Sidwell 2023 College outcomes?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Most results are in. Top outcomes have been exclusively URM/Heavy-Duty legacy.

Same at GDS. There are approx two high stats, entirely unhooked kids who got a top 15 school.

Are these two top 15 schools ivies?

Yes.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:My high stats DC was WL to several Top 15-30 schools that in the recent past (2021, 2022) they were strongly located in the 100% zone on SCOIR for Sidwell.

Not that we ever expected 100%, but striking out on so many of those was a clear change from the past - they were not alone in this sort of outcome.

In this same T15-30 in 100% SCOIR zone:
- one regular acceptance
- one acceptance via an alternative entry pathway (for example - late start/early start/abroad/satellite ).

Rejected in all Top 10 and Top SLAC applications.

Accepted to some safeties T40-T60 and a low SLAC.

DC was grateful to have some options. This year was a shift for sure.

When you say Top SLAC can you be more specific ?

Think along the lines of ....Williams, Amherst, Pomona, Swarthmore

Pomona too? It isn't as sought after locally, so I'd expect better luck. Outside of USNWR, it is rarely mentioned with the other 3 outside the west. What about Wellesley and Smith for the girls. Any luck there?

Pomona is absurdly hard to get in

Far fewer applicants from the DMV though. It and CMC should get more interest here. USNWR throwing them an occasional #3 might help though. However, it has also been #7 3 times in the 2000s and does still have a more regional name.

As PP said - Pomona is insanely hard and they have plenty of strong DMV applicants to choose from. The entire school is only 1800 kids.

Even smaller than that, 1700. Their first year class alone has 43 states and 51 nationalities represented among just 413 students. Their focus on diversity means there isn't room to enroll more than a handful of DMV kids. https://www.pomona.edu/news/2022/09/26-class-2026-new-sagehens-number

This is a helpful exercise for those with kids applying in the future (or wondering why their kids didn't get in.) Pomona offered spots to 15 (or fewer) students from Maryland this year. 23% are first gen, so on average that leaves 12 spots for students who aren't first gen. 62.5% are students of color, leaving 6 spots for white students, or 3 white men and 3 white women who aren't first gen. (https://www.pomona.edu/news/2023/03/17-introducing-pomona-college-class-2027)

I did similar math on Colby a few weeks ago. Likely less than 100 acceptances for coastal kids, non-legacy, non-first gen white kids.

There just aren’t spots any more.

Same story for 3 or 4 families at GDS. High stats white kids mostly rejected top 40. Picking from 40-80 or OUS choices. Many more than ever headed OUS this year (Canada, UK, etc).

Sure, there are spots. Just not for the kids you think should get them.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:My high stats DC was WL to several Top 15-30 schools that in the recent past (2021, 2022) they were strongly located in the 100% zone on SCOIR for Sidwell.

Not that we ever expected 100%, but striking out on so many of those was a clear change from the past - they were not alone in this sort of outcome.

In this same T15-30 in 100% SCOIR zone:
- one regular acceptance
- one acceptance via an alternative entry pathway (for example - late start/early start/abroad/satellite ).

Rejected in all Top 10 and Top SLAC applications.

Accepted to some safeties T40-T60 and a low SLAC.

DC was grateful to have some options. This year was a shift for sure.

When you say Top SLAC can you be more specific ?

Think along the lines of ....Williams, Amherst, Pomona, Swarthmore

Pomona too? It isn't as sought after locally, so I'd expect better luck. Outside of USNWR, it is rarely mentioned with the other 3 outside the west. What about Wellesley and Smith for the girls. Any luck there?

Pomona is absurdly hard to get in

Far fewer applicants from the DMV though. It and CMC should get more interest here. USNWR throwing them an occasional #3 might help though. However, it has also been #7 3 times in the 2000s and does still have a more regional name.

As PP said - Pomona is insanely hard and they have plenty of strong DMV applicants to choose from. The entire school is only 1800 kids.

