Fewer Public School Applicants for 9th

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know but the article says “School officials could not guarantee its accuracy.”

They are not the source so of course they are not going to guarantee - that's standard.

I think you're just being obtuse because it doesn't align with your assumption/narrative. Not to worry, it very obvious to everyone here that this is the case so you keep doing you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know but the article says “School officials could not guarantee its accuracy.”

They are not the source so of course they are not going to guarantee - that's standard.

I think you're just being obtuse because it doesn't align with your assumption/narrative. Not to worry, it very obvious to everyone here that this is the case so you keep doing you.

But you can guarantee it, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know but the article says “School officials could not guarantee its accuracy.”

Doesn’t mean it is totally inaccurate. Why bother with the report if there is no credence in the data? And don’t forget the PP accused this poster of making up the data so there’s that.

Because it sells magazines.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I bet the public school applicants will continue to trend down, especially at the elite, $55k schools.

The word is increasingly out that college admissions for a smart but unhooked kid are better from DCPS than they are for the same kid at Sidwell, NCS, etc. Plus you have to work your a$$ off through all of high school at these privates. I had kids come from DCPS and this is definitely what people are talking about and coming to realize in mass. These are close communities, neighborhoods and communities--word travels.

STJ is sort of it's own animal--it will always get a bunch of families who are skittish about Jackson Reed and figure that paying under $23k for the guarantee of order in the classroom is worth it. Interestingly, some of these kids end up transferring out to JR later in high school.

LOL, so you really think a college is going to have preference for a public school kid who coasted through HS vs a private school kid who "works his a$$ off through all of high school." Colleges know that kids coming out of schools like Sidwell are significantly more prepared for the rigors of college. Sorry, but your your statement is not very convincing at all.

Actually, yes. A lot of private school parents are delusional about how the modern world of college admissions works. Elite colleges don't want to be filled with $55k/year prep school kids. They view your child's STA/NCS/Sidwell education as a marker of "privilege" (read: bad). They would much rather admit the low-income, child of a single mother J-R student than 3.9 GPA Sidwell kid.

Anyone who has gone through this process knows that you will get much better results being in the top 5% of the J-R graduating class than in the top 50% of an elite private school. This is largely because universities cap the number of students they admit per high school, and the elite privates are filled with legacies, VIPs, donor children, etc. There's no way a regular kids is competing with that, no matter how good their grades are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I bet the public school applicants will continue to trend down, especially at the elite, $55k schools.

The word is increasingly out that college admissions for a smart but unhooked kid are better from DCPS than they are for the same kid at Sidwell, NCS, etc. Plus you have to work your a$$ off through all of high school at these privates. I had kids come from DCPS and this is definitely what people are talking about and coming to realize in mass. These are close communities, neighborhoods and communities--word travels.

STJ is sort of it's own animal--it will always get a bunch of families who are skittish about Jackson Reed and figure that paying under $23k for the guarantee of order in the classroom is worth it. Interestingly, some of these kids end up transferring out to JR later in high school.

LOL, so you really think a college is going to have preference for a public school kid who coasted through HS vs a private school kid who "works his a$$ off through all of high school." Colleges know that kids coming out of schools like Sidwell are significantly more prepared for the rigors of college. Sorry, but your your statement is not very convincing at all.

Actually, yes. A lot of private school parents are delusional about how the modern world of college admissions works. Elite colleges don't want to be filled with $55k/year prep school kids. They view your child's STA/NCS/Sidwell education as a marker of "privilege" (read: bad). They would much rather admit the low-income, child of a single mother J-R student than 3.9 GPA Sidwell kid.

Anyone who has gone through this process knows that you will get much better results being in the top 5% of the J-R graduating class than in the top 50% of an elite private school. This is largely because universities cap the number of students they admit per high school, and the elite privates are filled with legacies, VIPs, donor children, etc. There's no way a regular kids is competing with that, no matter how good their grades are.

More fan fiction.

If you think that elite colleges want to fill their classes with poor, high achieving students, then you don’t understand that college is a business. These colleges would also cease to be “elite.”

