Public School Son Has Far Better College Prospects Than Private School Daughter

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How were their HS experiences? Hope they both look back fondly.

FWIW, I am really surprised the college counselor is telling you Wisconsin is a reach based on what we heard at STA (and no shade at Wisconsin, would be happy to have a kid matriculate there). We did not have a private counselor though. Maybe ask the NCS counselor what they think.

STA has better college results for similar kids. I don't know why this is. College admissions are easier for boys in general, STA has more pull, their grading is easier (no A minuses and the numerical grading scale), etc.

I can tell you that the minimum admit for Wisconsin from NCS in 2023 was a 3.85 (from the Scoir data). The year before it was about a 3.75.

I just posted I just switched one of my 3 kids to private. I would be damn pissed if I sent my kid to a top private for him just to go to U Wisconsin.

Honestly you are probably at private for the wrong reasons. My kids will end up where they will for college, but they’ve gained a love of learning, amazing executive functioning and public speaking skills among other attributes that will serve them well in life. If you are primarily focused on college acceptances, stay at public.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How were their HS experiences? Hope they both look back fondly.

FWIW, I am really surprised the college counselor is telling you Wisconsin is a reach based on what we heard at STA (and no shade at Wisconsin, would be happy to have a kid matriculate there). We did not have a private counselor though. Maybe ask the NCS counselor what they think.

STA has better college results for similar kids. I don't know why this is. College admissions are easier for boys in general, STA has more pull, their grading is easier (no A minuses and the numerical grading scale), etc.

I can tell you that the minimum admit for Wisconsin from NCS in 2023 was a 3.85 (from the Scoir data). The year before it was about a 3.75.

I just posted I just switched one of my 3 kids to private. I would be damn pissed if I sent my kid to a top private for him just to go to U Wisconsin.

You are being honest and that's rare here. If people didn't care, they wouldn't be so upset at the results. It's just ROI.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Ivy commits at our public HS are URMs and legacies.

Not all. I know several white girls at DD’s big MoCo public who got into USNWR top 5 schools. But their ECs, including DD’s ECs, knocked it out of the park, so you could possibly argue they had hooks. DD wasn’t an athletic recruit, fwiw.

To the idiot who thinks top kids at public schools never do any work or learn anything—you’re an idiot. DD is doing great at her top university.

MoCo is not DCPS. You're talking apples and oranges. Many, many families leave DCPS and move to Montgomery Co for high school because the schools are much better. If we were in MoCo we would not have used private at all. I often wished we had moved but the kids had their neighborhood friends, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just started a thread about how often kids hang out after school with friends. I am wondering if sending my son to an inconvenient private is worth it.

My neighbor sent her kids to NCS and boarding. They both went on to ivy schools but not happy. Mom told me that she thinks her kids would have been happier at the local public. Her daughter did well at NCS but didn’t have the best social experience.

I don’t think you should assume an NCS experience is a typical private experience. I went to a different private but had lots of friends there, and they were all miserable. Now many years later, my children are at the private I went to, and their friends (primarily from a travel sport) who go to NCS all hate it.

PP here. We live in a close in suburb of DC. There are three girls on our street who went to NCS recently. One is a senior now and two graduated recently. One went to an ivy and other went to U Chicago I think. I don’t know if it is NCS but none of these girls look happy. The one mom of ivy girl said her friends who went to the local public seem happier overall and she questions her choice to send her daughter to a school where she didn’t have the best social environment.

I have heard other parents with older kids say that if they could do it all over again, they would just send their kids to the local public. One mom in particular sent her kids to 3 different privates. 1 is at an ivy. 1 is at a T20 and last is at a large state school. She said their college outcomes would probably have been identical if they went to public and it would have been better for all, meaning they could have had more quality family time together and closer friends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How were their HS experiences? Hope they both look back fondly.

FWIW, I am really surprised the college counselor is telling you Wisconsin is a reach based on what we heard at STA (and no shade at Wisconsin, would be happy to have a kid matriculate there). We did not have a private counselor though. Maybe ask the NCS counselor what they think.

STA has better college results for similar kids. I don't know why this is. College admissions are easier for boys in general, STA has more pull, their grading is easier (no A minuses and the numerical grading scale), etc.

I can tell you that the minimum admit for Wisconsin from NCS in 2023 was a 3.85 (from the Scoir data). The year before it was about a 3.75.

I just posted I just switched one of my 3 kids to private. I would be damn pissed if I sent my kid to a top private for him just to go to U Wisconsin.

You are being honest and that's rare here. If people didn't care, they wouldn't be so upset at the results. It's just ROI.

yes, and it's something to consider very seriously. If recent admissions and GPAs from NCS continue, 80-90% of any given NCS class does not have the grades to get into Wisconsin.
Are you okay with that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How were their HS experiences? Hope they both look back fondly.

FWIW, I am really surprised the college counselor is telling you Wisconsin is a reach based on what we heard at STA (and no shade at Wisconsin, would be happy to have a kid matriculate there). We did not have a private counselor though. Maybe ask the NCS counselor what they think.

STA has better college results for similar kids. I don't know why this is. College admissions are easier for boys in general, STA has more pull, their grading is easier (no A minuses and the numerical grading scale), etc.

I can tell you that the minimum admit for Wisconsin from NCS in 2023 was a 3.85 (from the Scoir data). The year before it was about a 3.75.

I just posted I just switched one of my 3 kids to private. I would be damn pissed if I sent my kid to a top private for him just to go to U Wisconsin.

Honestly you are probably at private for the wrong reasons. My kids will end up where they will for college, but they’ve gained a love of learning, amazing executive functioning and public speaking skills among other attributes that will serve them well in life. If you are primarily focused on college acceptances, stay at public.

