I should have kept my kid at Wilson; college admits are much better than the Big3

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here.

the point of my post was

1)My high school kid who left DCPS is now doing about 5 times the work in private. It's been a giant step up and a challenge. It's honestly surprised me how big the jump has been. We left DCPS for the challenge because my kid was excelling without every studying and we got it.
This is a good thing.

2)DCPS grading and expectations during the pandemic were even more of a complete joke than usual. My kids got close to (or above) 100% in each class. This current grade (2022) is applying to college with these joke grades. They were based on nothing.

Ok and it is what it is. Also sounds like this isn’t exactly new and it has been like this for a long time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here.

the point of my post was

1)My high school kid who left DCPS is now doing about 5 times the work in private. It's been a giant step up and a challenge. It's honestly surprised me how big the jump has been. We left DCPS for the challenge because my kid was excelling without every studying and we got it.
This is a good thing.

2)DCPS grading and expectations during the pandemic were even more of a complete joke than usual. My kids got close to (or above) 100% in each class. This current grade (2022) is applying to college with these joke grades. They were based on nothing.

If your #1 is true, why are you so fixed on your #2? You got what you wanted.

[Anonymous]

OP you sound so whiny. Yes, public education sucked during the pandemic and still does. It is a travesty that is going to hurt a lot of kids permanently. And by hurt, I mean really hurt, like good kids won't get chances at college at all and will have a permanently lowered standard of living because of the disaster that has been the past two years in public education. And yet, you were able to escape all that with money that most people don't have. Your kid is getting a top-notch education. Your whining is terrible in view of what you have.

Also, don't you think that colleges know this? That they know those As are ludicrously inflated? Of course they do, but they don't care. Admissions is a numbers game and they will turn a blind eye to the grade inflation because it helps their published numbers. But who cares? Your kid is still luckier that nearly all applicants. I mean is it truly news to you that the admission system is unfair? I will also note that it's been unfairly and heavily weighted to private school grads in the past; so yes, while colleges are now ignoring the absurd grade inflation in public these days, you seem to only just now be realizing that college admissions is a deeply corrupt system we supposed to pretend is a meritocracy. Wake up.

If your kid went to private school during the pandemic, your kid was luckier than most. Focus on that and stop whining.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP you sound so whiny. Yes, public education sucked during the pandemic and still does. It is a travesty that is going to hurt a lot of kids permanently. And by hurt, I mean really hurt, like good kids won't get chances at college at all and will have a permanently lowered standard of living because of the disaster that has been the past two years in public education. And yet, you were able to escape all that with money that most people don't have. Your kid is getting a top-notch education. Your whining is terrible in view of what you have.

Also, don't you think that colleges know this? That they know those As are ludicrously inflated? Of course they do, but they don't care. Admissions is a numbers game and they will turn a blind eye to the grade inflation because it helps their published numbers. But who cares? Your kid is still luckier that nearly all applicants. I mean is it truly news to you that the admission system is unfair? I will also note that it's been unfairly and heavily weighted to private school grads in the past; so yes, while colleges are now ignoring the absurd grade inflation in public these days, you seem to only just now be realizing that college admissions is a deeply corrupt system we supposed to pretend is a meritocracy. Wake up.

If your kid went to private school during the pandemic, your kid was luckier than most. Focus on that and stop whining.

+1 I feel sorry for all the kids who lack resources and involved parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why don’t big3 parents who fall in this donut hole apply to Oxbridge?

Afaik Oxbridge won’t advantage Wilson kids vs private. It’s strictly about ability

If big 3 education is that strong, then Oxbridge Process should be smooth sailing no?

I see your point, though it’s not a good analogy. The U.K. system is quite different with kids already specializing in their desired area of study during A levels. For what it’s worth, kids from the U.K. tend to struggle with the SAT as well because they are prepped for a very different test. It’s a different system and not comparable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So a Wilson parent came to the private school forum to crow about a handful of college results and the private school parents are the whiny ones?

Hopefully, they can return the STA backpacks and phones before they leave….

The word is that those backpacks were taken by other STA kids and not anyone from Wilson.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve taught in public and private and sent my children to both. The good private schools offer a better education to be sure, but kids who are bright and hard working will do well anywhere. They may not start college with the same background information, but this isn’t an either/or situation. Make the choice that is right for your budget and for your family and child, take them to the library/read to them and show them that education is important to you. Two people can start in different places and end up in the same place, and the reverse is true as well. Unless you’re very wealthy, every student will have to prove themselves in school and then again in the real world. I will challenge the idea that having to navigate dysfunction makes for more capable kids in every situation. Some students will thrive in a smaller, more nurturing environment that builds their confidence and would get discouraged in a larger, less-responsive system, but yes, others will develop more assertiveness. I’m suspicious of anyone who is zero-sum about all of this. I have stronger opinions about virtual learning, which I think fails most kids.

Wow! Quite a sensible post. The bottom half of kids at Wilson would no doubt be better off at small, structured private schools but these families generally don’t have the $$$. Life isn’t fair. Instead of bashing public school kids, just be grateful you were able to give your kids a leg up in life. Your kid really isn’t all that special but lucked out in the lottery that is life.

It's not the "bottom half," because it isn't about academic ability -- it's about what kind of environment brings out your personal strengths. Some really bright kids fall through the cracks or into the wrong crowd in large schools, and they are better served elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

How many of those students have the skills to make it through college? They are the ones who fail out because they are actually expected to hand in work on time. No retakes. No excuses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How many of those students have the skills to make it through college? They are the ones who fail out because they are actually expected to hand in work on time. No retakes. No excuses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why don’t big3 parents who fall in this donut hole apply to Oxbridge?

