Sidwell College Admissions This Year

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the Sidwell CCO actually does a very good job. The brutal reality is they have the absolutely daunting task of telling the PARENTS of the bottom 85 percent of the class that there is no way in hell their kid is getting into the Ivy League. I believe they deliver that message but parents don’t “hear” it. Sadly, I think parents don’t accept the reality that their kid just isn’t a top student in a Sidwell context no matter how otherwise fabulous the kid might be. I am with you when it comes to undistinguished legacies who defy this reality. My observation is that top students with the most rigorous coursework (top 10 percent of class — top 13 students) got into top schools. This year. The next 40 percent got into top 50 schools. Sound and fury signifying nothing. Every single kid in the grade has a bright future. Sidwell parent of senior.

Sidwell's top 10% aren't getting into super selective colleges without a hook, just like any school in this area.

This is what puzzles me the most. If a top student has the best credentials, why is a hook necessary? Don't CCOs support candidates who have good chances to get into super selective colleges even without hooks?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the Sidwell CCO actually does a very good job. The brutal reality is they have the absolutely daunting task of telling the PARENTS of the bottom 85 percent of the class that there is no way in hell their kid is getting into the Ivy League. I believe they deliver that message but parents don’t “hear” it. Sadly, I think parents don’t accept the reality that their kid just isn’t a top student in a Sidwell context no matter how otherwise fabulous the kid might be. I am with you when it comes to undistinguished legacies who defy this reality. My observation is that top students with the most rigorous coursework (top 10 percent of class — top 13 students) got into top schools. This year. The next 40 percent got into top 50 schools. Sound and fury signifying nothing. Every single kid in the grade has a bright future. Sidwell parent of senior.

Sidwell's top 10% aren't getting into super selective colleges without a hook, just like any school in this area.

This is what puzzles me the most. If a top student has the best credentials, why is a hook necessary? Don't CCOs support candidates who have good chances to get into super selective colleges even without hooks?

Because in the year 2022 no-one is getting into the ivies on grades and courses alone. Not from Sidwell, STA, Thomas Jefferson, Blair Magnet, Dalton, Andover, etc.
Any CCO on the planet is not going to move this needle.

Gone are the days when you can just get in by being a kid with excellent grades in top courses at a rigorous school.
Kids need a hook, in most cases two PLUS the good grades for admission to an Ivy:

Hooks to be added to a baseline of good grades from a rigorous school: (pick any two): URM, legacy, VIP (parent or child), athlete, super advanced coursework, rare and/or ground-breaking extracurricular(s), etc

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the Sidwell CCO actually does a very good job. The brutal reality is they have the absolutely daunting task of telling the PARENTS of the bottom 85 percent of the class that there is no way in hell their kid is getting into the Ivy League. I believe they deliver that message but parents don’t “hear” it. Sadly, I think parents don’t accept the reality that their kid just isn’t a top student in a Sidwell context no matter how otherwise fabulous the kid might be. I am with you when it comes to undistinguished legacies who defy this reality. My observation is that top students with the most rigorous coursework (top 10 percent of class — top 13 students) got into top schools. This year. The next 40 percent got into top 50 schools. Sound and fury signifying nothing. Every single kid in the grade has a bright future. Sidwell parent of senior.

You are just moving the goalposts and defining expectations down. Many more students than the top 13 should reasonably expect to be competitive at Ivies/Stanford/MIT and top SLACs and have a real chance of enrolling at them.

The Dalton list that people have been pointing to shows that this is a reasonable expectation. Even as a 5 year list, look at the averages per year:

Amherst 1/year
Bowdoin 1-2/year
Brown 6/year
Columbia 4/year
Cornell 7-8/year
Dartmouth 2-3/year
Duke 2/year
Harvard 7/year
MIT 1/year
Princeton 3/year
Stanford 1/2 year
Penn 4/year
Williams 1-2/year
Yale 4-5/year

Just looking at the Ivies, that averages out to more than 35 students per year. Their senior class is about the same size as Sidwell if not a bit smaller.

