After all the drama, Big3 college admissions are really as strong as ever this year

[Anonymous]

OP, you realize that some of this is due to the fact that wealthy parents can afford to send the kids to those schools, so they ED. And your money can buy your kids incredible extra curricular activities.

And how much of it is due to recruited athletes?


Yes, privilege buys you better outcomes. News at 11.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, you realize that some of this is due to the fact that wealthy parents can afford to send the kids to those schools, so they ED. And your money can buy your kids incredible extra curricular activities.

And how much of it is due to recruited athletes?


Yes, privilege buys you better outcomes. News at 11.

oh, and of course, money pays for private lessons and coaches for these recruited athletes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, you realize that some of this is due to the fact that wealthy parents can afford to send the kids to those schools, so they ED. And your money can buy your kids incredible extra curricular activities.

And how much of it is due to recruited athletes?


Yes, privilege buys you better outcomes. News at 11.

oh, and of course, money pays for private lessons and coaches for these recruited athletes.

yeah - and none of that happens for those poor public school kids in McLean, Bethesda and Potomac.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op seems to be exaggerating a bit as Sidwell list looks good but definitely has schools outside T50.

ok, 85-90% to top50?

If your source is instagram, only 60% seniors posted. Anyway, top50 is a low standard for a top private.

You sound bitter (and broke)!

There are nearly 4,000 accredited four-year colleges in the US. Getting 125 students (not all of them are great students—especially some of the lifers) into Top 50 schools is a high bar.

Why the dig at lifers. I hear this a lot on this forum and it’s just not backed up by data. Sounds like jealousy to me b/c you weren’t able to provide private for your kid for all 13 years.

Agreed that comments about lifers are off base. At our private, lifers do quite well in college admissions with half of them going to a top 10 school this year.

Rich parents who are probably legacies. Duh

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, you realize that some of this is due to the fact that wealthy parents can afford to send the kids to those schools, so they ED. And your money can buy your kids incredible extra curricular activities.

And how much of it is due to recruited athletes?


Yes, privilege buys you better outcomes. News at 11.

oh, and of course, money pays for private lessons and coaches for these recruited athletes.

Money from mom and dad both being first time, high performing human beings? I am all for it. We need more. Moms who went to MIT and dads to Stanford should be commended, especially when they themselves were not hooked. Anyone who goes after those kinds of people are disgusting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel sorry for the kids at these schools who are average students and sensitive. It must be very difficult to be surrounded by such cutthroat, competitive classmates and their parents.

They better toughen up! Life outside of NCS won’t be any easier. Competition is the American way!

College will be easier. My dd went to NCS, and was an average student there. She is now in college, and she and her friends from NCS all say college is so much easier.

Every parent we know at Whitman who has college aged kids say the same. Ditto our friends with kids in public schools in NY. Not sure what this says about academic standards in college nowadays …

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm having trouble understanding how these results are worth bragging about. You're paying all that money for, what, a 20 percent chance of Ivy admissions, which is an inflated number to start with because we know that there are many more Ivy legacies at the top privates than publics.

My kids weren't geniuses, but they were good students at solid but no tippy top public schools in the DMV. They all got into either UVA, William and Mary or both, and they all went to one or the other except for one who chose a top ten LAC instead. I don't think their going to a so-called Big 3 would have made a bit of a difference in their college admissions, and we saved a lot of money and remained a part of our local neighborhood in the process.

The idea that, standing alone, attending the Big 3 over a good public school in the DMV makes a big difference in college admissions has long been debunked.

I paid "all that money" for smaller class sizes, safety, more opportunities, and a good education. I did not send my kids to private because it would improve their chances of college admissions.

Love this! We did the same and I wouldn’t change a thing. DD is happy, knows how to work hard and have fun. Safety was a big reason we didn’t want her at our neighborhood school. We made sacrifices like vacations and new cars. It was never about what college she got in or attended. She is happy with her not
Top 10, Ivy, etc acceptances. She is well prepared and will thrive. Down to the wire but will likely attend Clemson.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I paid "all that money" for smaller class sizes, safety, more opportunities, and a good education. I did not send my kids to private because it would improve their chances of college admissions.

