The Potomac School - 2016 College List?

[Anonymous]

Sidwell tends to get about 30 kids into the Ivies each year, and this year is the same. If you add in Chicago and Stanford, the number goes past 40.

Chicago is a great school, probably more rigorous than most Ivies, but it can be grueling. Not for everyone.

As for sports recruits, most of Sidwell's recruits are very strong students -- getting good grades in top classes. Sports definitely helps, but all those kids certainly were in the tier of kids who would have been encouraged to apply to Ivies.

[Anonymous]

So back to the original question how did Potomac do?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell tends to get about 30 kids into the Ivies each year, and this year is the same. If you add in Chicago and Stanford, the number goes past 40.

Chicago is a great school, probably more rigorous than most Ivies, but it can be grueling. Not for everyone.

As for sports recruits, most of Sidwell's recruits are very strong students -- getting good grades in top classes. Sports definitely helps, but all those kids certainly were in the tier of kids who would have been encouraged to apply to Ivies.

Why in the world do they not publish their list?

[Anonymous]

This is all I could find for Potomac: http://www.potomacschool.org/academics/college-counseling/college-matriculation/index.aspx

http://www.potomacschool.org/academics/college-counseling/college-matriculation/complete-list-of-colleges/index.aspx

[Anonymous]

Trigger warning: Someone went to Nova. GASP!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell tends to get about 30 kids into the Ivies each year, and this year is the same. If you add in Chicago and Stanford, the number goes past 40.

Chicago is a great school, probably more rigorous than most Ivies, but it can be grueling. Not for everyone.

As for sports recruits, most of Sidwell's recruits are very strong students -- getting good grades in top classes. Sports definitely helps, but all those kids certainly were in the tier of kids who would have been encouraged to apply to Ivies.

Why in the world do they not publish their list?

Quaker values. The school does not have an honor roll or give any kind of recognition for individual academic achievement. Also they assume everyone knows they have a good record with college admissions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell tends to get about 30 kids into the Ivies each year, and this year is the same. If you add in Chicago and Stanford, the number goes past 40.

Chicago is a great school, probably more rigorous than most Ivies, but it can be grueling. Not for everyone.

As for sports recruits, most of Sidwell's recruits are very strong students -- getting good grades in top classes. Sports definitely helps, but all those kids certainly were in the tier of kids who would have been encouraged to apply to Ivies.

Why in the world do they not publish their list?

Sidwell does publish its list, but just doesn't post it on the Internet. A PP posted this note last week on a Post article summarizing Sidwell's results. A little less stunning than the 30 to Ivies and 10+ to Stanford and Chicago listed above. In 2012, looks closer to 17 than to 40+:


"Apparently, Sidwell does publish its results. A quick internet search shows this article giving the numbers for Sidwell's class of 2012: https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/class-struggl...e1-8398-0327ab83ab91_blog.html The Post article quotes the Sidwell alumni magazine on the numbers: "The magazine said two Ivy schools, Brown and Harvard, will be getting at least four Sidwell grads, but so will NYU, Swarthmore, Wesleyan, Michigan and Tufts. Two other Ivies, Columbia and Penn, will get three Sidwell grads each. The other colleges in that category were Boston College, Emory, Georgetown, Occidental, and the University of Chicago. The magazine failed to reveal if anyone got into Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth or Cornell."
So, at least in 2012, Sidwell had at least 14 going to Ivies (Brown 4, Harvard 4, Columbia 3, Penn 3, and the four other Ivies unknown--although presumably less than 3), and had 3 going to Chicago.
Of course, these are great numbers for a class of 123, but not the same as the numbers being thrown around here."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell tends to get about 30 kids into the Ivies each year, and this year is the same. If you add in Chicago and Stanford, the number goes past 40.

Chicago is a great school, probably more rigorous than most Ivies, but it can be grueling. Not for everyone.

As for sports recruits, most of Sidwell's recruits are very strong students -- getting good grades in top classes. Sports definitely helps, but all those kids certainly were in the tier of kids who would have been encouraged to apply to Ivies.

Why in the world do they not publish their list?

