Big 3 Nightmare

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:cmon - have no dog in this fight but sooo obvious in my wealthy DCUM enclave that a large majority of parents send their kids to privates because they feel it puts them on a path for a T15. When this doesn’t materialize and they are applying to - horror upon horror - Clemson, U Delaware, Gettysburg - they are almost embarrassed at the cocktail parties or water cooler. Larlo going to a 50th ranked national university or LAC wasn’t part of the plan and doesn’t impress anyone, and $200k+ of high school tuition feels like it may have been a bit much. They can’t reconcile how their kid is going to Skidmore while the local public is sending kids to Vandy TO. Then the defensiveness, complaining, and finger pointing starts - grade deflation, URMs, “I’m just happy they are getting a better education than everyone else”, etc etc

5 years ago I would have believed you PP. Bit now everyone is in the same boat and horror of these so-called lesser schools has greatly diminished

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Long story short:

A few (not all!) private school parents chose Big 3s for the bragging rights and/or because they thought Larlo would be a shoe-in to, nay almost entitled to, a top college. They didn't count on Larlo's classmates outcompeting him.

These parents certainly don't want to take responsibility for their own decisions. So they come out guns blazing against public school kids. It's not a good look.

You are the same, identifiable public school parent who likes to troll the privates. You always call our kids "Larlo". That is not a good look for YOU. It's a fact there is grade deflation, particularly in the top privates, and it is backfiring on our kids in the new era of the common app and grade deflation.

The fact that you take pleasure in this says something disturbing about you PP. We are living with the results of our decision to send our kids to private- good or bad, so why the nastiness and anger towards private school parents and kids? I don't wish public school families ill or denigrate them. Public school has a different set of pros and cons and challenges. Maybe time for some self-reflection PP.

The weird thing here is you've said nothing about the nastiness and anger towards public school kids, who had nothing to do with your own kids' outcomes at the ivies and top SLACS. The issues you cite are in play at state universities, which are clearly second or last resorts for most of you. Maybe it's time for you to do your own self-reflection.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:cmon - have no dog in this fight but sooo obvious in my wealthy DCUM enclave that a large majority of parents send their kids to privates because they feel it puts them on a path for a T15. When this doesn’t materialize and they are applying to - horror upon horror - Clemson, U Delaware, Gettysburg - they are almost embarrassed at the cocktail parties or water cooler. Larlo going to a 50th ranked national university or LAC wasn’t part of the plan and doesn’t impress anyone, and $200k+ of high school tuition feels like it may have been a bit much. They can’t reconcile how their kid is going to Skidmore while the local public is sending kids to Vandy TO. Then the defensiveness, complaining, and finger pointing starts - grade deflation, URMs, “I’m just happy they are getting a better education than everyone else”, etc etc

5 years ago I would have believed you PP. Bit now everyone is in the same boat and horror of these so-called lesser schools has greatly diminished

But the behavior hasn't diminished. The finger-pointing about grade deflation, URMs, and claims that public school kids are unprepared are rife in this thread. It's a bad look, but it's also a bad lesson for their own kids.

[Anonymous]

I just took a look at the college decisions Instagram pages for "Big 5" (eyeroll) and I don't see the bloodbath! Am I missing anything?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:cmon - have no dog in this fight but sooo obvious in my wealthy DCUM enclave that a large majority of parents send their kids to privates because they feel it puts them on a path for a T15. When this doesn’t materialize and they are applying to - horror upon horror - Clemson, U Delaware, Gettysburg - they are almost embarrassed at the cocktail parties or water cooler. Larlo going to a 50th ranked national university or LAC wasn’t part of the plan and doesn’t impress anyone, and $200k+ of high school tuition feels like it may have been a bit much. They can’t reconcile how their kid is going to Skidmore while the local public is sending kids to Vandy TO. Then the defensiveness, complaining, and finger pointing starts - grade deflation, URMs, “I’m just happy they are getting a better education than everyone else”, etc etc

5 years ago I would have believed you PP. Bit now everyone is in the same boat and horror of these so-called lesser schools has greatly diminished

This. 5 years ago maybe this would be true. But everyone who knows anything about the current state of college admissions knows how impossible and unpredictable admissions have become. Where a student ends up says more about the process rather than being a reflection on the student. This is true for both public and private school students

[Anonymous]

Here's another article about the shock British parents of independent school student encounter when they realize their kid isn't going to Oxbridge. It discusses the rise of state school sixth form academies who are sending more and more kids to the top universities.

Many of the complaints mirror the themes raised in this long Big 3 thread. It's worth a read.