Despite what you’ve heard, there’s nothing new under the sun. These colleges will continue to favor the wealthy and well-connected for admissions purposes. If you don’t believe me, check the percentages of top public vs. top private students heading to top 20 colleges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:By the time you’re in DCPS middle school a lot of families come to the realization that DCPS actually does a really good job serving high achieving students. And, those kids will do well at JR and have a very good shot at Ivy. But for the majority of families, those whove been lumped into the dreaded “average” category, the privates become very attractive. Because being average at JR exposes you to classes with kids who are years behind. And even the best teachers cannot handle an overcrowded classroom with such a wide range of needs. It’s impossible. Therefore many of those “average” families scramble for privates and charters.

In my experience at Deal it was the high flyers who left for private. My kid was in the 20 person Algebra 2 class and I'd say that 75% of the kids in the class left for private and 25% stayed in DCPS. The ones who stayed behind in DCPS are having much better options for college.

Right. The high flyers at JR are going to have a ton of great options and probably a ton of merit aid. That’s what I said. But the “average” student coming out of Deal is going to have 15 kids in their JR class who are years behind academically. It’s those Deal families that scramble for private or charter if they are able.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I bet the public school applicants will continue to trend down, especially at the elite, $55k schools.

The word is increasingly out that college admissions for a smart but unhooked kid are better from DCPS than they are for the same kid at Sidwell, NCS, etc. Plus you have to work your a$$ off through all of high school at these privates. I had kids come from DCPS and this is definitely what people are talking about and coming to realize in mass. These are close communities, neighborhoods and communities--word travels.

STJ is sort of it's own animal--it will always get a bunch of families who are skittish about Jackson Reed and figure that paying under $23k for the guarantee of order in the classroom is worth it. Interestingly, some of these kids end up transferring out to JR later in high school.

LOL, so you really think a college is going to have preference for a public school kid who coasted through HS vs a private school kid who "works his a$$ off through all of high school." Colleges know that kids coming out of schools like Sidwell are significantly more prepared for the rigors of college. Sorry, but your your statement is not very convincing at all.

Actually, yes. A lot of private school parents are delusional about how the modern world of college admissions works. Elite colleges don't want to be filled with $55k/year prep school kids. They view your child's STA/NCS/Sidwell education as a marker of "privilege" (read: bad). They would much rather admit the low-income, child of a single mother J-R student than 3.9 GPA Sidwell kid.

Anyone who has gone through this process knows that you will get much better results being in the top 5% of the J-R graduating class than in the top 50% of an elite private school. This is largely because universities cap the number of students they admit per high school, and the elite privates are filled with legacies, VIPs, donor children, etc. There's no way a regular kids is competing with that, no matter how good their grades are.

More fan fiction.

If you think that elite colleges want to fill their classes with poor, high achieving students, then you don’t understand that college is a business. These colleges would also cease to be “elite.”

Despite what you’ve heard, there’s nothing new under the sun. These colleges will continue to favor the wealthy and well-connected for admissions purposes. If you don’t believe me, check the percentages of top public vs. top private students heading to top 20 colleges.

The top 5% at JR would also be top 5% at a big 3.

At the top 50% the levels are not comparable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I bet the public school applicants will continue to trend down, especially at the elite, $55k schools.

The word is increasingly out that college admissions for a smart but unhooked kid are better from DCPS than they are for the same kid at Sidwell, NCS, etc. Plus you have to work your a$$ off through all of high school at these privates. I had kids come from DCPS and this is definitely what people are talking about and coming to realize in mass. These are close communities, neighborhoods and communities--word travels.

STJ is sort of it's own animal--it will always get a bunch of families who are skittish about Jackson Reed and figure that paying under $23k for the guarantee of order in the classroom is worth it. Interestingly, some of these kids end up transferring out to JR later in high school.

LOL, so you really think a college is going to have preference for a public school kid who coasted through HS vs a private school kid who "works his a$$ off through all of high school." Colleges know that kids coming out of schools like Sidwell are significantly more prepared for the rigors of college. Sorry, but your your statement is not very convincing at all.

Actually, yes. A lot of private school parents are delusional about how the modern world of college admissions works. Elite colleges don't want to be filled with $55k/year prep school kids. They view your child's STA/NCS/Sidwell education as a marker of "privilege" (read: bad). They would much rather admit the low-income, child of a single mother J-R student than 3.9 GPA Sidwell kid.