Sidwell does publish its list, but just doesn't post it on the Internet. A PP posted this note last week on a Post article summarizing Sidwell's results. A little less stunning than the 30 to Ivies and 10+ to Stanford and Chicago listed above. In 2012, looks closer to 17 than to 40+:


"Apparently, Sidwell does publish its results. A quick internet search shows this article giving the numbers for Sidwell's class of 2012: https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/class-struggl...e1-8398-0327ab83ab91_blog.html The Post article quotes the Sidwell alumni magazine on the numbers: "The magazine said two Ivy schools, Brown and Harvard, will be getting at least four Sidwell grads, but so will NYU, Swarthmore, Wesleyan, Michigan and Tufts. Two other Ivies, Columbia and Penn, will get three Sidwell grads each. The other colleges in that category were Boston College, Emory, Georgetown, Occidental, and the University of Chicago. The magazine failed to reveal if anyone got into Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth or Cornell."
So, at least in 2012, Sidwell had at least 14 going to Ivies (Brown 4, Harvard 4, Columbia 3, Penn 3, and the four other Ivies unknown--although presumably less than 3), and had 3 going to Chicago.
Of course, these are great numbers for a class of 123, but not the same as the numbers being thrown around here."

You know, of course, this is a bit dated. Last year they sent 18 kids just to Penn and Yale. The total Ivy number was in the low 30's. And in Stanford and Chicago and it was 40. This year, different mix but similar overall number.

[Anonymous]

*Add in

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No -- demonstrated interest isn't a big deal for Chicago (even the interview is optional and they don't track campus visits). But they are looking for well-prepared full pay students who are used to successfully managing a grueling academic workload.

Not true -- demonstrated interest is very big for Chicago. Head of Admissions visited last year and confirmed this in meetings with area faculty who are "repeat recommenders."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell tends to get about 30 kids into the Ivies each year, and this year is the same. If you add in Chicago and Stanford, the number goes past 40.

Chicago is a great school, probably more rigorous than most Ivies, but it can be grueling. Not for everyone.

As for sports recruits, most of Sidwell's recruits are very strong students -- getting good grades in top classes. Sports definitely helps, but all those kids certainly were in the tier of kids who would have been encouraged to apply to Ivies.

Why in the world do they not publish their list?

Sidwell does publish its list, but just doesn't post it on the Internet. A PP posted this note last week on a Post article summarizing Sidwell's results. A little less stunning than the 30 to Ivies and 10+ to Stanford and Chicago listed above. In 2012, looks closer to 17 than to 40+:


"Apparently, Sidwell does publish its results. A quick internet search shows this article giving the numbers for Sidwell's class of 2012: https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/class-struggl...e1-8398-0327ab83ab91_blog.html The Post article quotes the Sidwell alumni magazine on the numbers: "The magazine said two Ivy schools, Brown and Harvard, will be getting at least four Sidwell grads, but so will NYU, Swarthmore, Wesleyan, Michigan and Tufts. Two other Ivies, Columbia and Penn, will get three Sidwell grads each. The other colleges in that category were Boston College, Emory, Georgetown, Occidental, and the University of Chicago. The magazine failed to reveal if anyone got into Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth or Cornell."
So, at least in 2012, Sidwell had at least 14 going to Ivies (Brown 4, Harvard 4, Columbia 3, Penn 3, and the four other Ivies unknown--although presumably less than 3), and had 3 going to Chicago.
Of course, these are great numbers for a class of 123, but not the same as the numbers being thrown around here."

You know, of course, this is a bit dated. Last year they sent 18 kids just to Penn and Yale. The total Ivy number was in the low 30's. And in Stanford and Chicago and it was 40. This year, different mix but similar overall number.

Is this what you people live for? Come back in ten years to share how your kid is doing in real life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell tends to get about 30 kids into the Ivies each year, and this year is the same. If you add in Chicago and Stanford, the number goes past 40.

Chicago is a great school, probably more rigorous than most Ivies, but it can be grueling. Not for everyone.

As for sports recruits, most of Sidwell's recruits are very strong students -- getting good grades in top classes. Sports definitely helps, but all those kids certainly were in the tier of kids who would have been encouraged to apply to Ivies.

Why in the world do they not publish their list?

