Sidwell College Admissions This Year

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I havent heard that other schools are "turbocharged". Would be curious as to specifics. If colleges don't want these kids, the CCO's hands are tied. Where you go to HS is no longer relevant for college admissions. The message has been repeatedly stated here. Do not send your kids to a specific HS expecting a bump in college admissions.

This year was a lot of "we don't know what to expect because of covid". I think it's clear that we can't blame Covid anymore. The colleges have new priorities. While the college counselors have danced around this in the past few years, they (and the HS admissions folks) need to make this clear.

Uh, the bolded is exactly how it should be. The vast majority of high schools had no say in where they go to high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I havent heard that other schools are "turbocharged". Would be curious as to specifics. If colleges don't want these kids, the CCO's hands are tied. Where you go to HS is no longer relevant for college admissions. The message has been repeatedly stated here. Do not send your kids to a specific HS expecting a bump in college admissions.

This year was a lot of "we don't know what to expect because of covid". I think it's clear that we can't blame Covid anymore. The colleges have new priorities. While the college counselors have danced around this in the past few years, they (and the HS admissions folks) need to make this clear.

Uh, the bolded is exactly how it should be. The vast majority of high schools had no say in where they go to high school.

*high schoolers* I meant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:College admissions have been unpredictable and sometimes shocking. But Sidwell students have been well prepared to succeed wherever they go. College isn't the end goal. It's just another step. They will all be fine.

This may all be true, but it’s also a distraction in the context of this discussion. This is the kind of nonsense that Mamadou and the school trots out, consistent with its arrogant and dismissive tone towards parents. It is a very convenient way to deflect any scrutiny of the school.

“Shocking” results are not OK just because the kids are well prepared. Saying that they will all be fine in this context suggests that college placement doesn’t matter.

Why is it Sidwell's fault that COVID prompted colleges to go test optional causing a steep decline in acceptance rates everywhere? All they can do is advise families of the landscape, which they did. The kids who were realistic about their options and chose a variety of schools that would make them happy, did fine. I have yet to hear about a senior who had no options.

IMO they did not advise families of the landscape or actually counsel families. “They will all be fine” is their crutch for not doing any meaningful, real advising or advocacy.

They absolutely did. Lauren was very clear from the beginning of junior year how COVID was changing things, how the then current class (2021) had to adjust and how it was very important not to focus on the reach+ schools but rather the targets and safeties. Sorry you didn't get the message. It was pretty clear at the time.

Sure, but this puts the burden onto the students entirely, rather than to say how the school will maximize opportunities in this situation.

The burden is on the students. That is who is getting to these places. A high school can't change that. A high school can make a kid into an athletic recruit? A development case? A published author or researcher? A musical virtuoso? Look at who these elite college admit? Great stats from a great high school is not enough.

The great high school education is to prepare the student to excel at the ultimate college destination. It cannot engineer that destination.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I heard they were excellent. A lot of the disappointed kids from ED got good news.

Really? Curious as I kind of heard the opposite. Happy to be corrected. Do you have any details?

No details- just rumors from my DD (a senior who does not go there but is friends with some kids who do go there). But I do know some kids with acceptances at high ranking SLACs, UVA, etc.

Good grief.

Thanks, though, for making clear how unhelpful and uninformed your initial comment was.

Plenty of disappointment. Top students had impressive outcomes, but many more are committing to safeties. They'll all do well in the end, but it is tough.

But aren’t many of the safeties top 30 schools or highly regarded SLACs. Gone are the days of 1/3 of a private school class getting Ivy admits but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a good year. Most kids would be thrilled to go to many of the schools on Sidwell’s list.

Even Exetor and Andover are not sending 1/3 of their classes to Ivies anymore. The colleges and universities are diversifying their applicant pool. On a macro level, that is a good thing. Obviously it stings becauase the classes of 2021 and 2022 at school like Sidwell are at the tip of the spear for this change, but so be it. No one is entitled to a seat at an Ivy or any other school.

No one is entitled to those spots? Really? You obviously don't know the details of those who buy or influence their way in. Not talking about URM or first gen kids. I applaud the steps for diversity. But there are massive flaws in this process when you see who else gets in. F those colleges. Our Big 3 students will be perfectly happy and successful at places that appreciate them.

