Worried for my DS academically, is this as bad as I think it is?

[Anonymous]

Saying the quiet part out loud...the once stellar public school systems around the DMV are far from stellar. My child goes to Catholic school, we are not Catholic. She has homework, summer work and is being challenged in elementary school. Her school is notorious for sending well prepared students to the area Catholic high schools. I am so grateful I noticed what a dumpster fire the 'UMC'/'UC' area schools are becoming and enrolled her when she was in K. The waitlist is a mile long. So thankful for such a great school that is nearby for her to attend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This kid is a sophomore, right? Take a breath. A 3.3 isn’t awful. It’s not Harvard, but it’s not the end of the world. I wish patents would relax about this. I have one in college and one on the way, and our college process has been easy. Easy bc they applied to schools that were good fits. My older son had a more rigorous course load, but a 3.74 GPA overall and landed at a great Jesuit college that fits him beautifully. My younger son took a less rigorous course load and has a 3.91 avg. He will end up at a larger, more rah rah public school. Both fit each child.

There’s a college for everyone. The fear mongering, though, needs to stop. Maybe I’m just a parent who has realistic expectations or maybe I’m a parent who doesn’t need to keep up with the Joneses. I dunno

THIS. Thank you. Can we please stop pretending that every kid needs a 4.0 and a 1600 on their SAT in order to be successful in life? Let's play this out--what if, in fact, your kid did need to go to a "third tier" school like Muhlenberg (gasp!)? Would their life be over? No. They would have a perfectly good college experience, explore their interests, and figure out a path that works for them. Yes, I understand there are parents who have high expectations for their kids or kids who have high expectations for themselves and consider it a failure if they don't go to Harvard or whatever. But for the vast majority, this is not the case. Let's all relax a tiny bit and maybe just focus on making sure our kids are happy.

FWIW, my sister in law went to Muhlenberg which she liked. She then went on to graduate school and now runs the entire east coast division of a large health insurance company. She's doing just fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid had a 3.3 and went to a top 20 university. Near perfect SAT and rigorous courseload helped.

How is this helpful to OP? Are we talking Gonzaga or O'Connell OP? It makes a difference. Catholic schools will have great contacts at catholic colleges if you can pay for private college.

[Anonymous]

My DC has a 3.0 after S1 9th. Not sweating it yet.

[Anonymous]

Also, look at the college outcomes of BI. There is a wide diversity of outcomes, but the vast, vast majority are in what would be ranked 50-250. Your kid's GPA is certainly in that range.

If the goal was T20 or T50, perhaps a different story but that outcome would be an outlier at BI.

[Anonymous]

I don't know. Why people feel like it's one size fits all. There's the kid to consider. Maybe they want to study in a non academic field like art, apprentice in shop or look at other opportunities to build a skillset to succeed and earn a living.

It's not like how most of us grew up - with AI and so many kinds of work, social media, etc, there's more than one way to make a meaningful career.

I place C level execs at global F100 companies across the board. More important than academic success for my kids is their social aptitude - soft skills, if they can hold a conversation, make relationships and self advocate. More important to me is their drive, if they have self confidence and are grounded. I would take a good kid who has sense than have them go to a Top 20 school. In a heartbeat. Not even a question. They can do well enough to get into a college and develop as they mature with that healthy foundation.

I know way too many top tier school grads who have no idea how to live - they just look good on paper.

[Anonymous]

Junior year is a decisive year. Put supports in place now and see if he can improve it. An upward trend matters as well. Make sure he’s taking advantage of the English and math tutors if he has study hall and after school homework time at BI. My son is a freshman and it has been a huge jump in workload, expectations and HW volume. It’s good in the end, but I hear you OP, it is a big adjustment.

[Anonymous]

PP freshman at BI. He’s wasn’t used to asking for help, but we worked with him to do more if it. Grades Q2 improved from Q1

[Anonymous]

A lot of clutter in these responses. If you are asking whether a 3.3 average at time of college apps is going to limit him, answer is yes. A high SAT will help.

You would be surprised at the number of state schools that have GPA averages above a 4.0.

Just look at the common data set for any school you are interested in. Section C. Just Google it.

[Anonymous]

DP here, how bad/not bad is a 3.3 at GDS?

[Anonymous]

Many public schools have grade inflation. Most Catholic schools do not have grade inflation. Obviously, across the whole USA, exceptions to both will exist here and there.

A 3.3 GPA unweighted out of 4.0 with honors or AP or Advanced classes is very different (especially for college admissions) from a 3.3 without honors or AP or Advanced classes that is weighted out of 5.0.

I did not see any indication of whether the public 3.6 GPA was out of 4.0 xor 5.0. Also did not see indication if Catholic 3.3 GPA is out of 4.0 xor 5.0. Those details will matter in understanding how DC is doing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your first mistake was transfering him.

Why in the world would anyone do this?

Rigor.

Most Catholics have avoided educational fads like Lucy Calkins, Balanced Literacy, and Whole Language. They still use a Phonics centered approach to reading. They still have spelling tests every week. They still teach grammar explicitly and grades include requiring correct grammar. They still teach proper use of the Subjunctive. Our local public (by contrast) dropped many of those since I was in school.

We are not Catholic, but have looked at Catholic curricula in depth for our DC. At least for Catholic schools near us, the curricula and grading standards have not been watered down as our local public schools have done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Saying the quiet part out loud...the once stellar public school systems around the DMV are far from stellar. My child goes to Catholic school, we are not Catholic. She has homework, summer work and is being challenged in elementary school. Her school is notorious for sending well prepared students to the area Catholic high schools. I am so grateful I noticed what a dumpster fire the 'UMC'/'UC' area schools are becoming and enrolled her when she was in K. The waitlist is a mile long. So thankful for such a great school that is nearby for her to attend.

I wouldn't go so far as to say "dumpster fire," but we switched out of UMC public midway through elementary. The problem for us and many other families contemplating making the switch to private is what to do with middle and high school. Catholic or private HS is so much more expensive, and it makes it much more competitive to try to get into top colleges versus being at the public. Middle school is also where advanced math tracking begins, and sets the stage for advanced math and science in high school, which is what colleges often expect. We are happy paying what we are for private elementary, and happy with the grounding in the basics (grammar, spelling, writing, math drills, behavior expectations, executive function). We will continue with private as far as it makes sense, but I really don't know what will be best moving into the older grades.

[Anonymous]

^ and i forgot to mention that we also experienced a drop in grades. Mostly As, but some Bs and even a couple Cs (!) thrown in. It's done wonders for motivation though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DP here, how bad/not bad is a 3.3 at GDS?

I would guess that the median GPA at GDS is between a 3.7 and 3.8 as it is at most of the top tier of DC independents. Most of the schools do not rank or separate in quartile, but would guess that a 3.3 would be in the bottom 25%.