Wilson/College Matriculation?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They don't need much help to do what? Get into a good college?

I interview a half a dozen to a dozen DCPS and DCPC applicants for my Ivy every January-February as an alum volunteer.

I used to interview several Wilson students each application season, but got burned out a several years ago and asked not to be given anymore Wilson names. No Wilson student I interviewed got in, 10 or 11 years running (though other interviewers for my Ivy had better luck at Wilson). What caused me to burn out is that around half of the Wilson kids I interviewed would almost certainly have been in the running if they'd had better guidance counselors, much more face-to-face counseling, and tougher academics in DCPS all the way up. Nice, bright, hard-working kids, but generally not getting the help and advice they needed to reach for the stars.

Prefer to interview at Walls and BASIS (just one Feb of experience there), but not by much.

So let me get this straight: because Wilson doesn't dedicate sufficient resources to preparing kids for Ivy college interviews (or yours, at least), you've decided to punish the "nice, bright, hard-working" kids by simply refusing to interview from Wilson anymore? Jesus.

I guess it's probably better for the kids, in the long run, not to waste their time with someone who would act so capriciously.

Capriciously? After 10 or 11 years of frustration. Who wouldn't have quit as a volunteer?

The PP didn't "quit as a volunteer"; s/he decided to blackball Wilson kids. Although the kids were "nice, bright, hardworking"--no implication that they were rude or unpleasant or otherwise taxing--the interviewer somehow got "burned out" and decided to simply cut them out. That's capricious. But if you don't like that word, I'll settle for "selfish" or "myopic."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCUM Wilson Parents - here is what you need to know: at the beginning of junior year, hire a private college counselor, and take SAT/ACt prep. classes. That will set you back about $3,000-$5,000 total - it will close any gaps between Wilson and expensive privates. No, it is not cheap - unless you compare it to the $150,000 that private school would have cost you.

Signed -

Parent of a Wilson senior.

sorry to say, but SAt prep needs to be done summer before junior year, or the psat is not going to vet your child to nmf consideration

Who really cares about NMF consideration. It's a nice honor but it doesn't confer a lot else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They don't need much help to do what? Get into a good college?

I interview a half a dozen to a dozen DCPS and DCPC applicants for my Ivy every January-February as an alum volunteer.

I used to interview several Wilson students each application season, but got burned out a several years ago and asked not to be given anymore Wilson names. No Wilson student I interviewed got in, 10 or 11 years running (though other interviewers for my Ivy had better luck at Wilson). What caused me to burn out is that around half of the Wilson kids I interviewed would almost certainly have been in the running if they'd had better guidance counselors, much more face-to-face counseling, and tougher academics in DCPS all the way up. Nice, bright, hard-working kids, but generally not getting the help and advice they needed to reach for the stars.

Prefer to interview at Walls and BASIS (just one Feb of experience there), but not by much.

So let me get this straight: because Wilson doesn't dedicate sufficient resources to preparing kids for Ivy college interviews (or yours, at least), you've decided to punish the "nice, bright, hard-working" kids by simply refusing to interview from Wilson anymore? Jesus.

I guess it's probably better for the kids, in the long run, not to waste their time with someone who would act so capriciously.

Capriciously? After 10 or 11 years of frustration. Who wouldn't have quit as a volunteer?

The PP didn't "quit as a volunteer"; s/he decided to blackball Wilson kids. Although the kids were "nice, bright, hardworking"--no implication that they were rude or unpleasant or otherwise taxing--the interviewer somehow got "burned out" and decided to simply cut them out. That's capricious. But if you don't like that word, I'll settle for "selfish" or "myopic."

Why don't you volunteer to help DCPS students get into top colleges then? PP didn't have to interview them. Sounds like s/he was trying to help them in their college quests, but, apparently, was unable to convince his/her alma mater to admit those interviewed, year after year. I'm not reading that s/he blackballed the kids, the opposite. Apparently, the interviewer couldn't compensate for Wilson's weak guidance counseling and other deficiencies of DCPS in supporting top students by giving them good write-ups. These are real problems at Wilson.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCUM Wilson Parents - here is what you need to know: at the beginning of junior year, hire a private college counselor, and take SAT/ACt prep. classes. That will set you back about $3,000-$5,000 total - it will close any gaps between Wilson and expensive privates. No, it is not cheap - unless you compare it to the $150,000 that private school would have cost you.