I don't think that is how it works. Some if those ivy kids are probably headed to those school regardless if they go to Dalton or sidwell or get homeschooled in a basement.

And so, whats your point? How does this affect the discussion re the comparison between the outcomes at the two schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the Sidwell CCO actually does a very good job. The brutal reality is they have the absolutely daunting task of telling the PARENTS of the bottom 85 percent of the class that there is no way in hell their kid is getting into the Ivy League. I believe they deliver that message but parents don’t “hear” it. Sadly, I think parents don’t accept the reality that their kid just isn’t a top student in a Sidwell context no matter how otherwise fabulous the kid might be. I am with you when it comes to undistinguished legacies who defy this reality. My observation is that top students with the most rigorous coursework (top 10 percent of class — top 13 students) got into top schools. This year. The next 40 percent got into top 50 schools. Sound and fury signifying nothing. Every single kid in the grade has a bright future. Sidwell parent of senior.

You are just moving the goalposts and defining expectations down. Many more students than the top 13 should reasonably expect to be competitive at Ivies/Stanford/MIT and top SLACs and have a real chance of enrolling at them.

The Dalton list that people have been pointing to shows that this is a reasonable expectation. Even as a 5 year list, look at the averages per year:

Amherst 1/year
Bowdoin 1-2/year
Brown 6/year
Columbia 4/year
Cornell 7-8/year
Dartmouth 2-3/year
Duke 2/year
Harvard 7/year
MIT 1/year
Princeton 3/year
Stanford 1/2 year
Penn 4/year
Williams 1-2/year
Yale 4-5/year

Just looking at the Ivies, that averages out to more than 35 students per year. Their senior class is about the same size as Sidwell if not a bit smaller.

Call size average: 110 per year. So smaller than Sidwell, yes.

Indeed, many more than 13 should expect to get in to top schools from Sidwell.

What I know is that my smart kid would be even less likely to get into an Ivy from Dalton than from Sidwell, given the pull of those Dalton parents.

[Anonymous]

The dalton kids are probably richer, with more famous parents, and potentially more interesting than DC kids. Sorry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the Sidwell CCO actually does a very good job. The brutal reality is they have the absolutely daunting task of telling the PARENTS of the bottom 85 percent of the class that there is no way in hell their kid is getting into the Ivy League. I believe they deliver that message but parents don’t “hear” it. Sadly, I think parents don’t accept the reality that their kid just isn’t a top student in a Sidwell context no matter how otherwise fabulous the kid might be. I am with you when it comes to undistinguished legacies who defy this reality. My observation is that top students with the most rigorous coursework (top 10 percent of class — top 13 students) got into top schools. This year. The next 40 percent got into top 50 schools. Sound and fury signifying nothing. Every single kid in the grade has a bright future. Sidwell parent of senior.

You are just moving the goalposts and defining expectations down. Many more students than the top 13 should reasonably expect to be competitive at Ivies/Stanford/MIT and top SLACs and have a real chance of enrolling at them.

The Dalton list that people have been pointing to shows that this is a reasonable expectation. Even as a 5 year list, look at the averages per year:

Amherst 1/year
Bowdoin 1-2/year
Brown 6/year
Columbia 4/year
Cornell 7-8/year
Dartmouth 2-3/year
Duke 2/year
Harvard 7/year
MIT 1/year
Princeton 3/year
Stanford 1/2 year
Penn 4/year
Williams 1-2/year
Yale 4-5/year

Just looking at the Ivies, that averages out to more than 35 students per year. Their senior class is about the same size as Sidwell if not a bit smaller.

I don't think that is how it works. Some if those ivy kids are probably headed to those school regardless if they go to Dalton or sidwell or get homeschooled in a basement.

And so, whats your point? How does this affect the discussion re the comparison between the outcomes at the two schools?