[Anonymous]

In this thread: Pot stirring spinster and incel trolls and jealous and unhappy low caste losers with a dipsh*t public school kid at JMU. SF parents don’t talk like this and don’t think about college in terms of tiers. That all teases out YOU are a pathetic striver who spends too much time on the internet and obsessing over status. SF kids can go to Tulane, USC, Michigan, Boston College, NYU, GU, Wake Forest or some LAC you’ve never heard of and will remain top of the heap. They will glide through college and become far more successful than your small minded unwashed spawn. Let’s be honest, what this really boils down to is you and your kids are unable to orbit anyone affiliated with SF. You’re on the outside looking in and it is a painful reminder of where you REALLY stand in life and society — and it is the rung your mediocre kids will remain.

[Anonymous]

If anything it seems much easier to get into top schools from elite private day schools. You don’t have to go field your own extracurriculars because your school has activities like newspaper, you don’t have to pay for prep courses to get caught up to speed for the SAT or AP exams, and so much more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In this thread: Pot stirring spinster and incel trolls and jealous and unhappy low caste losers with a dipsh*t public school kid at JMU. SF parents don’t talk like this and don’t think about college in terms of tiers. That all teases out YOU are a pathetic striver who spends too much time on the internet and obsessing over status. SF kids can go to Tulane, USC, Michigan, Boston College, NYU, GU, Wake Forest or some LAC you’ve never heard of and will remain top of the heap. They will glide through college and become far more successful than your small minded unwashed spawn. Let’s be honest, what this really boils down to is you and your kids are unable to orbit anyone affiliated with SF. You’re on the outside looking in and it is a painful reminder of where you REALLY stand in life and society — and it is the rung your mediocre kids will remain.

Please go away. Stop posting here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I heard they were excellent. A lot of the disappointed kids from ED got good news.

Really? Curious as I kind of heard the opposite. Happy to be corrected. Do you have any details?

No details- just rumors from my DD (a senior who does not go there but is friends with some kids who do go there). But I do know some kids with acceptances at high ranking SLACs, UVA, etc.

Good grief.

Thanks, though, for making clear how unhelpful and uninformed your initial comment was.

Plenty of disappointment. Top students had impressive outcomes, but many more are committing to safeties. They'll all do well in the end, but it is tough.

But aren’t many of the safeties top 30 schools or highly regarded SLACs. Gone are the days of 1/3 of a private school class getting Ivy admits but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a good year. Most kids would be thrilled to go to many of the schools on Sidwell’s list.

Even Exetor and Andover are not sending 1/3 of their classes to Ivies anymore. The colleges and universities are diversifying their applicant pool. On a macro level, that is a good thing. Obviously it stings becauase the classes of 2021 and 2022 at school like Sidwell are at the tip of the spear for this change, but so be it. No one is entitled to a seat at an Ivy or any other school.

No one is entitled to those spots? Really? You obviously don't know the details of those who buy or influence their way in. Not talking about URM or first gen kids. I applaud the steps for diversity. But there are massive flaws in this process when you see who else gets in. F those colleges. Our Big 3 students will be perfectly happy and successful at places that appreciate them.

Your outrage over the unfairness of life comes through loud and clear. The vast majority of people must deal with this fact of life and try to cope. Having a temper tantrum about the injustice is not what these colleges are looking for. That rage has to be coupled with a demonstrated passionate aim to do something about it with your college students and future plans.

[Anonymous]

College studies*

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In this thread: Pot stirring spinster and incel trolls and jealous and unhappy low caste losers with a dipsh*t public school kid at JMU. SF parents don’t talk like this and don’t think about college in terms of tiers. That all teases out YOU are a pathetic striver who spends too much time on the internet and obsessing over status. SF kids can go to Tulane, USC, Michigan, Boston College, NYU, GU, Wake Forest or some LAC you’ve never heard of and will remain top of the heap. They will glide through college and become far more successful than your small minded unwashed spawn. Let’s be honest, what this really boils down to is you and your kids are unable to orbit anyone affiliated with SF. You’re on the outside looking in and it is a painful reminder of where you REALLY stand in life and society — and it is the rung your mediocre kids will remain.

Please go away. Stop posting here.

Please stop infecting this and the private school sub-forum with your fan fiction and social hangups. All of you need shrinks and a life.