Signed -

Parent of a Wilson senior.

sorry to say, but SAt prep needs to be done summer before junior year, or the psat is not going to vet your child to nmf consideration

Who really cares about NMF consideration. It's a nice honor but it doesn't confer a lot else.

First of all - as another Ivy alum, I call BS on the person's Wilson experience above. Second, DCPS's college counselor situation is very similar to other public schools - even in MoCo and in NoVa. There parents often regularly are also paying for SAT prep classes etc. If you are savvy about the college application process as parents and put the time in yourself, you don't need a college counselor - but one way or another, it does help to have some knowledge base of how it works and how to position your kid. On the flip side, you aren't in a pool like many of the privates where nearly 100% of the kids are applying to all of the same schools - and you paid $40K per year for the benefit of college counselors who end up often in a position of trying to explain that your kid is not one of the legacy or tippy top kids getting within that class getting into the Ivy slots.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They don't need much help to do what? Get into a good college?

I interview a half a dozen to a dozen DCPS and DCPC applicants for my Ivy every January-February as an alum volunteer.

I used to interview several Wilson students each application season, but got burned out a several years ago and asked not to be given anymore Wilson names. No Wilson student I interviewed got in, 10 or 11 years running (though other interviewers for my Ivy had better luck at Wilson). What caused me to burn out is that around half of the Wilson kids I interviewed would almost certainly have been in the running if they'd had better guidance counselors, much more face-to-face counseling, and tougher academics in DCPS all the way up. Nice, bright, hard-working kids, but generally not getting the help and advice they needed to reach for the stars.

Prefer to interview at Walls and BASIS (just one Feb of experience there), but not by much.

So let me get this straight: because Wilson doesn't dedicate sufficient resources to preparing kids for Ivy college interviews (or yours, at least), you've decided to punish the "nice, bright, hard-working" kids by simply refusing to interview from Wilson anymore? Jesus.

I guess it's probably better for the kids, in the long run, not to waste their time with someone who would act so capriciously.

Capriciously? After 10 or 11 years of frustration. Who wouldn't have quit as a volunteer?

The PP didn't "quit as a volunteer"; s/he decided to blackball Wilson kids. Although the kids were "nice, bright, hardworking"--no implication that they were rude or unpleasant or otherwise taxing--the interviewer somehow got "burned out" and decided to simply cut them out. That's capricious. But if you don't like that word, I'll settle for "selfish" or "myopic."

What are you talking about? She didn't blackball anybody, just asked not to interview Wilson students. Those Wilson students requesting an interview will just have a different alumni interviewer. You must get triggered easily.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCUM Wilson Parents - here is what you need to know: at the beginning of junior year, hire a private college counselor, and take SAT/ACt prep. classes. That will set you back about $3,000-$5,000 total - it will close any gaps between Wilson and expensive privates. No, it is not cheap - unless you compare it to the $150,000 that private school would have cost you.

Signed -

Parent of a Wilson senior.

sorry to say, but SAt prep needs to be done summer before junior year, or the psat is not going to vet your child to nmf consideration

Who really cares about NMF consideration. It's a nice honor but it doesn't confer a lot else.

I tend to agree but it certainly doesn't hurt to get the kids started early....even if it just doing practice tests to familiarize them with the format and more importantly the length of the test.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They don't need much help to do what? Get into a good college?

I interview a half a dozen to a dozen DCPS and DCPC applicants for my Ivy every January-February as an alum volunteer.

I used to interview several Wilson students each application season, but got burned out a several years ago and asked not to be given anymore Wilson names. No Wilson student I interviewed got in, 10 or 11 years running (though other interviewers for my Ivy had better luck at Wilson). What caused me to burn out is that around half of the Wilson kids I interviewed would almost certainly have been in the running if they'd had better guidance counselors, much more face-to-face counseling, and tougher academics in DCPS all the way up. Nice, bright, hard-working kids, but generally not getting the help and advice they needed to reach for the stars.

Prefer to interview at Walls and BASIS (just one Feb of experience there), but not by much.

So let me get this straight: because Wilson doesn't dedicate sufficient resources to preparing kids for Ivy college interviews (or yours, at least), you've decided to punish the "nice, bright, hard-working" kids by simply refusing to interview from Wilson anymore? Jesus.

