacy kids who got into T20 schools too, but they had perfect scores and are universally known as very smart.

I definitely know of deferred kids as well (both legacy and non-legacy) but my hunch is it will shake out RD.

[Anonymous]

Yes-parents please come back in April and tell some stories of EA deferrals that become acceptances, esp for legacies who are well qualified (and by that I mean top GPA and test scores because it does seem like test scores are still valued in Ann Arbor).

And of course…GO BLUE!!!

[Anonymous]

It is not all doom and gloom. Many kids get into excellent schools from private.
You can’t just look at top ivy results. I bet more than a few kids got into Cornell for example

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is not all doom and gloom. Many kids get into excellent schools from private.
You can’t just look at top ivy results. I bet more than a few kids got into Cornell for example

No, not unconnected kids. At my kid's Big3 there was one Ivy admit (of any kind) last year for an unconnected kid.