Anyone who has gone through this process knows that you will get much better results being in the top 5% of the J-R graduating class than in the top 50% of an elite private school. This is largely because universities cap the number of students they admit per high school, and the elite privates are filled with legacies, VIPs, donor children, etc. There's no way a regular kids is competing with that, no matter how good their grades are.

More fan fiction.

If you think that elite colleges want to fill their classes with poor, high achieving students, then you don’t understand that college is a business. These colleges would also cease to be “elite.”

Despite what you’ve heard, there’s nothing new under the sun. These colleges will continue to favor the wealthy and well-connected for admissions purposes. If you don’t believe me, check the percentages of top public vs. top private students heading to top 20 colleges.

This isn't "fan fiction." It's the reality of modern college admissions. Most admissions officers are very progressive, and applicants are being advised to hide all indicators of economic or social privilege.

I'm also not making this up out of nowhere. Here's an article by one of the most successful college admissions consultants saying that he advises wealthy parents to not enroll in prep school because of the intense competition: https://nypost.com/2023/11/16/lifestyle/kids-ditching-prep-schools-for-public-to-get-into-the-ivy-league/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I bet the public school applicants will continue to trend down, especially at the elite, $55k schools.

The word is increasingly out that college admissions for a smart but unhooked kid are better from DCPS than they are for the same kid at Sidwell, NCS, etc. Plus you have to work your a$$ off through all of high school at these privates. I had kids come from DCPS and this is definitely what people are talking about and coming to realize in mass. These are close communities, neighborhoods and communities--word travels.

STJ is sort of it's own animal--it will always get a bunch of families who are skittish about Jackson Reed and figure that paying under $23k for the guarantee of order in the classroom is worth it. Interestingly, some of these kids end up transferring out to JR later in high school.

LOL, so you really think a college is going to have preference for a public school kid who coasted through HS vs a private school kid who "works his a$$ off through all of high school." Colleges know that kids coming out of schools like Sidwell are significantly more prepared for the rigors of college. Sorry, but your your statement is not very convincing at all.

Actually, yes. A lot of private school parents are delusional about how the modern world of college admissions works. Elite colleges don't want to be filled with $55k/year prep school kids. They view your child's STA/NCS/Sidwell education as a marker of "privilege" (read: bad). They would much rather admit the low-income, child of a single mother J-R student than 3.9 GPA Sidwell kid.

Anyone who has gone through this process knows that you will get much better results being in the top 5% of the J-R graduating class than in the top 50% of an elite private school. This is largely because universities cap the number of students they admit per high school, and the elite privates are filled with legacies, VIPs, donor children, etc. There's no way a regular kids is competing with that, no matter how good their grades are.

Things slow at your government job today? I know it is hard to accept that all of us rich private school families have a leg up on your kids. Why do you think people pay $50K a year? It is a major advantage especially when zoned for schools like JR.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I bet the public school applicants will continue to trend down, especially at the elite, $55k schools.

The word is increasingly out that college admissions for a smart but unhooked kid are better from DCPS than they are for the same kid at Sidwell, NCS, etc. Plus you have to work your a$$ off through all of high school at these privates. I had kids come from DCPS and this is definitely what people are talking about and coming to realize in mass. These are close communities, neighborhoods and communities--word travels.

STJ is sort of it's own animal--it will always get a bunch of families who are skittish about Jackson Reed and figure that paying under $23k for the guarantee of order in the classroom is worth it. Interestingly, some of these kids end up transferring out to JR later in high school.

LOL, so you really think a college is going to have preference for a public school kid who coasted through HS vs a private school kid who "works his a$$ off through all of high school." Colleges know that kids coming out of schools like Sidwell are significantly more prepared for the rigors of college. Sorry, but your your statement is not very convincing at all.

Actually, yes. A lot of private school parents are delusional about how the modern world of college admissions works. Elite colleges don't want to be filled with $55k/year prep school kids. They view your child's STA/NCS/Sidwell education as a marker of "privilege" (read: bad). They would much rather admit the low-income, child of a single mother J-R student than 3.9 GPA Sidwell kid.

Anyone who has gone through this process knows that you will get much better results being in the top 5% of the J-R graduating class than in the top 50% of an elite private school. This is largely because universities cap the number of students they admit per high school, and the elite privates are filled with legacies, VIPs, donor children, etc. There's no way a regular kids is competing with that, no matter how good their grades are.

More fan fiction.