I guess it's probably better for the kids, in the long run, not to waste their time with someone who would act so capriciously.

Capriciously? After 10 or 11 years of frustration. Who wouldn't have quit as a volunteer?

The PP didn't "quit as a volunteer"; s/he decided to blackball Wilson kids. Although the kids were "nice, bright, hardworking"--no implication that they were rude or unpleasant or otherwise taxing--the interviewer somehow got "burned out" and decided to simply cut them out. That's capricious. But if you don't like that word, I'll settle for "selfish" or "myopic."

Why don't you volunteer to help DCPS students get into top colleges then? PP didn't have to interview them. Sounds like s/he was trying to help them in their college quests, but, apparently, was unable to convince his/her alma mater to admit those interviewed, year after year. I'm not reading that s/he blackballed the kids, the opposite. Apparently, the interviewer couldn't compensate for Wilson's weak guidance counseling and other deficiencies of DCPS in supporting top students by giving them good write-ups. These are real problems at Wilson.

First of all the alum interviews don't matter that much in the process and to suggest that interviewers can make a difference is ridiculous. They do not make decisions about who gets in - so let's put it in context. If you have connections to alums that actually matter to the school and know your kid, have them write a letter about your kid. Second of all this is not the first Ivy alum interviewer with an admitted bias against Wilson students and that has nothing to do with the quality of counseling offered at Wilson. If possible take your kid to the school to be interviewed. There is no need to expose kids to adults that will judge them unfairly because of the school they come from.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCUM Wilson Parents - here is what you need to know: at the beginning of junior year, hire a private college counselor, and take SAT/ACt prep. classes. That will set you back about $3,000-$5,000 total - it will close any gaps between Wilson and expensive privates. No, it is not cheap - unless you compare it to the $150,000 that private school would have cost you.

Signed -

Parent of a Wilson senior.

sorry to say, but SAt prep needs to be done summer before junior year, or the psat is not going to vet your child to nmf consideration

Who really cares about NMF consideration. It's a nice honor but it doesn't confer a lot else.

First of all - as another Ivy alum, I call BS on the person's Wilson experience above. Second, DCPS's college counselor situation is very similar to other public schools - even in MoCo and in NoVa. There parents often regularly are also paying for SAT prep classes etc. If you are savvy about the college application process as parents and put the time in yourself, you don't need a college counselor - but one way or another, it does help to have some knowledge base of how it works and how to position your kid. On the flip side, you aren't in a pool like many of the privates where nearly 100% of the kids are applying to all of the same schools - and you paid $40K per year for the benefit of college counselors who end up often in a position of trying to explain that your kid is not one of the legacy or tippy top kids getting within that class getting into the Ivy slots.

You sound like a helicopter mom to the extreme. “Position your kid”? Seriously? Isn’t this a process they should be owning themselves? Did you write the essays too?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCUM Wilson Parents - here is what you need to know: at the beginning of junior year, hire a private college counselor, and take SAT/ACt prep. classes. That will set you back about $3,000-$5,000 total - it will close any gaps between Wilson and expensive privates. No, it is not cheap - unless you compare it to the $150,000 that private school would have cost you.

Signed -

Parent of a Wilson senior.

sorry to say, but SAt prep needs to be done summer before junior year, or the psat is not going to vet your child to nmf consideration

Who really cares about NMF consideration. It's a nice honor but it doesn't confer a lot else.

First of all - as another Ivy alum, I call BS on the person's Wilson experience above. Second, DCPS's college counselor situation is very similar to other public schools - even in MoCo and in NoVa. There parents often regularly are also paying for SAT prep classes etc. If you are savvy about the college application process as parents and put the time in yourself, you don't need a college counselor - but one way or another, it does help to have some knowledge base of how it works and how to position your kid. On the flip side, you aren't in a pool like many of the privates where nearly 100% of the kids are applying to all of the same schools - and you paid $40K per year for the benefit of college counselors who end up often in a position of trying to explain that your kid is not one of the legacy or tippy top kids getting within that class getting into the Ivy slots.

NP. Yet another Ivy alum and volunteer interviewer, I call BS on you.

I recently stopped interviewing in DCPS, period, after 6 or 7 years of doing it. Wilson, Walls, Banneker, you guys can have them all. Mediocre is too tame a word for each of these programs where prepping the strongest students for college goes.

