What about cheating at the HS level?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not a high school, but in a college, they have an "appreciation" dinner right before casting for a music department event. The parents of the kids in the running for the lead are seated with the director of development. I kid you not.

What college has parents involved in that way? Seems absurd and utterly implausible to me.

Many colleges. Helicopter status conscious parents never stop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not a high school, but in a college, they have an "appreciation" dinner right before casting for a music department event. The parents of the kids in the running for the lead are seated with the director of development. I kid you not.

What college has parents involved in that way? Seems absurd and utterly implausible to me.

Many colleges. Helicopter status conscious parents never stop.

Nether do desperate trolls, please note!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not a high school, but in a college, they have an "appreciation" dinner right before casting for a music department event. The parents of the kids in the running for the lead are seated with the director of development. I kid you not.

What college has parents involved in that way? Seems absurd and utterly implausible to me.

Parent " get to know you" luncheons with the HOS with Advancement as well as Admissions in attendance happen each year in DC Privates.

This begins in Pre-K

If you thought that you were just being invited in small groups to for you to get to know the HOS, YOU were oblivious.


Those small luncheons or small dinner chats are carefully organized . Hint: invites don't go in alphabetical order and are not a random group.

The AD and Advancement Head cherry pick and plan each meeting and fully brief the HOS before hand so the HOS knows who he/she will be " having the opportunity to get to know" and this begins the oh so polite vetting of who among the new grade level of parents will be:

* future donors for big projects

* tapped for a board seat

* tapped to be a PA Mom or a Grade level class leader to keep other parents in line

* who will run the Auction

Do you think these schools are Democracies ??

Wow. Eight years on the Close with a HHI of over 4 MM, five-figure annual donations, and we never qualified for any “get to know you event” with anyone from development or school administration. Should I feel dissed or relieved?

Such an unecessary, snarky comment. And that assumes it’s authentic and you are not a troll. This is pretty basic. There was no need for you to be assessed in this setting, you were pre vetted...

[Anonymous]

The overall tenor of this exchange is interesting and with each new post I wonder about what its author’s motivation is. In many ways the posts read as if written by bitter families. Perhaps these are folks who have not been offered admissions or families who have sent children to private school but then been surprised by how the community is structured?

It is all fairly straightforward. Private education is a luxury, discretionary item on increasingly high demand. While our society is held accountable to provide access to quality public education, no one is entitled to private education and there are no requirements that access be given to it regardless of financial circumstance. The affluent in the independent school community have rightfully prioritized easing access to those with less means to help diversify the learning environment they are creating, but that doesn’t change the basic model. Those with greater resources, whether measured in money, status, connections, or talent have greater access - period. The rest of us who are not as wealthy in these resources need to keep this in perspective. Our chances for access are inherently less. When we aren’t offered admissions it may be a bummer, but as long as the laws of our jurisdictions aren’t broken, there is nothing unfair about self selection to private resources.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The overall tenor of this exchange is interesting and with each new post I wonder about what its author’s motivation is. In many ways the posts read as if written by bitter families. Perhaps these are folks who have not been offered admissions or families who have sent children to private school but then been surprised by how the community is structured?

It is all fairly straightforward. Private education is a luxury, discretionary item on increasingly high demand. While our society is held accountable to provide access to quality public education, no one is entitled to private education and there are no requirements that access be given to it regardless of financial circumstance. The affluent in the independent school community have rightfully prioritized easing access to those with less means to help diversify the learning environment they are creating, but that doesn’t change the basic model. Those with greater resources, whether measured in money, status, connections, or talent have greater access - period. The rest of us who are not as wealthy in these resources need to keep this in perspective. Our chances for access are inherently less. When we aren’t offered admissions it may be a bummer, but as long as the laws of our jurisdictions aren’t broken, there is nothing unfair about self selection to private resources.

True but that was not what the original post was about. People here seem to have no reading comprehension whatsoever.