Even smaller than that, 1700. Their first year class alone has 43 states and 51 nationalities represented among just 413 students. Their focus on diversity means there isn't room to enroll more than a handful of DMV kids. https://www.pomona.edu/news/2022/09/26-class-2026-new-sagehens-number

This is a helpful exercise for those with kids applying in the future (or wondering why their kids didn't get in.) Pomona offered spots to 15 (or fewer) students from Maryland this year. 23% are first gen, so on average that leaves 12 spots for students who aren't first gen. 62.5% are students of color, leaving 6 spots for white students, or 3 white men and 3 white women who aren't first gen. (https://www.pomona.edu/news/2023/03/17-introducing-pomona-college-class-2027)

Folks who are current freshman or sophomores should do this for every "top" school. I remember an article that broke down the Princeton slots like this from like 2018 or so, and it came down to like 30 unhooked males and females in each applicant pool. When presented like that, an applicant has to ask "what makes me stand out to be one of those applicants" - people really need to be realistic about their chances at these schools and find targets and safeties they would be thrilled to attend.

I completely disagree with you. Having safeties is imperative. But micro analyzing the stats on every school would send my kid straight to the looney bin from stress. As long as we have safeties, we do not need to know how impossibly hard the reaches are.

+1

Much better to focus efforts on finding safeties that your kid loves/really likes. Same for finding true Targets. Focus your efforts on the part that your kid is most likely to end up at. Doing so will ensure you kid actually likes their targets and safeties and will be happy come April next year. Then it's just a bonus if you get into the reaches, which we all know are a crap shoot unless you are highly hooked.

It is not always easy to find safeties that you are excited about. My kid liked several schools but they ranged from highly competitive to mid-level competitive.

Then it's your job to help them find those schools, and get excited. Help them see thru the DCUM "prestige factor" and realize that there are great safety schools for everyone--a 1600/4.0UW highly motivated kid can find a few great safeties. Just look outside the T50 schools. They can join the honors program at those schools to find "more like minded kids" if needed. MY one kid attended a T90 school. There were plenty of high stats kids there (above 1400), planning for premed and onto PT, MD, PA, Dentist, etc. type of professional schools. Plenty of really really smart kids who are just like the kids who attend a T50 school. Sure the entire student body is not 1500+/3.9+, but nowhere else in real life will you ever have a group of that many extremely smart people. Besides, there are plenty of smart people who don't find their stride until college. Your kid will NOT be out of place. And find targets in the 25-60 range, there are plenty and many are filled with kids whose stats are just below T20---keep in mind that the difference between 1350 and 1600 is 7%---those 1350-1400 kid are not dumb, they are at the 93-95%.

So help your kid realize that not everyone with 1550+ ends up at a T25 school, there are not enough spots, so try that but then ensure you have great targets and safeties in case that's where you end up. My kid's top safety has UW gpa of 3.9 and is test blind (been heading there since 2012, covid made sure they went test blind forever). However SAT avg was only 1380 (before going Test blind). Really smart kids, high GPAs for certain means dedicated and hard working. This is a STEM school, so kids taking lots of AP STEM courses in HS.
I'm glad my kid was able to pick their safety rather than being forced to see what's left come May 1. However, my kid didn't need their safety, but almost considered attending.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If there is a WL your kid really wants to get off of? If so, they should go talk to the counseling office about whether it is realistic and what everyone can do to make it happen. They will likely know which WLs are just not going to happen.

Um - this is nice solid advice (really) but we are taking about Sidwell CCO and a non-hooked kid. I wouldn't expect to get much inside information on "chances" or any semblance personalized support based on the journey so far. DC is forging ahead, not looking back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It has been a tough couple of weeks. Most students that have solid outcomes, but...the very top universities have shut out most aspirants. It is looking very different even compared to last year.

Might there have just been a lot more hooked students in last year's class - multi-generational Ivy attendees, Ivy board member, etc.?

No. Weaker results that prior years (recent SCOIR) for many people. It is what it is, there was a noticeable shift in how many colleges handled admissions this year.

[Anonymous]

Sidwell 23 family. Definitely a tough year. Many seniors and families (us included) are starting to grow frustrated with Sidwell's grade deflation and feel like there should be some sort of change going forward to communicate to colleges the rigor of the curriculum and the rarity of "high" GPAs.

