Where does a 3.5 Sidwell kid end up going to college?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
College of Charleston



Please....

Yep it would be a reach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you look at Sidwell's policies and procedures (as set forth under it bylaws), it says the following:

"...in the instance where a student at SFS has earned a grade point average no higher than 3.53 and no lower than a 3.50 at the time of graduation, such student shall be required to matriculate to Kenyon College."

Very funny. But this has been amended to include Michigan.

Agree. According to the college stats the school publishes Michigan has the highest number of applications and in many years the highest number attending. This year the highest number went to Yale but that was unusual.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Someone with a 3.5 is unlikely to be the best a teacher has seen in 10 years. And teacher recs aren't "profoundly influential" anywhere. Nice to have good ones, and certainly a factor, but hardly profound.

The big land grant colleges rely primarily on GPA and test scores, but the elite schools all read each application and teacher recommendations are incredibly important. Among a pool of very talented students, they are often decisive. This is particularly true for high schools that send a lot of students to elite schools and the admissions officers know that the teachers have a strong understanding of the students. And a great many admits are students who are particularly accomplished in one field/endeavor rather than the classic well rounded stereotype. So it is unusual for Harvard to admit a student with a very strong academic record in English/literature from an exceptional high school English program with Bs in calculus BC and AP physics.

1. Almost every college these days is looking for kids with "passion" rather than the well-rounded kid who got accepted in our day. Even places like UMD that you'd undoubtedly sniff at. Well-rounded kids have been out for over a decade. Sure, they're more focused on scores and GPA, but they still look to see if the kid has a direction.

2. It's not the teacher recommendations, it's the counselor recommendation. It's silly to think that a Sidwell teacher with 20 kids is going to do a better job than a public school teacher with 30 kids, of ticking off the boxes for "is this kid in the top 1%, top 10%, top half of the students you've taught?" And 2nd-tier private and public school teachers are perfectly capable of writing strong recommendations on the rest of the colleges' standard teacher rec forms.

2. If you're saying that the private school counselors have a good Rolodex that the public school counselors lack, then I agree with you.

[Anonymous]

Sidwell? Probably some ultra liberal, Northern crap school where they can take courses on "Dreams" for $80k a year

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell? Probably some ultra liberal, Northern crap school where they can take courses on "Dreams" for $80k a year

And end up ultimately in "crap" professions like teacher, computer scientist, doctor, and author...as opposed to "he man", conservative professions like Wall Street banker.

[Anonymous]

I have done through this at Sidwell. A 3.5 at Sidwell is a very strong average. The average GPA at Sidwell is around a 3.2. The kids with 3.5 GPAs probably have test scores of at least 2200 and most likely higher. I think the school's average GPA is about 3.2. The 3.5 kids could certainly apply to Ivies and top LACs if they took rigorous classes, had strong scores and interesting extracurricular involvements, and some might get in. The fallbacks would be schools like Michigan, Tufts, Wesleyan, Colby, Bates, Wellesley, etc . . .. Kids with 3.0 averages do pretty well too -- Tulane, Wisconsin, NYU all come to mind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Swarthmore, Middlebury, Tufts, Davidson, Vandy, Pomona, etc.

Swarthmore, Middlebury, and Pomona are almost as tough as Ivies. The 3.5 Sidwell student would have a shot if everything else in the package was strong, but no guarantees. Washington University would also fit into this category. Duke is also a little easier than the Ivies. I think the counselors would say that 3.5 students should target schools that accept 10-15% of applicants, not the one that accept 5%. There are exceptions though, because some kids have connections or hooks and some are just really interesting.

[Anonymous]

Yale likes Sidwell and usually takes 5-6. Last year it was 14. Other Ivies usually take 1-4.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Swarthmore, Middlebury, Tufts, Davidson, Vandy, Pomona, etc.

Swarthmore, Middlebury, and Pomona are almost as tough as Ivies. The 3.5 Sidwell student would have a shot if everything else in the package was strong, but no guarantees. Washington University would also fit into this category. Duke is also a little easier than the Ivies. I think the counselors would say that 3.5 students should target schools that accept 10-15% of applicants, not the one that accept 5%. There are exceptions though, because some kids have connections or hooks and some are just really interesting.

What would counselors say for a 3.80 strong STEM-focused kid with no hooks? A reasonable shot at HYPS for early action, or is the advice to focus on one level down?

[Anonymous]

You're insane if you think Wellesley is easier to get into than other LAC's.

[Anonymous]

As irony would have it, a 3.5 with either a legacy (assuming moola donation per diems met) or a sports recruiting preference has it all over the 4.0 with no bump. Sidwell is a strong private school, but there are many others like that. It's delusional to think that an Ivy or a NECSAC takes kids from any elite private these days.

More and more it is about where you get a graduate degree in most desired professions, so going to any decent college and again getting great grades matters more than just getting a boost to attend Duke or an Ivy. My son has private lessons from a Dartmouth graduate who is unemployed and living with his parents. Success in life is hard earned and requires a pattern of success and achievement at every step.