The point is that Dalton's CCO has less to do with those results than Dalton's admissions office.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the Sidwell CCO actually does a very good job. The brutal reality is they have the absolutely daunting task of telling the PARENTS of the bottom 85 percent of the class that there is no way in hell their kid is getting into the Ivy League. I believe they deliver that message but parents don’t “hear” it. Sadly, I think parents don’t accept the reality that their kid just isn’t a top student in a Sidwell context no matter how otherwise fabulous the kid might be. I am with you when it comes to undistinguished legacies who defy this reality. My observation is that top students with the most rigorous coursework (top 10 percent of class — top 13 students) got into top schools. This year. The next 40 percent got into top 50 schools. Sound and fury signifying nothing. Every single kid in the grade has a bright future. Sidwell parent of senior.

You are just moving the goalposts and defining expectations down. Many more students than the top 13 should reasonably expect to be competitive at Ivies/Stanford/MIT and top SLACs and have a real chance of enrolling at them.

The Dalton list that people have been pointing to shows that this is a reasonable expectation. Even as a 5 year list, look at the averages per year:

Amherst 1/year
Bowdoin 1-2/year
Brown 6/year
Columbia 4/year
Cornell 7-8/year
Dartmouth 2-3/year
Duke 2/year
Harvard 7/year
MIT 1/year
Princeton 3/year
Stanford 1/2 year
Penn 4/year
Williams 1-2/year
Yale 4-5/year

Just looking at the Ivies, that averages out to more than 35 students per year. Their senior class is about the same size as Sidwell if not a bit smaller.

I don't think that is how it works. Some if those ivy kids are probably headed to those school regardless if they go to Dalton or sidwell or get homeschooled in a basement.

Focus on the schools with 15+ for Dalton

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the Sidwell CCO actually does a very good job. The brutal reality is they have the absolutely daunting task of telling the PARENTS of the bottom 85 percent of the class that there is no way in hell their kid is getting into the Ivy League. I believe they deliver that message but parents don’t “hear” it. Sadly, I think parents don’t accept the reality that their kid just isn’t a top student in a Sidwell context no matter how otherwise fabulous the kid might be. I am with you when it comes to undistinguished legacies who defy this reality. My observation is that top students with the most rigorous coursework (top 10 percent of class — top 13 students) got into top schools. This year. The next 40 percent got into top 50 schools. Sound and fury signifying nothing. Every single kid in the grade has a bright future. Sidwell parent of senior.

You are just moving the goalposts and defining expectations down. Many more students than the top 13 should reasonably expect to be competitive at Ivies/Stanford/MIT and top SLACs and have a real chance of enrolling at them.

The Dalton list that people have been pointing to shows that this is a reasonable expectation. Even as a 5 year list, look at the averages per year:

Amherst 1/year
Bowdoin 1-2/year
Brown 6/year
Columbia 4/year
Cornell 7-8/year
Dartmouth 2-3/year
Duke 2/year
Harvard 7/year
MIT 1/year
Princeton 3/year
Stanford 1/2 year
Penn 4/year
Williams 1-2/year
Yale 4-5/year

Just looking at the Ivies, that averages out to more than 35 students per year. Their senior class is about the same size as Sidwell if not a bit smaller.

I don't think that is how it works. Some if those ivy kids are probably headed to those school regardless if they go to Dalton or sidwell or get homeschooled in a basement.

Focus on the schools with 15+ for Dalton

https://www.dalton.org/programs/high-school/college-counseling

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the Sidwell CCO actually does a very good job. The brutal reality is they have the absolutely daunting task of telling the PARENTS of the bottom 85 percent of the class that there is no way in hell their kid is getting into the Ivy League. I believe they deliver that message but parents don’t “hear” it. Sadly, I think parents don’t accept the reality that their kid just isn’t a top student in a Sidwell context no matter how otherwise fabulous the kid might be. I am with you when it comes to undistinguished legacies who defy this reality. My observation is that top students with the most rigorous coursework (top 10 percent of class — top 13 students) got into top schools. This year. The next 40 percent got into top 50 schools. Sound and fury signifying nothing. Every single kid in the grade has a bright future. Sidwell parent of senior.

You are just moving the goalposts and defining expectations down. Many more students than the top 13 should reasonably expect to be competitive at Ivies/Stanford/MIT and top SLACs and have a real chance of enrolling at them.