Afaik Oxbridge won’t advantage Wilson kids vs private. It’s strictly about ability

If big 3 education is that strong, then Oxbridge Process should be smooth sailing no?

I see your point, though it’s not a good analogy. The U.K. system is quite different with kids already specializing in their desired area of study during A levels. For what it’s worth, kids from the U.K. tend to struggle with the SAT as well because they are prepped for a very different test. It’s a different system and not comparable.

Big 3 kids are so well prepared and intelligent that with 12 months prep, they can do the faculty interview process in their chosen field pretty well no?

I’m sure if 15-20 kids from each big3 applied Oxbridge yearly, there would be faculty here who would start a prep program to train them to succeed m

It’s probably A good business idea for entriprising people in dc who formerly attended or taught at Oxbridge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why don’t big3 parents who fall in this donut hole apply to Oxbridge?

Afaik Oxbridge won’t advantage Wilson kids vs private. It’s strictly about ability

If big 3 education is that strong, then Oxbridge Process should be smooth sailing no?

I see your point, though it’s not a good analogy. The U.K. system is quite different with kids already specializing in their desired area of study during A levels. For what it’s worth, kids from the U.K. tend to struggle with the SAT as well because they are prepped for a very different test. It’s a different system and not comparable.

Big 3 kids are so well prepared and intelligent that with 12 months prep, they can do the faculty interview process in their chosen field pretty well no?

I’m sure if 15-20 kids from each big3 applied Oxbridge yearly, there would be faculty here who would start a prep program to train them to succeed m

It’s probably A good business idea for entriprising people in dc who formerly attended or taught at Oxbridge.

But Oxbridge requires AP scores and Big3 students no longer have AP classes.

[Anonymous]

I went to a DMV public a school and graduated magna with honors at an Ivy. I was better prepared than the kids from many of the Big 3-5 who had so much hand-holding their whole lives they had trouble adjusting to any form of independence and also not getting pats on the back for everything they did. What so many of the parents here don’t get is so many kids at Wilson ARE from very similar homes with highly educated parents - some aren’t as affluent doing public policy jobs or journalism or other vs many of the parents with kids at privates who just have more money or decide that’s how they spend their money. The kids will have similar outcomes in many aspects of life. Really being 4th gen DMV the kids really do end up about the same in life with the same variance of higher and lower life “accomplishments” — and happiness. FYI I have one kid at Wilson who would do fine at any college - and one at a private who would not do well in many environments.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everybody at these top colleges gets the same degree whether you purportedly struggled through or breezed through with all A’s. Seems to me the kids at Wilson get the best deal and the Big 3 parents resent it.

Is there a metric somewhere that tracks the long term success of Big 3 vs. Wilson or similar public high school? Not really interested in who is better at writing term papers but post college real world stats.

In my small world there is - I know of no Wilson kids getting hired yet am surrounded by kids from the Big 3 who are pulling 250k and up in their late 20s and early 30s.

Your world sounds minuscule and depressing. Companies with people from diverse backgrounds, experiences and perspectives are more interesting, nimble, creative, compassionate and successful in the long run.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a troll post. My daughter who went to Wilson is at Yale now. Not a legacy. She certainly works very hard but got all As her first and second semester at Yale. She was not even the valedictorian at Wilson. It was a difficult year for her. Maybe if she went to GDS it would have been easy but she stepped up and handled it just fine. Same for her friends who are at Columbia and Brown. AP exams are not graded by DCPS teachers. They are graded anonymously by AP graders. You have to know your stuff to do well on APs. Wilson is a mixed bag but the top 25% of kids there are very good.

Not top 25%, more like top 10%. Otherwise, your post may be somewhat accurate, but they do, as you pointed out, have a steeper learning curve once they get to college. For the really naturally intelligent ones, like your daughter, they can overcome that in a semester or two. But for those who are getting in for other reasons, you really have to wonder if Ivies are the best places for them. I know a Wilson kid committed to an Ivy for their sport who recently declared they will study something like "bio-medical engineering." Okay. Good luck with that.

As a college professor, I find it hilarious that people seem to believe the class material is somehow more rigorous at ivy league schools. Granted, there are certain majors at certain schools that will push you harder. I'm sure it's harder to do computer science at MIT than at university of alabama. But if we're talking top 100 schools, there is very little difference in the vast majority of majors and courses. Political science class at Yale is not harder than political science class at UT Austin. Math at Cornell is not harder than math at UMD. I have friends who teach these classes and they are literally teaching the same concepts and materials. My friend at Harvard is teaching the exact same class I am teaching at a state school. Like, literally, the exact same thing.

But I’m sure an Ivy is the perfect place for your kid - pathetic!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here.

the point of my post was

1)My high school kid who left DCPS is now doing about 5 times the work in private. It's been a giant step up and a challenge. It's honestly surprised me how big the jump has been. We left DCPS for the challenge because my kid was excelling without every studying and we got it.
This is a good thing.

2)DCPS grading and expectations during the pandemic were even more of a complete joke than usual. My kids got close to (or above) 100% in each class. This current grade (2022) is applying to college with these joke grades. They were based on nothing.

I hope you are not a parent at my kid’s private school. You sound petty and vindictive.
Good for the Wilson kids who got into Ivys. I’m sure they still had to do well in AP tests, pandemic or not. I bet they also submitted SAT or ACT scores. Finally, you have to write a damn good personal essay to even be considered for an Ivy. Bad essays would put you in the rejection pile. Focus on your own child and leave other kids alone.