To some previous posters: yes, the majority of Ivies this year have been heavy, heavy legacy - think a parent with time on the board, generational legacy, that sort of thing. Yes, UChicago accepted a very very high number of students again this year, but many of those who have been accepted will most likely end up choosing others instead.

Public universities this year were very, very scary for Sidwell students: Wisco was arguably the biggest shocker of the year and rejected/waitlisted deserving students in droves. Much less success at Michigan this year as well.

Sidwell is still just as strong as (if not stronger than) in years past when it comes to highly selective LACS and did well with EDs there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell 23 family. Definitely a tough year. Many seniors and families (us included) are starting to grow frustrated with Sidwell's grade deflation and feel like there should be some sort of change going forward to communicate to colleges the rigor of the curriculum and the rarity of "high" GPAs.

To some previous posters: yes, the majority of Ivies this year have been heavy, heavy legacy - think a parent with time on the board, generational legacy, that sort of thing. Yes, UChicago accepted a very very high number of students again this year, but many of those who have been accepted will most likely end up choosing others instead.

Public universities this year were very, very scary for Sidwell students: Wisco was arguably the biggest shocker of the year and rejected/waitlisted deserving students in droves. Much less success at Michigan this year as well.

Sidwell is still just as strong as (if not stronger than) in years past when it comes to highly selective LACS and did well with EDs there.

So you're saying many Sidwell students were accepted EA or RD at UChicago? That strikes me as odd given how hard it is to get into UChicago EA/RD as opposed to EDI/EDII.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell 23 family. Definitely a tough year. Many seniors and families (us included) are starting to grow frustrated with Sidwell's grade deflation and feel like there should be some sort of change going forward to communicate to colleges the rigor of the curriculum and the rarity of "high" GPAs.

To some previous posters: yes, the majority of Ivies this year have been heavy, heavy legacy - think a parent with time on the board, generational legacy, that sort of thing. Yes, UChicago accepted a very very high number of students again this year, but many of those who have been accepted will most likely end up choosing others instead.

Public universities this year were very, very scary for Sidwell students: Wisco was arguably the biggest shocker of the year and rejected/waitlisted deserving students in droves. Much less success at Michigan this year as well.

Sidwell is still just as strong as (if not stronger than) in years past when it comes to highly selective LACS and did well with EDs there.

How many UChicago acceptances this year? If "many of those who have been accepted will most likely end up choosing others instead", those UChicago acceptances are from RD?

[Anonymous]

To previous posters - yes, it is much harder to get in in those rounds. Then again, UChicago is infamous for really loving the elite prep schools, and Sidwell is no different.

Those considering Chicago but unlikely to attend will probably attend another T20 with better student life. The many kids that matriculate each year generally tend to be more introverted socially and it's still known as very stressful and not very fun

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell 23 family. Definitely a tough year. Many seniors and families (us included) are starting to grow frustrated with Sidwell's grade deflation and feel like there should be some sort of change going forward to communicate to colleges the rigor of the curriculum and the rarity of "high" GPAs.

To some previous posters: yes, the majority of Ivies this year have been heavy, heavy legacy - think a parent with time on the board, generational legacy, that sort of thing. Yes, UChicago accepted a very very high number of students again this year, but many of those who have been accepted will most likely end up choosing others instead.

Public universities this year were very, very scary for Sidwell students: Wisco was arguably the biggest shocker of the year and rejected/waitlisted deserving students in droves. Much less success at Michigan this year as well.

Sidwell is still just as strong as (if not stronger than) in years past when it comes to highly selective LACS and did well with EDs there.

There are instructors at Sidwell who essentially NEVER give above a B+ on papers. So, students endlessly grind and wear themselves trying to get a decent grade in the class. What is Sidwell doing exactly?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To previous posters - yes, it is much harder to get in in those rounds. Then again, UChicago is infamous for really loving the elite prep schools, and Sidwell is no different.

Those considering Chicago but unlikely to attend will probably attend another T20 with better student life. The many kids that matriculate each year generally tend to be more introverted socially and it's still known as very stressful and not very fun

OK, but still hard to believe that MANY Sidwell students got into Chicago EA/RD. Maybe a few...but MANY would be very surprising. There are lots of elite prep schools other than Sidwell.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To previous posters - yes, it is much harder to get in in those rounds. Then again, UChicago is infamous for really loving the elite prep schools, and Sidwell is no different.