If you think that elite colleges want to fill their classes with poor, high achieving students, then you don’t understand that college is a business. These colleges would also cease to be “elite.”

Despite what you’ve heard, there’s nothing new under the sun. These colleges will continue to favor the wealthy and well-connected for admissions purposes. If you don’t believe me, check the percentages of top public vs. top private students heading to top 20 colleges.

The kids from Big 3 elite schools going to the T10 colleges usually are legacy, VIPs, and children of donors. The typical kid with affluent parents usually doesn't have the same admissions outcomes. The Big 3 kids who make it into an Ivy, especially HYPSM, without hooks, are insanely well-qualified and have perfect grades along with insanely impressive extracurricular accomplishments such as journal publications, national awards, etc. These kids would have gotten the same college results from anywhere.

If your kid is just a standard Lisa Simpson-esque overachiever, they will likely have worse college results from a Big 3 school than being the superstar at their public school. Applicants are judged directly against their competition within the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I bet the public school applicants will continue to trend down, especially at the elite, $55k schools.

The word is increasingly out that college admissions for a smart but unhooked kid are better from DCPS than they are for the same kid at Sidwell, NCS, etc. Plus you have to work your a$$ off through all of high school at these privates. I had kids come from DCPS and this is definitely what people are talking about and coming to realize in mass. These are close communities, neighborhoods and communities--word travels.

STJ is sort of it's own animal--it will always get a bunch of families who are skittish about Jackson Reed and figure that paying under $23k for the guarantee of order in the classroom is worth it. Interestingly, some of these kids end up transferring out to JR later in high school.

LOL, so you really think a college is going to have preference for a public school kid who coasted through HS vs a private school kid who "works his a$$ off through all of high school." Colleges know that kids coming out of schools like Sidwell are significantly more prepared for the rigors of college. Sorry, but your your statement is not very convincing at all.

Actually, yes. A lot of private school parents are delusional about how the modern world of college admissions works. Elite colleges don't want to be filled with $55k/year prep school kids. They view your child's STA/NCS/Sidwell education as a marker of "privilege" (read: bad). They would much rather admit the low-income, child of a single mother J-R student than 3.9 GPA Sidwell kid.

Anyone who has gone through this process knows that you will get much better results being in the top 5% of the J-R graduating class than in the top 50% of an elite private school. This is largely because universities cap the number of students they admit per high school, and the elite privates are filled with legacies, VIPs, donor children, etc. There's no way a regular kids is competing with that, no matter how good their grades are.

More fan fiction.

If you think that elite colleges want to fill their classes with poor, high achieving students, then you don’t understand that college is a business. These colleges would also cease to be “elite.”

Despite what you’ve heard, there’s nothing new under the sun. These colleges will continue to favor the wealthy and well-connected for admissions purposes. If you don’t believe me, check the percentages of top public vs. top private students heading to top 20 colleges.

This isn't "fan fiction." It's the reality of modern college admissions. Most admissions officers are very progressive, and applicants are being advised to hide all indicators of economic or social privilege.

I'm also not making this up out of nowhere. Here's an article by one of the most successful college admissions consultants saying that he advises wealthy parents to not enroll in prep school because of the intense competition: https://nypost.com/2023/11/16/lifestyle/kids-ditching-prep-schools-for-public-to-get-into-the-ivy-league/

The NY Post 😂

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I bet the public school applicants will continue to trend down, especially at the elite, $55k schools.

The word is increasingly out that college admissions for a smart but unhooked kid are better from DCPS than they are for the same kid at Sidwell, NCS, etc. Plus you have to work your a$$ off through all of high school at these privates. I had kids come from DCPS and this is definitely what people are talking about and coming to realize in mass. These are close communities, neighborhoods and communities--word travels.

STJ is sort of it's own animal--it will always get a bunch of families who are skittish about Jackson Reed and figure that paying under $23k for the guarantee of order in the classroom is worth it. Interestingly, some of these kids end up transferring out to JR later in high school.

LOL, so you really think a college is going to have preference for a public school kid who coasted through HS vs a private school kid who "works his a$$ off through all of high school." Colleges know that kids coming out of schools like Sidwell are significantly more prepared for the rigors of college. Sorry, but your your statement is not very convincing at all.