How Britain's Private Schools Lost Their Grip on Oxbridge

https://www.ft.com/content/bbb7fe58-0908-4f8e-bb1a-081a42a045b7

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:cmon - have no dog in this fight but sooo obvious in my wealthy DCUM enclave that a large majority of parents send their kids to privates because they feel it puts them on a path for a T15. When this doesn’t materialize and they are applying to - horror upon horror - Clemson, U Delaware, Gettysburg - they are almost embarrassed at the cocktail parties or water cooler. Larlo going to a 50th ranked national university or LAC wasn’t part of the plan and doesn’t impress anyone, and $200k+ of high school tuition feels like it may have been a bit much. They can’t reconcile how their kid is going to Skidmore while the local public is sending kids to Vandy TO. Then the defensiveness, complaining, and finger pointing starts - grade deflation, URMs, “I’m just happy they are getting a better education than everyone else”, etc etc

5 years ago I would have believed you PP. Bit now everyone is in the same boat and horror of these so-called lesser schools has greatly diminished

This. 5 years ago maybe this would be true. But everyone who knows anything about the current state of college admissions knows how impossible and unpredictable admissions have become. Where a student ends up says more about the process rather than being a reflection on the student. This is true for both public and private school students

I believe the pp two posts above about the finger pointing. What I don't understand, either, is the need to bash public school kids as unprepared slackers on your way to these T50 schools.

- I'm the poster who suggested that private schools need to talk to their admins about grade deflation and weighting, and you private school parents seemed to like that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here's another article about the shock British parents of independent school student encounter when they realize their kid isn't going to Oxbridge. It discusses the rise of state school sixth form academies who are sending more and more kids to the top universities.

Many of the complaints mirror the themes raised in this long Big 3 thread. It's worth a read.

How Britain's Private Schools Lost Their Grip on Oxbridge

https://www.ft.com/content/bbb7fe58-0908-4f8e-bb1a-081a42a045b7

It's behind a paywall and, much as I respected the FT when I used to get it for free at work, I'm not subscribing now. Could you do a cut and paste of a few key paras? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just took a look at the college decisions Instagram pages for "Big 5" (eyeroll) and I don't see the bloodbath! Am I missing anything?

The instagram pages that are up now are the 1/4 to 1/3 of the classes that were hooked for ED (the big donor legacy kids, athletes, URM). They don't represent the final 2/3s which is most of the top academic kids and everyone else. These are the kids who are having
an unusually difficult time getting in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:cmon - have no dog in this fight but sooo obvious in my wealthy DCUM enclave that a large majority of parents send their kids to privates because they feel it puts them on a path for a T15. When this doesn’t materialize and they are applying to - horror upon horror - Clemson, U Delaware, Gettysburg - they are almost embarrassed at the cocktail parties or water cooler. Larlo going to a 50th ranked national university or LAC wasn’t part of the plan and doesn’t impress anyone, and $200k+ of high school tuition feels like it may have been a bit much. They can’t reconcile how their kid is going to Skidmore while the local public is sending kids to Vandy TO. Then the defensiveness, complaining, and finger pointing starts - grade deflation, URMs, “I’m just happy they are getting a better education than everyone else”, etc etc

5 years ago I would have believed you PP. Bit now everyone is in the same boat and horror of these so-called lesser schools has greatly diminished

This. 5 years ago maybe this would be true. But everyone who knows anything about the current state of college admissions knows how impossible and unpredictable admissions have become. Where a student ends up says more about the process rather than being a reflection on the student. This is true for both public and private school students

I believe the pp two posts above about the finger pointing. What I don't understand, either, is the need to bash public school kids as unprepared slackers on your way to these T50 schools.

- I'm the poster who suggested that private schools need to talk to their admins about grade deflation and weighting, and you private school parents seemed to like that.

are there posts in this thread that are actually bashing public school kids?

Can you point them out?

I see a lot of private school posters saying that private school kids have a harder time getting top grades due to the ways grades are averaged between quarters and the teachers who limit As.

I have high schoolers in both public and private (so no dog in this fight) and this is 100% true in my experience.

My Big3 kids goes to a school that won't graduate a single kid with a 4.0 this year. My public schoolers (great public!) goes to a school that will graduate 20% of the class with an unweighted 4.0.

That is fact, not bashing.

What I don't recall seeing in this thread is any private school parents bashing public school kids. Please point out the posts.

