NCS Reception

[Anonymous]

Definitely B. Which made C somewhat an issue. No teacher would ever grade unfairly, right? So no A.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Huge waste of money for us. Totally on us. Thought that DD would take advantage of the opportunity. Her grades were just above a 3.0 and not in line with her stellar test scores. We thought that these scores might have been enough for a couple of reach colleges - given that the so so grades were from NCS and not a Podunk public- but she wasn't accepted anywhere that's considered competitive at all. Hope it works out for you!

Then maybe your DD should have gone to public school and your experience seems very individual. Speaking with several NCS girls and grads I haven't heard this story and looking at the stats of where the girls are accepted into school in addition to an old Wall Street Journal article, NCS grads get into highly competitive schools. It's ranked top girls school in the area and ranked in the top 100 private schools in the US. Sorry the facts just don't lie and your individual story should not be used to devalue the education a girl will receive at NCS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Huge waste of money for us. Totally on us. Thought that DD would take advantage of the opportunity. Her grades were just above a 3.0 and not in line with her stellar test scores. We thought that these scores might have been enough for a couple of reach colleges - given that the so so grades were from NCS and not a Podunk public- but she wasn't accepted anywhere that's considered competitive at all. Hope it works out for you!

I think the problem with NCS and a lot of top public and privates is legacy kids. Those kids will have an edge.

While legacy kids have an edge, I don't think it has the same displacement factor as it does at the prep school level. I.e., if Harvard is accepting a legacy case from NCS, they still have 1599 other places in the class, so can accept someone from NCS who's not legacy pretty easily (and go beyond that - while Harvard has plenty of graduates, most of their kids aren't going to be competitive applicants, which is where it matters - you still need the credentials, it's just that you float to the top among other qualified applicants). Compare that to NCS (or any other school, Sidwell, etc.) that accepts only 10 kids for 7th grade or 20 kids for high school. A lot smaller number and less flexibility.

I graduated from ncs and it seemed like often the kids who got into HYP were either legacies and minorities. Now, they were usually highly qualified legacies and minorites (except for the occasional very wealthy legacy kid who wasn't that impressive). But all else equal, the qualified legacies and minorities are going to edge the others out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, here's a hint: The schools that go all-out with bands, glitter and pomp and circumstance at these things, generally have to. If your DD doesn't accept at NCS, they have plenty of people waiting in line behind her. They don't have to put on a show for you. You take them, or you don't.

+1. People who don't give 2 phucks about flash.

[Anonymous]

Dear righteous one, did I say it was everyone? I said it was totally us. Why don't you read more carefully?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Huge waste of money for us. Totally on us. Thought that DD would take advantage of the opportunity. Her grades were just above a 3.0 and not in line with her stellar test scores. We thought that these scores might have been enough for a couple of reach colleges - given that the so so grades were from NCS and not a Podunk public- but she wasn't accepted anywhere that's considered competitive at all. Hope it works out for you!

Sorry people have been jerks to you for your very reasonable post sharing your family's experience. Hopefully your daughter still got a great substantive education and has gone on to do well in college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dear righteous one, did I say it was everyone? I said it was totally us. Why don't you read more carefully?

Just wonder why you find it necessary to share this when this discussion was about the reception and the glitz. Why do you troll on the NCS forums to share your daughter's non typical experience to a group of parents who just paid a deposit? Not sure how your daughter's experience is relevant to anyone.

[Anonymous]

Hardly the first to stray off-topic. Instead, Icontinued down the path others had started.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Huge waste of money for us. Totally on us. Thought that DD would take advantage of the opportunity. Her grades were just above a 3.0 and not in line with her stellar test scores. We thought that these scores might have been enough for a couple of reach colleges - given that the so so grades were from NCS and not a Podunk public- but she wasn't accepted anywhere that's considered competitive at all. Hope it works out for you!

Sorry people have been jerks to you for your very reasonable post sharing your family's experience. Hopefully your daughter still got a great substantive education and has gone on to do well in college.

I agree that this experience is highly relevant. Many of us wnt to know what happens after the magical envelope arrives, with glitter or without.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Huge waste of money for us. Totally on us. Thought that DD would take advantage of the opportunity. Her grades were just above a 3.0 and not in line with her stellar test scores. We thought that these scores might have been enough for a couple of reach colleges - given that the so so grades were from NCS and not a Podunk public- but she wasn't accepted anywhere that's considered competitive at all. Hope it works out for you!

Sorry people have been jerks to you for your very reasonable post sharing your family's experience. Hopefully your daughter still got a great substantive education and has gone on to do well in college.

I agree that this experience is highly relevant. Many of us wnt to know what happens after the magical envelope arrives, with glitter or without.

+2 I would have otherwise assumed that even w a 3.0 the college counselor would have enough knowledge of the landscape to get this kid in somewhere competitive.

[Anonymous]

Years ago, her 99++ percentile would have opened some doors. Not now. Good luck everybody!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Years ago, her 99++ percentile would have opened some doors. Not now. Good luck everybody!

I'm an Ivy alumni interviewer. When we talk to the admissions officers, they tell us they put more weight on grades and course rigor than on test scores. In fact, high test scores and lower grades are a rdd flag, since it suggests the effort level is less than the intelligence, and the chances of the kid flaming out in college are greater than for a kid whose profile suggests consistent hard work. Interestingly, HS grades and test scores are not great predictors of college success. Course rigor has a much higher correlation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Years ago, her 99++ percentile would have opened some doors. Not now. Good luck everybody!

I'm an Ivy alumni interviewer. When we talk to the admissions officers, they tell us they put more weight on grades and course rigor than on test scores. In fact, high test scores and lower grades are a rdd flag, since it suggests the effort level is less than the intelligence, and the chances of the kid flaming out in college are greater than for a kid whose profile suggests consistent hard work. Interestingly, HS grades and test scores are not great predictors of college success. Course rigor has a much higher correlation.

Np. This makes sense to me. I was a great test taker but a student who did not work up to their potential grade wise at a good private, but still ended up at a top 20 liberal arts college. I guess my question is -- what does PP mean by not competitive? Are we talking more Franklin & Marshall or more University of South Carolina?

[Anonymous]

Wait listed at a school very similar to South Carolina.

[Anonymous]

Then that is a massive failure on the NCS's part.