I am not in it purely for college admissions. DH and I are both ivy educated. I would also be annoyed if my kid went to Wisconsin from public.

We live in a wealthy area with a well educated patient population. I am seeing many siblings with less than stellar college outcomes. If your parent went to Yale or Harvard and you end up at UVA, it is a step down, especially after they spend 500k in private school tuition.

I will only admit it on here since it is anonymous. I would be very annoyed if my kid ends up at a bad college after spending all this money on tuition. In real life, of course I will say we switched for the experience, smaller class sizes, etc.

[Anonymous]

Wisconsin is ranked #35 USNWR. Reset your expectations a little.

[Anonymous]

I am very grateful for the private school education my daughter is receiving. For me, I want the quality of her education to be top notch. As far as college is concerned, I would like her to also get a top notch education. As far as I’m aware, that is possible to achieve among many non-Ivy schools including public state schools.

[Anonymous]

Seriously you people are such snobs. The Big 10 offers amazing educational opportunities. Having studied at both Michigan and Harvard, I’d pick Michigan any day of the week. People in the Midwest are a heck of a lot nicer than Ivy League snobs who are always competitive social climbers.

College admissions have just changed and not to the benefit of most private school kids, especially UMC, White or Asian. That is the unfortunate reality. The only good thing is that the top 50 colleges are getting stronger because now they are reaping the benefits of getting amazingly qualified students that they wouldn’t have pre-Covid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How were their HS experiences? Hope they both look back fondly.

FWIW, I am really surprised the college counselor is telling you Wisconsin is a reach based on what we heard at STA (and no shade at Wisconsin, would be happy to have a kid matriculate there). We did not have a private counselor though. Maybe ask the NCS counselor what they think.

STA has better college results for similar kids. I don't know why this is. College admissions are easier for boys in general, STA has more pull, their grading is easier (no A minuses and the numerical grading scale), etc.

I can tell you that the minimum admit for Wisconsin from NCS in 2023 was a 3.85 (from the Scoir data). The year before it was about a 3.75.

I just posted I just switched one of my 3 kids to private. I would be damn pissed if I sent my kid to a top private for him just to go to U Wisconsin.

Honestly you are probably at private for the wrong reasons. My kids will end up where they will for college, but they’ve gained a love of learning, amazing executive functioning and public speaking skills among other attributes that will serve them well in life. If you are primarily focused on college acceptances, stay at public.

I am not in it purely for college admissions. DH and I are both ivy educated. I would also be annoyed if my kid went to Wisconsin from public.

We live in a wealthy area with a well educated patient population. I am seeing many siblings with less than stellar college outcomes. If your parent went to Yale or Harvard and you end up at UVA, it is a step down, especially after they spend 500k in private school tuition.

I will only admit it on here since it is anonymous. I would be very annoyed if my kid ends up at a bad college after spending all this money on tuition. In real life, of course I will say we switched for the experience, smaller class sizes, etc.

Lol.

[Anonymous]

NCS was back in the building when DCPS was 100% virtual.
The reason my 10th grader is in private is not for an easier path to college - I made the choice based on the chaos that they went through in MS.
I have a 12th grader in DCPS and I saw with my child and their friends extended periods without teachers. I don't care that they got an "A". They did not actually learn anything.

[Anonymous]

Any boy has a better chance than a girl simply because far more girls apply than boys.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just started a thread about how often kids hang out after school with friends. I am wondering if sending my son to an inconvenient private is worth it.

My neighbor sent her kids to NCS and boarding. They both went on to ivy schools but not happy. Mom told me that she thinks her kids would have been happier at the local public. Her daughter did well at NCS but didn’t have the best social experience.

I don’t think you should assume an NCS experience is a typical private experience. I went to a different private but had lots of friends there, and they were all miserable. Now many years later, my children are at the private I went to, and their friends (primarily from a travel sport) who go to NCS all hate it.

PP here. We live in a close in suburb of DC. There are three girls on our street who went to NCS recently. One is a senior now and two graduated recently. One went to an ivy and other went to U Chicago I think. I don’t know if it is NCS but none of these girls look happy. The one mom of ivy girl said her friends who went to the local public seem happier overall and she questions her choice to send her daughter to a school where she didn’t have the best social environment.

I have heard other parents with older kids say that if they could do it all over again, they would just send their kids to the local public. One mom in particular sent her kids to 3 different privates. 1 is at an ivy. 1 is at a T20 and last is at a large state school. She said their college outcomes would probably have been identical if they went to public and it would have been better for all, meaning they could have had more quality family time together and closer friends.

so you are thinking that they are still unhappy because of where they went to high school even though they are now all in college? I’m confused. Wouldn’t they now be unhappy due to the college they are at?

[Anonymous]

I’m not sending my children to private school so that they have an advantage getting into top colleges. I’m sending my children to private school for the small class sizes, strong communication, variety of opportunities to learn and demonstrate knowledge, consistent expectations and consequences, community, to name a few reasons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son attends Jackson-Reed and looks like he's going to graduate with a 4.5 GPA. The college matriculation stats at J-R aren't great, but their online platform shows that he has a very good shot at Ivies this upcoming cycle. My daughter goes to NCS and is set to graduate with a B+/A- GPA. She has worked much harder, gained a better education, but students with her college prospects are far more dire. We are hoping just to get her into U Wisconsin.

We hired a top college admissions consultant, and she told us she has a 90% certainty she can get my son into a top 20 college. She said my daughter has virtually no chance because of her grades.

I learned the hard way that universities do not care where your kid attends high school, and they will not receive a "bump" in admissions because of it.

May I ask what you son’s unweighted gpa is?