Actually, yes. A lot of private school parents are delusional about how the modern world of college admissions works. Elite colleges don't want to be filled with $55k/year prep school kids. They view your child's STA/NCS/Sidwell education as a marker of "privilege" (read: bad). They would much rather admit the low-income, child of a single mother J-R student than 3.9 GPA Sidwell kid.

Anyone who has gone through this process knows that you will get much better results being in the top 5% of the J-R graduating class than in the top 50% of an elite private school. This is largely because universities cap the number of students they admit per high school, and the elite privates are filled with legacies, VIPs, donor children, etc. There's no way a regular kids is competing with that, no matter how good their grades are.

More fan fiction.

If you think that elite colleges want to fill their classes with poor, high achieving students, then you don’t understand that college is a business. These colleges would also cease to be “elite.”

Despite what you’ve heard, there’s nothing new under the sun. These colleges will continue to favor the wealthy and well-connected for admissions purposes. If you don’t believe me, check the percentages of top public vs. top private students heading to top 20 colleges.

The kids from Big 3 elite schools going to the T10 colleges usually are legacy, VIPs, and children of donors. The typical kid with affluent parents usually doesn't have the same admissions outcomes. The Big 3 kids who make it into an Ivy, especially HYPSM, without hooks, are insanely well-qualified and have perfect grades along with insanely impressive extracurricular accomplishments such as journal publications, national awards, etc. These kids would have gotten the same college results from anywhere.

If your kid is just a standard Lisa Simpson-esque overachiever, they will likely have worse college results from a Big 3 school than being the superstar at their public school. Applicants are judged directly against their competition within the school.

There are always going to be kids who don’t go to top 20 schools. But 20 kids out of a class of 100 is impressive. Much more so than 20 kids out of a class of 500. And this is how it’s going for private vs public. I know math is hard for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I bet the public school applicants will continue to trend down, especially at the elite, $55k schools.

The word is increasingly out that college admissions for a smart but unhooked kid are better from DCPS than they are for the same kid at Sidwell, NCS, etc. Plus you have to work your a$$ off through all of high school at these privates. I had kids come from DCPS and this is definitely what people are talking about and coming to realize in mass. These are close communities, neighborhoods and communities--word travels.

STJ is sort of it's own animal--it will always get a bunch of families who are skittish about Jackson Reed and figure that paying under $23k for the guarantee of order in the classroom is worth it. Interestingly, some of these kids end up transferring out to JR later in high school.

LOL, so you really think a college is going to have preference for a public school kid who coasted through HS vs a private school kid who "works his a$$ off through all of high school." Colleges know that kids coming out of schools like Sidwell are significantly more prepared for the rigors of college. Sorry, but your your statement is not very convincing at all.

Actually, yes. A lot of private school parents are delusional about how the modern world of college admissions works. Elite colleges don't want to be filled with $55k/year prep school kids. They view your child's STA/NCS/Sidwell education as a marker of "privilege" (read: bad). They would much rather admit the low-income, child of a single mother J-R student than 3.9 GPA Sidwell kid.

Anyone who has gone through this process knows that you will get much better results being in the top 5% of the J-R graduating class than in the top 50% of an elite private school. This is largely because universities cap the number of students they admit per high school, and the elite privates are filled with legacies, VIPs, donor children, etc. There's no way a regular kids is competing with that, no matter how good their grades are.

Things slow at your government job today? I know it is hard to accept that all of us rich private school families have a leg up on your kids. Why do you think people pay $50K a year? It is a major advantage especially when zoned for schools like JR.

You pay $50k/year for the status and to brag to others about your child's education. People pay $50k/year for private school for the same reason they pay so much for cars, clothing, jewelry, and other luxury items.

Has your kid actually gone through the college admissions process yet? Many, many families from these schools will tell you outright that the high school pedigree did not help their children land a spot at an elite university. Just looking at NCS's matriculation, and only 2 girls got into Harvard, Yale, and Princeton each in the past 4 years, and I'm willing to bet they were URM, athlete, legacy, or well-connected. There are way more girls matriculating at Syracuse, Tulane, and Boston College.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I bet the public school applicants will continue to trend down, especially at the elite, $55k schools.

The word is increasingly out that college admissions for a smart but unhooked kid are better from DCPS than they are for the same kid at Sidwell, NCS, etc. Plus you have to work your a$$ off through all of high school at these privates. I had kids come from DCPS and this is definitely what people are talking about and coming to realize in mass. These are close communities, neighborhoods and communities--word travels.