[Anonymous]

I am confused. Sidwell kids seem to have great choices so far based on the Instagram account, which admittedly doesn’t have a lot of data yet. Are the kids who have not yet posted shut out of all their targets? For those posters who are angry, what outcome would allow you to say that it was a successful year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In this thread: Pot stirring spinster and incel trolls and jealous and unhappy low caste losers with a dipsh*t public school kid at JMU. SF parents don’t talk like this and don’t think about college in terms of tiers. That all teases out YOU are a pathetic striver who spends too much time on the internet and obsessing over status. SF kids can go to Tulane, USC, Michigan, Boston College, NYU, GU, Wake Forest or some LAC you’ve never heard of and will remain top of the heap. They will glide through college and become far more successful than your small minded unwashed spawn. Let’s be honest, what this really boils down to is you and your kids are unable to orbit anyone affiliated with SF. You’re on the outside looking in and it is a painful reminder of where you REALLY stand in life and society — and it is the rung your mediocre kids will remain.

Lol….you really need to take a look in the mirror.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In this thread: Pot stirring spinster and incel trolls and jealous and unhappy low caste losers with a dipsh*t public school kid at JMU. SF parents don’t talk like this and don’t think about college in terms of tiers. That all teases out YOU are a pathetic striver who spends too much time on the internet and obsessing over status. SF kids can go to Tulane, USC, Michigan, Boston College, NYU, GU, Wake Forest or some LAC you’ve never heard of and will remain top of the heap. They will glide through college and become far more successful than your small minded unwashed spawn. Let’s be honest, what this really boils down to is you and your kids are unable to orbit anyone affiliated with SF. You’re on the outside looking in and it is a painful reminder of where you REALLY stand in life and society — and it is the rung your mediocre kids will remain.

Please go away. Stop posting here.

Please stop infecting this and the private school sub-forum with your fan fiction and social hangups. All of you need shrinks and a life.

Who are you responding to?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am confused. Sidwell kids seem to have great choices so far based on the Instagram account, which admittedly doesn’t have a lot of data yet. Are the kids who have not yet posted shut out of all their targets? For those posters who are angry, what outcome would allow you to say that it was a successful year?

Obviously their student was rejected by a top desired school and they are struggling with anger over the rejection.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:College admissions have been unpredictable and sometimes shocking. But Sidwell students have been well prepared to succeed wherever they go. College isn't the end goal. It's just another step. They will all be fine.

This may all be true, but it’s also a distraction in the context of this discussion. This is the kind of nonsense that Mamadou and the school trots out, consistent with its arrogant and dismissive tone towards parents. It is a very convenient way to deflect any scrutiny of the school.

“Shocking” results are not OK just because the kids are well prepared. Saying that they will all be fine in this context suggests that college placement doesn’t matter.

Why is it Sidwell's fault that COVID prompted colleges to go test optional causing a steep decline in acceptance rates everywhere? All they can do is advise families of the landscape, which they did. The kids who were realistic about their options and chose a variety of schools that would make them happy, did fine. I have yet to hear about a senior who had no options.

IMO they did not advise families of the landscape or actually counsel families. “They will all be fine” is their crutch for not doing any meaningful, real advising or advocacy.

They absolutely did. Lauren was very clear from the beginning of junior year how COVID was changing things, how the then current class (2021) had to adjust and how it was very important not to focus on the reach+ schools but rather the targets and safeties. Sorry you didn't get the message. It was pretty clear at the time.

Sure, but this puts the burden onto the students entirely, rather than to say how the school will maximize opportunities in this situation.

The burden is on the students. That is who is getting to these places. A high school can't change that. A high school can make a kid into an athletic recruit? A development case? A published author or researcher? A musical virtuoso? Look at who these elite college admit? Great stats from a great high school is not enough.

The great high school education is to prepare the student to excel at the ultimate college destination. It cannot engineer that destination.

DP. I believe what pp was saying is that the school should provide real and meaningful individual counseling advice to students, and the school shouldn’t act as if it has no obligation to help engineer the best outcomes—which a school can still do. Partly by providing good advice, and partly through its advocacy for each student. Sidwell’s CCO appears not to believe it has a responsibility to play such a role. And if it does try, it clearly does not do a very good job at it.

This is what the pps were getting at with the “turbocharged” comments (also not mine). A good CCO can still do much more than just provide information and push paper to make sure deadlines are met. Sidwell’s CCO is not good.