[Anonymous]

I am a MCPS HS teacher. Not sure it is worth weighing into the grade inflation debate but here goes.
Yes, there is grade inflation in both MCPS and DCPS. Most teachers hate it but the districts never care about teachers opinions about anything.
I would say though that there are still big differences between the transcripts of top students and average students.
Some teachers are ridiculous about giving all As and Bs but most decent teachers don’t do that. My classes have a full range of letter grades ranging from As to Es. E is failing and the lowest grade we can give in MCPS. I don’t give very many As and to try to lessen the impact of grade inflation I grade more strictly in the first quarter of the semester and a little bit easier in the 2nd quarter. This keeps the kids working more consistently throughout the semester.
There is a lot of learning happening in public schools but the range of students is extremely wide. There are students who get nothing out of my class and students who learn a whole lot. We do get to know our students but not as well as private school teachers. I know some of my students extremely well and others less so. I’m envious of the smaller classes in private school. Finally, the public school kids who apply and get into the top 25 colleges really are impressive students. And finally, I’m not aware of any classes where you get an A for just showing up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here's another article about the shock British parents of independent school student encounter when they realize their kid isn't going to Oxbridge. It discusses the rise of state school sixth form academies who are sending more and more kids to the top universities.

Many of the complaints mirror the themes raised in this long Big 3 thread. It's worth a read.

How Britain's Private Schools Lost Their Grip on Oxbridge

https://www.ft.com/content/bbb7fe58-0908-4f8e-bb1a-081a42a045b7

It's behind a paywall and, much as I respected the FT when I used to get it for free at work, I'm not subscribing now. Could you do a cut and paste of a few key paras? Thanks!

Sorry, it's blocked me out now too. There are many similarly themed articles appearing in the UK now though, as well as ones saying independent schools are appointing college counselors to help their students get into US colleges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:cmon - have no dog in this fight but sooo obvious in my wealthy DCUM enclave that a large majority of parents send their kids to privates because they feel it puts them on a path for a T15. When this doesn’t materialize and they are applying to - horror upon horror - Clemson, U Delaware, Gettysburg - they are almost embarrassed at the cocktail parties or water cooler. Larlo going to a 50th ranked national university or LAC wasn’t part of the plan and doesn’t impress anyone, and $200k+ of high school tuition feels like it may have been a bit much. They can’t reconcile how their kid is going to Skidmore while the local public is sending kids to Vandy TO. Then the defensiveness, complaining, and finger pointing starts - grade deflation, URMs, “I’m just happy they are getting a better education than everyone else”, etc etc

5 years ago I would have believed you PP. Bit now everyone is in the same boat and horror of these so-called lesser schools has greatly diminished

This. 5 years ago maybe this would be true. But everyone who knows anything about the current state of college admissions knows how impossible and unpredictable admissions have become. Where a student ends up says more about the process rather than being a reflection on the student. This is true for both public and private school students

I believe the pp two posts above about the finger pointing. What I don't understand, either, is the need to bash public school kids as unprepared slackers on your way to these T50 schools.

- I'm the poster who suggested that private schools need to talk to their admins about grade deflation and weighting, and you private school parents seemed to like that.

are there posts in this thread that are actually bashing public school kids?

Can you point them out?

I see a lot of private school posters saying that private school kids have a harder time getting top grades due to the ways grades are averaged between quarters and the teachers who limit As.

I have high schoolers in both public and private (so no dog in this fight) and this is 100% true in my experience.

My Big3 kids goes to a school that won't graduate a single kid with a 4.0 this year. My public schoolers (great public!) goes to a school that will graduate 20% of the class with an unweighted 4.0.

That is fact, not bashing.

What I don't recall seeing in this thread is any private school parents bashing public school kids. Please point out the posts.

Good grief. Now you're going to pretend you didn't see the posts claiming "my private school kid who works until 2 every night says his public school friends never do any homework and they still get As." Maybe you even wrote these posts. Perhaps you guys have realized it's more acceptable to bash public school parents on this thread than their successful kids.

I've suspected for the past 10 or so pages that at least one "private school parent" is a troll or a disappointed kid. This "request" for others to do work kinda cements that.

So, nobody is going to comb through the thread for you, but take everybody's word for it or start around page 20.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:cmon - have no dog in this fight but sooo obvious in my wealthy DCUM enclave that a large majority of parents send their kids to privates because they feel it puts them on a path for a T15. When this doesn’t materialize and they are applying to - horror upon horror - Clemson, U Delaware, Gettysburg - they are almost embarrassed at the cocktail parties or water cooler. Larlo going to a 50th ranked national university or LAC wasn’t part of the plan and doesn’t impress anyone, and $200k+ of high school tuition feels like it may have been a bit much. They can’t reconcile how their kid is going to Skidmore while the local public is sending kids to Vandy TO. Then the defensiveness, complaining, and finger pointing starts - grade deflation, URMs, “I’m just happy they are getting a better education than everyone else”, etc etc

5 years ago I would have believed you PP. Bit now everyone is in the same boat and horror of these so-called lesser schools has greatly diminished

This. 5 years ago maybe this would be true. But everyone who knows anything about the current state of college admissions knows how impossible and unpredictable admissions have become. Where a student ends up says more about the process rather than being a reflection on the student. This is true for both public and private school students

I believe the pp two posts above about the finger pointing. What I don't understand, either, is the need to bash public school kids as unprepared slackers on your way to these T50 schools.