Now I stick to MoCo, NOVA and independent schools. I agree with the rest!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They don't need much help to do what? Get into a good college?

I interview a half a dozen to a dozen DCPS and DCPC applicants for my Ivy every January-February as an alum volunteer.

I used to interview several Wilson students each application season, but got burned out a several years ago and asked not to be given anymore Wilson names. No Wilson student I interviewed got in, 10 or 11 years running (though other interviewers for my Ivy had better luck at Wilson). What caused me to burn out is that around half of the Wilson kids I interviewed would almost certainly have been in the running if they'd had better guidance counselors, much more face-to-face counseling, and tougher academics in DCPS all the way up. Nice, bright, hard-working kids, but generally not getting the help and advice they needed to reach for the stars.

Prefer to interview at Walls and BASIS (just one Feb of experience there), but not by much.

So let me get this straight: because Wilson doesn't dedicate sufficient resources to preparing kids for Ivy college interviews (or yours, at least), you've decided to punish the "nice, bright, hard-working" kids by simply refusing to interview from Wilson anymore? Jesus.

I guess it's probably better for the kids, in the long run, not to waste their time with someone who would act so capriciously.

Capriciously? After 10 or 11 years of frustration. Who wouldn't have quit as a volunteer?

The PP didn't "quit as a volunteer"; s/he decided to blackball Wilson kids. Although the kids were "nice, bright, hardworking"--no implication that they were rude or unpleasant or otherwise taxing--the interviewer somehow got "burned out" and decided to simply cut them out. That's capricious. But if you don't like that word, I'll settle for "selfish" or "myopic."

Why don't you volunteer to help DCPS students get into top colleges then? PP didn't have to interview them. Sounds like s/he was trying to help them in their college quests, but, apparently, was unable to convince his/her alma mater to admit those interviewed, year after year. I'm not reading that s/he blackballed the kids, the opposite. Apparently, the interviewer couldn't compensate for Wilson's weak guidance counseling and other deficiencies of DCPS in supporting top students by giving them good write-ups. These are real problems at Wilson.

First of all the alum interviews don't matter that much in the process and to suggest that interviewers can make a difference is ridiculous. They do not make decisions about who gets in - so let's put it in context. If you have connections to alums that actually matter to the school and know your kid, have them write a letter about your kid. Second of all this is not the first Ivy alum interviewer with an admitted bias against Wilson students and that has nothing to do with the quality of counseling offered at Wilson. If possible take your kid to the school to be interviewed. There is no need to expose kids to adults that will judge them unfairly because of the school they come from.

Really depends on the Ivy, or elite liberal arts college. Some put a lot more emphasis on alum interviews than others (valuing the unvarnished truth/insight alums can provide in their reports when they're on the fence with an applicant).

An admitted bias against Wilson students? Totally ridiculous.

Take it from the Wilson parents, the quality of counseling at Wilson suffers mainly because good counselors have more than 200 kids to advise each.

[Anonymous]

So if I don’t care if my kid goes to an Ivy League school, do I need to drop money on a college counselor? As long as my kids go to college, where they go is their choice. Should I spend money on this?

[Anonymous]

The answer depends on a variety of factors...how much you have to spend on a college coach, what type of relationship you have with your Wilson student, how high s/he and you are aiming, how the student and you feel about college counseling at Wilson, how much you know about the college process, if the student is a legacy or not and wants to go to mom or dad's alma mater etc. etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCUM Wilson Parents - here is what you need to know: at the beginning of junior year, hire a private college counselor, and take SAT/ACt prep. classes. That will set you back about $3,000-$5,000 total - it will close any gaps between Wilson and expensive privates. No, it is not cheap - unless you compare it to the $150,000 that private school would have cost you.

Signed -

Parent of a Wilson senior.

sorry to say, but SAt prep needs to be done summer before junior year, or the psat is not going to vet your child to nmf consideration

Who really cares about NMF consideration. It's a nice honor but it doesn't confer a lot else.