The Dalton list that people have been pointing to shows that this is a reasonable expectation. Even as a 5 year list, look at the averages per year:

Amherst 1/year
Bowdoin 1-2/year
Brown 6/year
Columbia 4/year
Cornell 7-8/year
Dartmouth 2-3/year
Duke 2/year
Harvard 7/year
MIT 1/year
Princeton 3/year
Stanford 1/2 year
Penn 4/year
Williams 1-2/year
Yale 4-5/year

Just looking at the Ivies, that averages out to more than 35 students per year. Their senior class is about the same size as Sidwell if not a bit smaller.

I don't think that is how it works. Some if those ivy kids are probably headed to those school regardless if they go to Dalton or sidwell or get homeschooled in a basement.

And so, whats your point? How does this affect the discussion re the comparison between the outcomes at the two schools?

The point is you need to know who these individual students are and their profiles. You can't just compare this HS to that HS narrowly to the point of counting the exact number admitted to yale every year. There are certain students so desireable, that can go to yale or Harvard or wherever they want regardless of high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The dalton kids are probably richer, with more famous parents, and potentially more interesting than DC kids. Sorry.

Please explain what does "more interesting" mean.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the Sidwell CCO actually does a very good job. The brutal reality is they have the absolutely daunting task of telling the PARENTS of the bottom 85 percent of the class that there is no way in hell their kid is getting into the Ivy League. I believe they deliver that message but parents don’t “hear” it. Sadly, I think parents don’t accept the reality that their kid just isn’t a top student in a Sidwell context no matter how otherwise fabulous the kid might be. I am with you when it comes to undistinguished legacies who defy this reality. My observation is that top students with the most rigorous coursework (top 10 percent of class — top 13 students) got into top schools. This year. The next 40 percent got into top 50 schools. Sound and fury signifying nothing. Every single kid in the grade has a bright future. Sidwell parent of senior.

You are just moving the goalposts and defining expectations down. Many more students than the top 13 should reasonably expect to be competitive at Ivies/Stanford/MIT and top SLACs and have a real chance of enrolling at them.

The Dalton list that people have been pointing to shows that this is a reasonable expectation. Even as a 5 year list, look at the averages per year:

Amherst 1/year
Bowdoin 1-2/year
Brown 6/year
Columbia 4/year
Cornell 7-8/year
Dartmouth 2-3/year
Duke 2/year
Harvard 7/year
MIT 1/year
Princeton 3/year
Stanford 1/2 year
Penn 4/year
Williams 1-2/year
Yale 4-5/year

Just looking at the Ivies, that averages out to more than 35 students per year. Their senior class is about the same size as Sidwell if not a bit smaller.

Call size average: 110 per year. So smaller than Sidwell, yes.

Indeed, many more than 13 should expect to get in to top schools from Sidwell.

What I know is that my smart kid would be even less likely to get into an Ivy from Dalton than from Sidwell, given the pull of those Dalton parents.

Your smart kid would be even less likely to get into Dalton itself than Sidwell.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the Sidwell CCO actually does a very good job. The brutal reality is they have the absolutely daunting task of telling the PARENTS of the bottom 85 percent of the class that there is no way in hell their kid is getting into the Ivy League. I believe they deliver that message but parents don’t “hear” it. Sadly, I think parents don’t accept the reality that their kid just isn’t a top student in a Sidwell context no matter how otherwise fabulous the kid might be. I am with you when it comes to undistinguished legacies who defy this reality. My observation is that top students with the most rigorous coursework (top 10 percent of class — top 13 students) got into top schools. This year. The next 40 percent got into top 50 schools. Sound and fury signifying nothing. Every single kid in the grade has a bright future. Sidwell parent of senior.

Sidwell's top 10% aren't getting into super selective colleges without a hook, just like any school in this area.

This is what puzzles me the most. If a top student has the best credentials, why is a hook necessary? Don't CCOs support candidates who have good chances to get into super selective colleges even without hooks?

Because in the year 2022 no-one is getting into the ivies on grades and courses alone. Not from Sidwell, STA, Thomas Jefferson, Blair Magnet, Dalton, Andover, etc.
Any CCO on the planet is not going to move this needle.