[Anonymous]

What was illegal about what OP described in the second paragraph? To me, it sounded unseemly and unethical, but nothing that the school didn't have a right to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The overall tenor of this exchange is interesting and with each new post I wonder about what its author’s motivation is. In many ways the posts read as if written by bitter families. Perhaps these are folks who have not been offered admissions or families who have sent children to private school but then been surprised by how the community is structured?

It is all fairly straightforward. Private education is a luxury, discretionary item on increasingly high demand. While our society is held accountable to provide access to quality public education, no one is entitled to private education and there are no requirements that access be given to it regardless of financial circumstance. The affluent in the independent school community have rightfully prioritized easing access to those with less means to help diversify the learning environment they are creating, but that doesn’t change the basic model. Those with greater resources, whether measured in money, status, connections, or talent have greater access - period. The rest of us who are not as wealthy in these resources need to keep this in perspective. Our chances for access are inherently less. When we aren’t offered admissions it may be a bummer, but as long as the laws of our jurisdictions aren’t broken, there is nothing unfair about self selection to private resources.

True but that was not what the original post was about. People here seem to have no reading comprehension whatsoever.

The exchange long ago shifted, as it almost always does, from the OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Private education is a luxury, discretionary item on increasingly high demand. While our society is held accountable to provide access to quality public education, no one is entitled to private education and there are no requirements that access be given to it regardless of financial circumstance.

For better or for worse, I think this needs to be stickied at the top of every thread in this forum.

[Anonymous]

Please read this article. IMO it thoughtfully examines all the questions on this thread and doesn't shove a conclusion down anyone's throats

https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2019/03/college-admissions-scandal-kids-didnt-need-know/585055/

[Anonymous]

People stop with the hyperbole re tutors etc. It doesn't cost 6 figures to pay for test prep. I've seen this posted so many times. Another poster mentioned tutors being $500/hour. Test prep can be very affordable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not a high school, but in a college, they have an "appreciation" dinner right before casting for a music department event. The parents of the kids in the running for the lead are seated with the director of development. I kid you not.

What college has parents involved in that way? Seems absurd and utterly implausible to me.

Parent " get to know you" luncheons with the HOS with Advancement as well as Admissions in attendance happen each year in DC Privates.

This begins in Pre-K

If you thought that you were just being invited in small groups to for you to get to know the HOS, YOU were oblivious.


Those small luncheons or small dinner chats are carefully organized . Hint: invites don't go in alphabetical order and are not a random group.

The AD and Advancement Head cherry pick and plan each meeting and fully brief the HOS before hand so the HOS knows who he/she will be " having the opportunity to get to know" and this begins the oh so polite vetting of who among the new grade level of parents will be:

* future donors for big projects

* tapped for a board seat

* tapped to be a PA Mom or a Grade level class leader to keep other parents in line

* who will run the Auction

Do you think these schools are Democracies ??

Wow. Eight years on the Close with a HHI of over 4 MM, five-figure annual donations, and we never qualified for any “get to know you event” with anyone from development or school administration. Should I feel dissed or relieved?

Such an unecessary, snarky comment. And that assumes it’s authentic and you are not a troll. This is pretty basic. There was no need for you to be assessed in this setting, you were pre vetted...

Actually, my snark was directed att the first person, the one who claimed that the development office targets people for getting to know you meetings with the HoS. That's just incorrect. I have heard of no one at my kid's school who had any meal with the HoS like that. The PA parents were all volunteers, and general emails went out to all parents asking for them to consider positions in the PA. The auction chair? When my friend was asked to do it, she didn't get any "getting to know you" meeting. The way people on this board pretend it all happens isn't based in reality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:..we all know that wealthy kids have an unfair advantage by being able to afford tutors and coaches and other extras that pad their resumes...

that's not cheating or unfair. it's just access to resources creating more advantages. way of the world...for better or worse

Anonymous wrote: I can't help but think that pressure from their parents had something to do with it. Does this kind of thing still go on?

yes, im sure social + financial status play's a role. big dogs eat. i can agree that is unfair but unfortunately happens

I think when you said, "big dogs eat," you actually meant "rich people can get their moron children into places they dont belong, and yes it is unfair."

Even into a Presidency