Ditto. Solid education in a challenging environment with smaller class sizes is our goal. College admissions advantages are NOT our goal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, you realize that some of this is due to the fact that wealthy parents can afford to send the kids to those schools, so they ED. And your money can buy your kids incredible extra curricular activities.

And how much of it is due to recruited athletes?


Yes, privilege buys you better outcomes. News at 11.

oh, and of course, money pays for private lessons and coaches for these recruited athletes.

In all cases the kids are working so hard. Money doesn’t buy work ethic. Making them out to be monsters because they are elite at a sport while maintaining high academic standards (which is necessary to be a recruited athlete at the schools you’re discussing) is petty. And news flash, many of the recruited athletes are on financial aid at the various private schools and are not in the overly privileged bucket you seem to hate so much.

[Anonymous]

What happened at gds - usually similar

[Anonymous]

It’s pretty interesting. I was just looking at a lot of the Instagram pages for the local publics and privates where the kids are posting where they’re going and, yea, you see more Ivy admits from the top privates but beyond that by and large the kids from the better publics are doing just as well as the top privates. And as others have noted, the top privates likely have a lot more Ivy legacy kids and that skews the numbers.

The lesson I’m learning from all of this is that there’s no readily apparent edge for college admissions by sending your kids to a top private school in the DMV if you live in a good public school district. I don’t know why people spend all that money for private other than to make themselves feel special I guess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, you realize that some of this is due to the fact that wealthy parents can afford to send the kids to those schools, so they ED. And your money can buy your kids incredible extra curricular activities.

And how much of it is due to recruited athletes?


Yes, privilege buys you better outcomes. News at 11.

oh, and of course, money pays for private lessons and coaches for these recruited athletes.

Money from mom and dad both being first time, high performing human beings? I am all for it. We need more. Moms who went to MIT and dads to Stanford should be commended, especially when they themselves were not hooked. Anyone who goes after those kinds of people are disgusting.

I’m much more impressed by kids who excel with no parental advantages. Kids don’t choose their parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, you realize that some of this is due to the fact that wealthy parents can afford to send the kids to those schools, so they ED. And your money can buy your kids incredible extra curricular activities.

And how much of it is due to recruited athletes?


Yes, privilege buys you better outcomes. News at 11.

oh, and of course, money pays for private lessons and coaches for these recruited athletes.

In all cases the kids are working so hard. Money doesn’t buy work ethic. Making them out to be monsters because they are elite at a sport while maintaining high academic standards (which is necessary to be a recruited athlete at the schools you’re discussing) is petty. And news flash, many of the recruited athletes are on financial aid at the various private schools and are not in the overly privileged bucket you seem to hate so much.

Money isn’t sufficient, but is absolutely necessary in order to be a recruited athlete. And the kids “on financial aid” at these schools still have parents paying thousands of dollars a year in tuition.

These schools talk a big talk in terms of DEI, but have few to no ESOL, undocumented, first generation college applicant, low-income or disabled students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s pretty interesting. I was just looking at a lot of the Instagram pages for the local publics and privates where the kids are posting where they’re going and, yea, you see more Ivy admits from the top privates but beyond that by and large the kids from the better publics are doing just as well as the top privates. And as others have noted, the top privates likely have a lot more Ivy legacy kids and that skews the numbers.

The lesson I’m learning from all of this is that there’s no readily apparent edge for college admissions by sending your kids to a top private school in the DMV if you live in a good public school district. I don’t know why people spend all that money for private other than to make themselves feel special I guess.

College prep. Lots of kids from publics fail out of undergrad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op seems to be exaggerating a bit as Sidwell list looks good but definitely has schools outside T50.

Much of the impressive Sidwell list is hooked.