12 and counting to U Chicago this year from Sidwell

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it's the synergy of private school CCOs wanting students settled satisfactorily ASAP, UChicago having ED0 and ED2, and a sort of general UMC agreement that Chicago is a "good" school. Combine that with an unpredictable admissions environment and fear of bad outcomes in RD. Kids apply SCEA/REA/ED, get deferred or rejected, and then jump to Chicago as the universal rescue plan, encouraged by counselors.

But my own kid who liked Chicago during his visit became very hesitant about it because he knew so many private school and other affluent but not super intellectual kids going. I think this kind of thing can backfire in the longer term, because it erodes the qualities that originally attracted everyone to the school. Long term kids don't want to go to a school that is every wealthy kid's backup plan.

Tell kid not to overthink it. The Ivies and other elite colleges like the AWS are filled with diversity admits, legacy admits, special case admits aka super rich parents or daddy/mommy is a famous NYT journalist. They aren't super intellectual either. If anything, the Ivies are distinctly less intellectual they may have been in the past due to widespread social engineering. And the upper 50% of the Ivy student body, the full pay cohort, is very affluent. While the bottom 50% gets full financial aid.

Chicago is a fine school in a great city. It's all about finding your specific cohort within the student body. Frankly, all you really need is 5-10 likeminded students to be friends with. Don't kid yourself you'll find more intellectualism at a different school. It's what you do when you get there. And the flagship can be as intellectual as any college once you find your peers. And actually there's likely to be a much bigger pool at your flagship.

[Anonymous]

Smart academic kids choose Chicago at our private Down South. A little lower and more fun types choose UPenn / Brown. These 3 are very popular for top guys

[Anonymous]

Very simple. Chicago has huge budget defecits and always had a nerd no fun school reputation. They will feed on full pay social climbers at nerdy full pay city shools on the East Coast.

[Anonymous]

What percent of the graduating class is 12 at Sidwell?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What percent of the graduating class is 12 at Sidwell?

About 10% I think

[Anonymous]

Full pay looking for instant prestige.

[Anonymous]

This board is full of people who either never played in the big leagues or who went to elite universities before embarking on painfully mediocre careers. Anybody knocking Chicago on here is out of their mind. And anybody who thinks there is a material difference among top 20-30 schools for the vast majority of undergrads is also out of their mind. Chicago is a very risky and respectable choice for anybody. It is not for people who run with the herd intellectually, which, unfortunately, describes most of the talented but perfectly average parents who raise their kids in the DMV. Now go back to the NYT Books section to find out what you should be reading this week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This board is full of people who either never played in the big leagues or who went to elite universities before embarking on painfully mediocre careers. Anybody knocking Chicago on here is out of their mind. And anybody who thinks there is a material difference among top 20-30 schools for the vast majority of undergrads is also out of their mind. Chicago is a very risky and respectable choice for anybody. It is not for people who run with the herd intellectually, which, unfortunately, describes most of the talented but perfectly average parents who raise their kids in the DMV. Now go back to the NYT Books section to find out what you should be reading this week.

Lol great comment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This board is full of people who either never played in the big leagues or who went to elite universities before embarking on painfully mediocre careers. Anybody knocking Chicago on here is out of their mind. And anybody who thinks there is a material difference among top 20-30 schools for the vast majority of undergrads is also out of their mind. Chicago is a very risky and respectable choice for anybody. It is not for people who run with the herd intellectually, which, unfortunately, describes most of the talented but perfectly average parents who raise their kids in the DMV. Now go back to the NYT Books section to find out what you should be reading this week.

Talk about judgmental. What's your definition of a painfully mediocre career?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This board is full of people who either never played in the big leagues or who went to elite universities before embarking on painfully mediocre careers. Anybody knocking Chicago on here is out of their mind. And anybody who thinks there is a material difference among top 20-30 schools for the vast majority of undergrads is also out of their mind. Chicago is a very risky and respectable choice for anybody. It is not for people who run with the herd intellectually, which, unfortunately, describes most of the talented but perfectly average parents who raise their kids in the DMV. Now go back to the NYT Books section to find out what you should be reading this week.

+1

The selective Chicago bashing on here puzzles me. Harvard has a Z-list and all of the Ivies admit wealthy legacies, public figures, and insane donors who have unremarkable kids. IMO, that’s a worse practice than admitting full pay private school kids who haven’t donated.

I think many on DCUM see Sidwell kids as a social group that’s “closer” or more “attainable” to them — whereas the wealthy donors and celebrities exist in circles they can’t even imagine. It’s easier to feel intense jealousy and hatred for people who could be your neighbor than people who seem so distant from you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This board is full of people who either never played in the big leagues or who went to elite universities before embarking on painfully mediocre careers. Anybody knocking Chicago on here is out of their mind. And anybody who thinks there is a material difference among top 20-30 schools for the vast majority of undergrads is also out of their mind. Chicago is a very risky and respectable choice for anybody. It is not for people who run with the herd intellectually, which, unfortunately, describes most of the talented but perfectly average parents who raise their kids in the DMV. Now go back to the NYT Books section to find out what you should be reading this week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Very simple. Chicago has huge budget defecits and always had a nerd no fun school reputation. They will feed on full pay social climbers at nerdy full pay city shools on the East Coast.

Chicago’s financial situation is not much different from that of other top schools. It’s a place for real thinkers and that’s great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This board is full of people who either never played in the big leagues or who went to elite universities before embarking on painfully mediocre careers. Anybody knocking Chicago on here is out of their mind. And anybody who thinks there is a material difference among top 20-30 schools for the vast majority of undergrads is also out of their mind. Chicago is a very risky and respectable choice for anybody. It is not for people who run with the herd intellectually, which, unfortunately, describes most of the talented but perfectly average parents who raise their kids in the DMV. Now go back to the NYT Books section to find out what you should be reading this week.

+1

The selective Chicago bashing on here puzzles me. Harvard has a Z-list and all of the Ivies admit wealthy legacies, public figures, and insane donors who have unremarkable kids. IMO, that’s a worse practice than admitting full pay private school kids who haven’t donated.

I think many on DCUM see Sidwell kids as a social group that’s “closer” or more “attainable” to them — whereas the wealthy donors and celebrities exist in circles they can’t even imagine. It’s easier to feel intense jealousy and hatred for people who could be your neighbor than people who seem so distant from you.

Amen

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Very simple. Chicago has huge budget defecits and always had a nerd no fun school reputation. They will feed on full pay social climbers at nerdy full pay city shools on the East Coast.

Chicago’s financial situation is not much different from that of other top schools. It’s a place for real thinkers and that’s great.

This is what scares away 80% of the DCUM crowd

[Anonymous]

Lemmings. My kid’s private has twice the number of seniors and has very, very few matriculating to the same university each year. The biggest # is 5. They really branch out. It seems weird to me such a small class would all want to continue on together. Over 4 years—there must be so many Sidwell kids there.