- I'm the poster who suggested that private schools need to talk to their admins about grade deflation and weighting, and you private school parents seemed to like that.

are there posts in this thread that are actually bashing public school kids?

Can you point them out?

I see a lot of private school posters saying that private school kids have a harder time getting top grades due to the ways grades are averaged between quarters and the teachers who limit As.

I have high schoolers in both public and private (so no dog in this fight) and this is 100% true in my experience.

My Big3 kids goes to a school that won't graduate a single kid with a 4.0 this year. My public schoolers (great public!) goes to a school that will graduate 20% of the class with an unweighted 4.0.

That is fact, not bashing.

What I don't recall seeing in this thread is any private school parents bashing public school kids. Please point out the posts.

Yes. This. Private school parent here from outside the area. Our local public is excellent and highly ranked. I 100% believe that kids who go there are as challenged and educated than my private school kid (or even more so). My DH and I went to similar high school and felt were lost in the shuffle so thought our kids would blossom with individualized attention. They’ve done fine but no more than what I would have expected in public. The one saving grace we felt was that the school’s college counseling department would be more hands on than public. Not that they would have a special in, but that they would coach / guide the kids more. Well, that’s not the case. We still have APs but if they took away that and limited applications to 10, I’d be livid. Instead, I’m just disappointed. But, I recognize my kids will be fine. And, I’m not bashing public school kiddos at all!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:cmon - have no dog in this fight but sooo obvious in my wealthy DCUM enclave that a large majority of parents send their kids to privates because they feel it puts them on a path for a T15. When this doesn’t materialize and they are applying to - horror upon horror - Clemson, U Delaware, Gettysburg - they are almost embarrassed at the cocktail parties or water cooler. Larlo going to a 50th ranked national university or LAC wasn’t part of the plan and doesn’t impress anyone, and $200k+ of high school tuition feels like it may have been a bit much. They can’t reconcile how their kid is going to Skidmore while the local public is sending kids to Vandy TO. Then the defensiveness, complaining, and finger pointing starts - grade deflation, URMs, “I’m just happy they are getting a better education than everyone else”, etc etc

5 years ago I would have believed you PP. Bit now everyone is in the same boat and horror of these so-called lesser schools has greatly diminished

This. 5 years ago maybe this would be true. But everyone who knows anything about the current state of college admissions knows how impossible and unpredictable admissions have become. Where a student ends up says more about the process rather than being a reflection on the student. This is true for both public and private school students

I believe the pp two posts above about the finger pointing. What I don't understand, either, is the need to bash public school kids as unprepared slackers on your way to these T50 schools.

- I'm the poster who suggested that private schools need to talk to their admins about grade deflation and weighting, and you private school parents seemed to like that.

are there posts in this thread that are actually bashing public school kids?

Can you point them out?

I see a lot of private school posters saying that private school kids have a harder time getting top grades due to the ways grades are averaged between quarters and the teachers who limit As.

I have high schoolers in both public and private (so no dog in this fight) and this is 100% true in my experience.

My Big3 kids goes to a school that won't graduate a single kid with a 4.0 this year. My public schoolers (great public!) goes to a school that will graduate 20% of the class with an unweighted 4.0.

That is fact, not bashing.

What I don't recall seeing in this thread is any private school parents bashing public school kids. Please point out the posts.

Good grief. Now you're going to pretend you didn't see the posts claiming "my private school kid who works until 2 every night says his public school friends never do any homework and they still get As." Maybe you even wrote these posts. Perhaps you guys have realized it's more acceptable to bash public school parents on this thread than their successful kids.

I've suspected for the past 10 or so pages that at least one "private school parent" is a troll or a disappointed kid. This "request" for others to do work kinda cements that.

So, nobody is going to comb through the thread for you, but take everybody's word for it or start around page 20.

There is NO post that says anything remotely to the effect of what you are saying.

You are making sh%^t up. Prove me differently and post it if I'm wrong. I'm ready. Post the link or you're lying.

And why are you even in a post that is about Big3 kids if you don't have a kid at one? Genuinely curious.