A kid with a 3.5 at Sidwell is a great kid with a great future, but how great is up to him / her regardless of where the kid attends undergrad. Remember, a 3.8 at Kenyon is likely to find a decent first job or gain entrance to a fine grad school. A 2.6 in sociology at Duke = giving back yard lacrosse lessons to kids at $75 in cash paid by a loser like me who went to Chico State but started and sold a company for over $100 mil. I love the "where did you go to college" thing at coctail parties. It suits my asshole nature so well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yale likes Sidwell and usually takes 5-6. Last year it was 14. Other Ivies usually take 1-4.

I've heard that Harvard really likes GDS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As irony would have it, a 3.5 with either a legacy (assuming moola donation per diems met) or a sports recruiting preference has it all over the 4.0 with no bump. Sidwell is a strong private school, but there are many others like that. It's delusional to think that an Ivy or a NECSAC takes kids from any elite private these days.

More and more it is about where you get a graduate degree in most desired professions, so going to any decent college and again getting great grades matters more than just getting a boost to attend Duke or an Ivy. My son has private lessons from a Dartmouth graduate who is unemployed and living with his parents. Success in life is hard earned and requires a pattern of success and achievement at every step.

A kid with a 3.5 at Sidwell is a great kid with a great future, but how great is up to him / her regardless of where the kid attends undergrad. Remember, a 3.8 at Kenyon is likely to find a decent first job or gain entrance to a fine grad school. A 2.6 in sociology at Duke = giving back yard lacrosse lessons to kids at $75 in cash paid by a loser like me who went to Chico State but started and sold a company for over $100 mil. I love the "where did you go to college" thing at coctail parties. It suits my asshole nature so well.

I agree with you that personal qualities are the ultimate determinant, but I cannot go back in time and alter my kid even if I wanted to. But I can perhaps help him on a slightly better path.

Also, not sure that your unemployed Dartmouth graduate living with his parents is the right comparison. You need to hold the kid fixed and compare schools, not pick different kids from different schools. Given that your son was unemployed and living in the basement is he more likely to land on his feet eventually with a Dartmouth degree or with one from, say, to pick a good state school, Ohio State? Also, given 6-year completion rates at Dartmouth and state schools. maybe the kid would still not have graduated.

And if you had gone to Harvard, rather than Chico State, maybe you would be looking at billions, not $100m. No easy calls.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As irony would have it, a 3.5 with either a legacy (assuming moola donation per diems met) or a sports recruiting preference has it all over the 4.0 with no bump. Sidwell is a strong private school, but there are many others like that. It's delusional to think that an Ivy or a NECSAC takes kids from any elite private these days.

More and more it is about where you get a graduate degree in most desired professions, so going to any decent college and again getting great grades matters more than just getting a boost to attend Duke or an Ivy. My son has private lessons from a Dartmouth graduate who is unemployed and living with his parents. Success in life is hard earned and requires a pattern of success and achievement at every step.

A kid with a 3.5 at Sidwell is a great kid with a great future, but how great is up to him / her regardless of where the kid attends undergrad. Remember, a 3.8 at Kenyon is likely to find a decent first job or gain entrance to a fine grad school. A 2.6 in sociology at Duke = giving back yard lacrosse lessons to kids at $75 in cash paid by a loser like me who went to Chico State but started and sold a company for over $100 mil. I love the "where did you go to college" thing at coctail parties. It suits my asshole nature so well.

I agree with you that personal qualities are the ultimate determinant, but I cannot go back in time and alter my kid even if I wanted to. But I can perhaps help him on a slightly better path.

Also, not sure that your unemployed Dartmouth graduate living with his parents is the right comparison. You need to hold the kid fixed and compare schools, not pick different kids from different schools. Given that your son was unemployed and living in the basement is he more likely to land on his feet eventually with a Dartmouth degree or with one from, say, to pick a good state school, Ohio State? Also, given 6-year completion rates at Dartmouth and state schools. maybe the kid would still not have graduated.

And if you had gone to Harvard, rather than Chico State, maybe you would be looking at billions, not $100m. No easy calls.

Aren't you bitter! How much is YOUR company worth?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As irony would have it, a 3.5 with either a legacy (assuming moola donation per diems met) or a sports recruiting preference has it all over the 4.0 with no bump. Sidwell is a strong private school, but there are many others like that. It's delusional to think that an Ivy or a NECSAC takes kids from any elite private these days.

More and more it is about where you get a graduate degree in most desired professions, so going to any decent college and again getting great grades matters more than just getting a boost to attend Duke or an Ivy. My son has private lessons from a Dartmouth graduate who is unemployed and living with his parents. Success in life is hard earned and requires a pattern of success and achievement at every step.

A kid with a 3.5 at Sidwell is a great kid with a great future, but how great is up to him / her regardless of where the kid attends undergrad. Remember, a 3.8 at Kenyon is likely to find a decent first job or gain entrance to a fine grad school. A 2.6 in sociology at Duke = giving back yard lacrosse lessons to kids at $75 in cash paid by a loser like me who went to Chico State but started and sold a company for over $100 mil. I love the "where did you go to college" thing at coctail parties. It suits my asshole nature so well.