First of all - as another Ivy alum, I call BS on the person's Wilson experience above. Second, DCPS's college counselor situation is very similar to other public schools - even in MoCo and in NoVa. There parents often regularly are also paying for SAT prep classes etc. If you are savvy about the college application process as parents and put the time in yourself, you don't need a college counselor - but one way or another, it does help to have some knowledge base of how it works and how to position your kid. On the flip side, you aren't in a pool like many of the privates where nearly 100% of the kids are applying to all of the same schools - and you paid $40K per year for the benefit of college counselors who end up often in a position of trying to explain that your kid is not one of the legacy or tippy top kids getting within that class getting into the Ivy slots.

NP. Yet another Ivy alum and volunteer interviewer, I call BS on you.

I recently stopped interviewing in DCPS, period, after 6 or 7 years of doing it. Wilson, Walls, Banneker, you guys can have them all. Mediocre is too tame a word for each of these programs where prepping the strongest students for college goes.

Now I stick to MoCo, NOVA and independent schools. I agree with the rest!

Even after many, many years, the awfulness of some of the people on thiis board never ceases to surprise me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCUM Wilson Parents - here is what you need to know: at the beginning of junior year, hire a private college counselor, and take SAT/ACt prep. classes. That will set you back about $3,000-$5,000 total - it will close any gaps between Wilson and expensive privates. No, it is not cheap - unless you compare it to the $150,000 that private school would have cost you.

Signed -

Parent of a Wilson senior.

sorry to say, but SAt prep needs to be done summer before junior year, or the psat is not going to vet your child to nmf consideration

Who really cares about NMF consideration. It's a nice honor but it doesn't confer a lot else.

First of all - as another Ivy alum, I call BS on the person's Wilson experience above. Second, DCPS's college counselor situation is very similar to other public schools - even in MoCo and in NoVa. There parents often regularly are also paying for SAT prep classes etc. If you are savvy about the college application process as parents and put the time in yourself, you don't need a college counselor - but one way or another, it does help to have some knowledge base of how it works and how to position your kid. On the flip side, you aren't in a pool like many of the privates where nearly 100% of the kids are applying to all of the same schools - and you paid $40K per year for the benefit of college counselors who end up often in a position of trying to explain that your kid is not one of the legacy or tippy top kids getting within that class getting into the Ivy slots.

NP. Yet another Ivy alum and volunteer interviewer, I call BS on you.

I recently stopped interviewing in DCPS, period, after 6 or 7 years of doing it. Wilson, Walls, Banneker, you guys can have them all. Mediocre is too tame a word for each of these programs where prepping the strongest students for college goes.

Now I stick to MoCo, NOVA and independent schools. I agree with the rest!

Please explain what the issue with DCPS students? Mediocre how?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCUM Wilson Parents - here is what you need to know: at the beginning of junior year, hire a private college counselor, and take SAT/ACt prep. classes. That will set you back about $3,000-$5,000 total - it will close any gaps between Wilson and expensive privates. No, it is not cheap - unless you compare it to the $150,000 that private school would have cost you.

Signed -

Parent of a Wilson senior.

sorry to say, but SAt prep needs to be done summer before junior year, or the psat is not going to vet your child to nmf consideration

Who really cares about NMF consideration. It's a nice honor but it doesn't confer a lot else.

First of all - as another Ivy alum, I call BS on the person's Wilson experience above. Second, DCPS's college counselor situation is very similar to other public schools - even in MoCo and in NoVa. There parents often regularly are also paying for SAT prep classes etc. If you are savvy about the college application process as parents and put the time in yourself, you don't need a college counselor - but one way or another, it does help to have some knowledge base of how it works and how to position your kid. On the flip side, you aren't in a pool like many of the privates where nearly 100% of the kids are applying to all of the same schools - and you paid $40K per year for the benefit of college counselors who end up often in a position of trying to explain that your kid is not one of the legacy or tippy top kids getting within that class getting into the Ivy slots.

NP. Yet another Ivy alum and volunteer interviewer, I call BS on you.

I recently stopped interviewing in DCPS, period, after 6 or 7 years of doing it. Wilson, Walls, Banneker, you guys can have them all. Mediocre is too tame a word for each of these programs where prepping the strongest students for college goes.

Now I stick to MoCo, NOVA and independent schools. I agree with the rest!

Please explain what the issue with DCPS students? Mediocre how?

Yes, because clearly, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Cornell, Brown, Dartmouth, Columbia, Stanford, and 168 other colleges and universities disagree with you. But surely you know better.