Those considering Chicago but unlikely to attend will probably attend another T20 with better student life. The many kids that matriculate each year generally tend to be more introverted socially and it's still known as very stressful and not very fun

OK, but still hard to believe that MANY Sidwell students got into Chicago EA/RD. Maybe a few...but MANY would be very surprising. There are lots of elite prep schools other than Sidwell.

There were about 10 students who went to Chicago last year from Sidwell. I assume at least a few more who were accepted and didn''t go. Similar numbers for other DC privates last year (this was all revealed by the beginning of May last year).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell 23 family. Definitely a tough year. Many seniors and families (us included) are starting to grow frustrated with Sidwell's grade deflation and feel like there should be some sort of change going forward to communicate to colleges the rigor of the curriculum and the rarity of "high" GPAs.

To some previous posters: yes, the majority of Ivies this year have been heavy, heavy legacy - think a parent with time on the board, generational legacy, that sort of thing. Yes, UChicago accepted a very very high number of students again this year, but many of those who have been accepted will most likely end up choosing others instead.

Public universities this year were very, very scary for Sidwell students: Wisco was arguably the biggest shocker of the year and rejected/waitlisted deserving students in droves. Much less success at Michigan this year as well.

Sidwell is still just as strong as (if not stronger than) in years past when it comes to highly selective LACS and did well with EDs there.

There are instructors at Sidwell who essentially NEVER give above a B+ on papers. So, students endlessly grind and wear themselves trying to get a decent grade in the class. What is Sidwell doing exactly?

^^ hopefully the administration is finally starting to see the negative effects of this with regards to college admissions

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell 23 family. Definitely a tough year. Many seniors and families (us included) are starting to grow frustrated with Sidwell's grade deflation and feel like there should be some sort of change going forward to communicate to colleges the rigor of the curriculum and the rarity of "high" GPAs.

To some previous posters: yes, the majority of Ivies this year have been heavy, heavy legacy - think a parent with time on the board, generational legacy, that sort of thing. Yes, UChicago accepted a very very high number of students again this year, but many of those who have been accepted will most likely end up choosing others instead.

Public universities this year were very, very scary for Sidwell students: Wisco was arguably the biggest shocker of the year and rejected/waitlisted deserving students in droves. Much less success at Michigan this year as well.

Sidwell is still just as strong as (if not stronger than) in years past when it comes to highly selective LACS and did well with EDs there.

There are instructors at Sidwell who essentially NEVER give above a B+ on papers. So, students endlessly grind and wear themselves trying to get a decent grade in the class. What is Sidwell doing exactly?

^^ hopefully the administration is finally starting to see the negative effects of this with regards to college admissions

Umm, no they are not. We have two kids at Sidwell -- spaced a number of years apart. Older one graduated and younger DC has some time left. This has been a standard complaint about Sidwell for a while. School simply does not engage. Those interested should look at Dalton outcomes. They used to be just like Sidwell. Now, there is an ocean of a difference between the two schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To previous posters - yes, it is much harder to get in in those rounds. Then again, UChicago is infamous for really loving the elite prep schools, and Sidwell is no different.

Those considering Chicago but unlikely to attend will probably attend another T20 with better student life. The many kids that matriculate each year generally tend to be more introverted socially and it's still known as very stressful and not very fun

OK, but still hard to believe that MANY Sidwell students got into Chicago EA/RD. Maybe a few...but MANY would be very surprising. There are lots of elite prep schools other than Sidwell.

There were about 10 students who went to Chicago last year from Sidwell. I assume at least a few more who were accepted and didn''t go. Similar numbers for other DC privates last year (this was all revealed by the beginning of May last year).

But the question is how many of those got into UChicaago EA/RD. Since PP said many Chicago admits from Sidwell may not attend, that suggest many Sidwell students got in EA/RD, which is hard to believe. Not hard to believe a lot of kids from Sidwell got into Chicago ED1/ED2