STJ is sort of it's own animal--it will always get a bunch of families who are skittish about Jackson Reed and figure that paying under $23k for the guarantee of order in the classroom is worth it. Interestingly, some of these kids end up transferring out to JR later in high school.

LOL, so you really think a college is going to have preference for a public school kid who coasted through HS vs a private school kid who "works his a$$ off through all of high school." Colleges know that kids coming out of schools like Sidwell are significantly more prepared for the rigors of college. Sorry, but your your statement is not very convincing at all.

Actually, yes. A lot of private school parents are delusional about how the modern world of college admissions works. Elite colleges don't want to be filled with $55k/year prep school kids. They view your child's STA/NCS/Sidwell education as a marker of "privilege" (read: bad). They would much rather admit the low-income, child of a single mother J-R student than 3.9 GPA Sidwell kid.

Anyone who has gone through this process knows that you will get much better results being in the top 5% of the J-R graduating class than in the top 50% of an elite private school. This is largely because universities cap the number of students they admit per high school, and the elite privates are filled with legacies, VIPs, donor children, etc. There's no way a regular kids is competing with that, no matter how good their grades are.

More fan fiction.

If you think that elite colleges want to fill their classes with poor, high achieving students, then you don’t understand that college is a business. These colleges would also cease to be “elite.”

Despite what you’ve heard, there’s nothing new under the sun. These colleges will continue to favor the wealthy and well-connected for admissions purposes. If you don’t believe me, check the percentages of top public vs. top private students heading to top 20 colleges.

The top 5% at JR would also be top 5% at a big 3.

At the top 50% the levels are not comparable.

The top 5% at JR would also be top 5% at a big 3.

You have no way to prove this statement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I bet the public school applicants will continue to trend down, especially at the elite, $55k schools.

The word is increasingly out that college admissions for a smart but unhooked kid are better from DCPS than they are for the same kid at Sidwell, NCS, etc. Plus you have to work your a$$ off through all of high school at these privates. I had kids come from DCPS and this is definitely what people are talking about and coming to realize in mass. These are close communities, neighborhoods and communities--word travels.

STJ is sort of it's own animal--it will always get a bunch of families who are skittish about Jackson Reed and figure that paying under $23k for the guarantee of order in the classroom is worth it. Interestingly, some of these kids end up transferring out to JR later in high school.

LOL, so you really think a college is going to have preference for a public school kid who coasted through HS vs a private school kid who "works his a$$ off through all of high school." Colleges know that kids coming out of schools like Sidwell are significantly more prepared for the rigors of college. Sorry, but your your statement is not very convincing at all.

Actually, yes. A lot of private school parents are delusional about how the modern world of college admissions works. Elite colleges don't want to be filled with $55k/year prep school kids. They view your child's STA/NCS/Sidwell education as a marker of "privilege" (read: bad). They would much rather admit the low-income, child of a single mother J-R student than 3.9 GPA Sidwell kid.

Anyone who has gone through this process knows that you will get much better results being in the top 5% of the J-R graduating class than in the top 50% of an elite private school. This is largely because universities cap the number of students they admit per high school, and the elite privates are filled with legacies, VIPs, donor children, etc. There's no way a regular kids is competing with that, no matter how good their grades are.

More fan fiction.

If you think that elite colleges want to fill their classes with poor, high achieving students, then you don’t understand that college is a business. These colleges would also cease to be “elite.”

Despite what you’ve heard, there’s nothing new under the sun. These colleges will continue to favor the wealthy and well-connected for admissions purposes. If you don’t believe me, check the percentages of top public vs. top private students heading to top 20 colleges.

This isn't "fan fiction." It's the reality of modern college admissions. Most admissions officers are very progressive, and applicants are being advised to hide all indicators of economic or social privilege.

I'm also not making this up out of nowhere. Here's an article by one of the most successful college admissions consultants saying that he advises wealthy parents to not enroll in prep school because of the intense competition: https://nypost.com/2023/11/16/lifestyle/kids-ditching-prep-schools-for-public-to-get-into-the-ivy-league/

What people (admissions officers) say and what they actually do are two different things. Compare public and private school admissions to these highly selective colleges. Private school students continue/will continue to be significantly over represented. Facts are facts.