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Why do people dislike the Big Three?
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Anonymous
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I'm just curious, because from where I'm standing... they're all great schools with great kids. I mean why should you hate a school? They're just kids.
Is it a sourness of rejection or a certain person turned you off of a school? You just didn't like the 'air' about the school when you visited? Why? Because, tbh, I've been fairly happy with my daughter's "Big 3" school. |
Anonymous
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Probably because (on this board anyway) they should more accurately be called the "Loud 3."
http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/30/51146.page#362594 There are several better schools, but no-one seems so interested in self-promotion as the Loud 3 parents. |
Anonymous
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to add to what 10:51 said, the problem isn't with the school itself or the children. It's the faulty premise that there are just 3 schools that should be considered ... big. Which of course is code for "best" in this context.
I mean think about it. Is MIT better than Stanford? Princeton? Cal Polytech? Yale? Which one of these needs to drop out in order to whittle the list to 3? You can't do it if you are being honest. So, the premise that a lay person who hasn't deeply studied all the schools in the DC area and spent time in each could nevertheless ID the best ones is facile. |
Anonymous
Personally, when I visited Princeton (when I was looking at schools), I hated it. Didn't really think it was that great of a school. Anywho, when we moved to DC, we visited countless numbers of schools. Including all of the big three... and the very not-talked-about schools on this board. We ended up deciding to only apply to one big three and several other smaller schools. When I read people's comments on here about NCS or Beauvoir... they seem so hateful. And it simply doesn't make sense. If you don't like the school, don't flame it. It only makes me think less and less of the other schools in the DC area that have crazy parents who seem to think that they are better than "the big three". Maybe they are... but maybe they aren't. I don't see that many big three parents flaming other schools, but I see countless parents from other schools flaming the big three. And really... that's not right. |
Anonymous
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The adjective "Big" sometimes seems to refer to the social status of parents, not to educational quality. I agree, if educational quality is what you care about, there are tons of great choices, including (gasp) public, especially in the 'burbs. But lots of privates as well with very strong curricula.
But if you want to rub shoulders with the Obamas, their appointees, and the good and the great (for Washington at least), then your choices are limited to a handful of schools. Arguably just three. And if what we're talking about is social status, well then lots of people will take aim and shoot. |
Anonymous
How can you tell? There have been negative comments about my dc's non-Big Three school but the posters never identify which school their kid goes to. Not that I care. Kid is happy and learning and thriving. But I just wanted to point out that it would be hard to say where most comments on these boards are coming from. |
Anonymous
I agree, maybe some of the people flaming NCS come from GDS or Sidwell, and all the way around, rather than from public or some other private. We can't tell. |
Anonymous
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Maybe we need to make a distinction:
* Social Three -- I'd agree these are Cathedral, Sidwell and GDS. Where the connected send their kids. Or maybe "society three". * Academic 3 or 4 or 5 -- lots of excellent schools here. St. Anselms Abbey, the list goes on and on. |
Anonymous
"Don't hate me because I'm beautiful." |
Anonymous
I dunno, maybe it's off-putting and condescending posts like this one. "You must all be jealous." (This post comes from a family whose DC did get into a so-called big-3.) |
Anonymous
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You say you're "fairly happy" with your daughter's Big 3. Congrats, and we got into one too.
What you haven't explained is why you think it's better than anybody else's school. There are lots of schools in the area with fabulous teachers, great academics, and even good facilities. There are not so many with tons of connected parents. So go ahead. The ball is in your court. Why is your school better than, say, St Anselms? |
Anonymous
| Jealousy I think. I know several people that were dead set on going to one of the big threes. They loved the school and raved about it until they didn't get in! Now they have completely turned against the school and all of a sudden hate the school. It is so obvious that they are jealous and were shocked they didn't get in. There are the big 3 just like there are the ivy league schools. There are schools just as good as the Ivy League schools but not as hard to get into and don't carry the same prestige. That is just how it is. The same in DC. Schools that are just as good as the Big 3 but will never be considered a Big 3. Stop fighting the labels and don't worry about it! There will always be the Big 3 that carry the most prestige in DC. While my child doesn't attend a Big 3, I am from DC and know how it is and have no problem with it! The most prestigious really are Sidwell and St. Albans as most people nationally know these two schools. |
Anonymous
Wow. Just wow. |
Anonymous
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Anonymous
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I'm in education and I'm happy to say that I actually don't know who the Big 3 even are!
Is one of them Maret? Potomac School? St. Stephens St Agnes? Burke? St Patrick's? Landon? Everyone's Big 3 is different, even in the areas of "nationally known" and prestige. The educators that I work with from around the country roll their eyes when they hear Sidwell but adore Lab and Field so... Big 3, Big Smee 
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