Sidwell does publish its list, but just doesn't post it on the Internet. A PP posted this note last week on a Post article summarizing Sidwell's results. A little less stunning than the 30 to Ivies and 10+ to Stanford and Chicago listed above. In 2012, looks closer to 17 than to 40+:


"Apparently, Sidwell does publish its results. A quick internet search shows this article giving the numbers for Sidwell's class of 2012: https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/class-struggl...e1-8398-0327ab83ab91_blog.html The Post article quotes the Sidwell alumni magazine on the numbers: "The magazine said two Ivy schools, Brown and Harvard, will be getting at least four Sidwell grads, but so will NYU, Swarthmore, Wesleyan, Michigan and Tufts. Two other Ivies, Columbia and Penn, will get three Sidwell grads each. The other colleges in that category were Boston College, Emory, Georgetown, Occidental, and the University of Chicago. The magazine failed to reveal if anyone got into Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth or Cornell."
So, at least in 2012, Sidwell had at least 14 going to Ivies (Brown 4, Harvard 4, Columbia 3, Penn 3, and the four other Ivies unknown--although presumably less than 3), and had 3 going to Chicago.
Of course, these are great numbers for a class of 123, but not the same as the numbers being thrown around here."

You know, of course, this is a bit dated. Last year they sent 18 kids just to Penn and Yale. The total Ivy number was in the low 30's. And in Stanford and Chicago and it was 40. This year, different mix but similar overall number.

Is this what you people live for? Come back in ten years to share how your kid is doing in real life.

And yet you were curious enough to come to a site discussing college matriculation at local privates...hmmm?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So on the college counselor point and hiring an outside consultant--here are two posts from the college admission board I just saw. So hiring a counselor seems rationale.

Anonymous




I think you need to be mindful of the difficult role the college counselors face. A very large chunk of the class is made up of high achievers, many or most of whom have highly educated parents. Given the competition faced by students, placement has the potential to be a nightmare. As a result, I think there is a surprising amount of "under-selling" that goes on. Although it worked out very well for our DD in the end, we were surprise at how low the counselor was shooting, in terms of characterizing what were match schools and what were reach schools. Even where naviance showed our daughter had higher/much higher scores than prior admitted students, the counselor saw virtually everything on her list as a reach (or very high reach). Other parents commented on the same phenomena. I don't fault them for managing expectations of course, but I do think the vested interest in avoiding disappointment can manifest itself in problematic ways.
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[Post New]07/14/2016 12:58
Subject: What do I need to know about College Placement from Private School
[Up]
Anonymous




You have to be knowledgeable and very hands on in selecting and applying to colleges. At our DD's big three the only weak link is college counseling. The turnover rate is high but keeps missing the worst employee. They are like realtors who want you to sell low so they can be done without effort. They suggest lowball offers then promise the moon in the same breath. It's apparent that they really have no clue. Take control and stay involved unless you only want some tiny ridiculous LAS from the beginning.

OP here. This is exactly why I asked the question - people who do not have kids in private school assume that private school kids are getting amazing, super helpful college counseling but my admittedly mostly anecdotal research suggests otherwise. In particular, I have not heard positive things about Potomac's college counseling and it concerns me that I can't find any real data. Sending our kid to Potomac will be a major expense for us and I am trying to see if we will also need to budget for college counseling down the road.

The quote about college counseling was both ignorant and cynical. College acceptance rates are historically low at the most selective places, and 75% of the class is not in the top 25% after all. Realistic assessment becomes under-selling only to bitter/delusional types. To be candid, it sounds like the "should we go to Potomac" poster is hoping for what they cannot give you: a cast-iron guarantee of Ivy admission. Under the circumstances, disappointment is likely. You should save your $$$ and keep your child in a good public school system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No -- demonstrated interest isn't a big deal for Chicago (even the interview is optional and they don't track campus visits). But they are looking for well-prepared full pay students who are used to successfully managing a grueling academic workload.

Not true -- demonstrated interest is very big for Chicago. Head of Admissions visited last year and confirmed this in meetings with area faculty who are "repeat recommenders."

Then what Chicago means by demonstrated interest (or how they measure it) isn't what other schools mean by demonstrated interest. It's not interviews or visits or attendance at info sessions and, like MIT, Chicago has had non-restrictive EA. Fit -- in the sense of knowing what you're getting into and being down with the program -- certainly matters (and appears to be assessed through Uncommon Essays and teacher recs). So do demonstrations of continued interest from applicants who are waitlisted or deferred. I think a couple of the StA admittees got in off the waitlist (pre-May1) this year.

ED1and ED2 are being added as options next year, so that'll change the equation in some ways.

[Anonymous]

No dog in this fight (conversation), since I do not have a child at StA, Sidwell or NCS, but I am amazed by the statements that 25 kids from those schools will be entering UC as freshman this fall. So out of a freshman class of only 1400 kids, 25 of them will come from 3 small high school schools. That must be unusual. Now admittedly in the 1990s, my public hs in NJ would send about 25 kids to Michigan each year, but Michigan's freshman class is over 7000.