Gone are the days when you can just get in by being a kid with excellent grades in top courses at a rigorous school.
Kids need a hook, in most cases two PLUS the good grades for admission to an Ivy:

Hooks to be added to a baseline of good grades from a rigorous school: (pick any two): URM, legacy, VIP (parent or child), athlete, super advanced coursework, rare and/or ground-breaking extracurricular(s), etc

A hook is something you were born into - big donor family, first gen - or athletic recruit bc you go through a whole different process to sign for athletics. Super rigorous coursework or ground breaking extra curriculars are activities in which kids engage. Not hooks.

I know of at least one kid with an Ivy admit from my kid’s private who got in on resume. And other kids into top 15 schools who have similar profiles. Guessing there are more out there but time will tell.

You do have to be more special than you used to when the admit rates are less than 5%. But that is not a hook. And as one poster mentioned, private school kids still way-out punt their coverage for selective schools. Way more of kids at highly sections than number of privates in general population.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The dalton kids are probably richer, with more famous parents, and potentially more interesting than DC kids. Sorry.

Please explain what does "more interesting" mean.

Mommy and daddy don’t work for the federal government or some boring DC law firm.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the Sidwell CCO actually does a very good job. The brutal reality is they have the absolutely daunting task of telling the PARENTS of the bottom 85 percent of the class that there is no way in hell their kid is getting into the Ivy League. I believe they deliver that message but parents don’t “hear” it. Sadly, I think parents don’t accept the reality that their kid just isn’t a top student in a Sidwell context no matter how otherwise fabulous the kid might be. I am with you when it comes to undistinguished legacies who defy this reality. My observation is that top students with the most rigorous coursework (top 10 percent of class — top 13 students) got into top schools. This year. The next 40 percent got into top 50 schools. Sound and fury signifying nothing. Every single kid in the grade has a bright future. Sidwell parent of senior.

Sidwell's top 10% aren't getting into super selective colleges without a hook, just like any school in this area.

This is what puzzles me the most. If a top student has the best credentials, why is a hook necessary? Don't CCOs support candidates who have good chances to get into super selective colleges even without hooks?

Because in the year 2022 no-one is getting into the ivies on grades and courses alone. Not from Sidwell, STA, Thomas Jefferson, Blair Magnet, Dalton, Andover, etc.
Any CCO on the planet is not going to move this needle.

Gone are the days when you can just get in by being a kid with excellent grades in top courses at a rigorous school.
Kids need a hook, in most cases two PLUS the good grades for admission to an Ivy:

Hooks to be added to a baseline of good grades from a rigorous school: (pick any two): URM, legacy, VIP (parent or child), athlete, super advanced coursework, rare and/or ground-breaking extracurricular(s), etc

This. Also be a twin, go ROTC, be first gen, be from South Dakota or similar

preferably at least a couple of these things on top of your perfect stats.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the Sidwell CCO actually does a very good job. The brutal reality is they have the absolutely daunting task of telling the PARENTS of the bottom 85 percent of the class that there is no way in hell their kid is getting into the Ivy League. I believe they deliver that message but parents don’t “hear” it. Sadly, I think parents don’t accept the reality that their kid just isn’t a top student in a Sidwell context no matter how otherwise fabulous the kid might be. I am with you when it comes to undistinguished legacies who defy this reality. My observation is that top students with the most rigorous coursework (top 10 percent of class — top 13 students) got into top schools. This year. The next 40 percent got into top 50 schools. Sound and fury signifying nothing. Every single kid in the grade has a bright future. Sidwell parent of senior.

Sidwell's top 10% aren't getting into super selective colleges without a hook, just like any school in this area.

This is what puzzles me the most. If a top student has the best credentials, why is a hook necessary? Don't CCOs support candidates who have good chances to get into super selective colleges even without hooks?

Because in the year 2022 no-one is getting into the ivies on grades and courses alone. Not from Sidwell, STA, Thomas Jefferson, Blair Magnet, Dalton, Andover, etc.
Any CCO on the planet is not going to move this needle.

Gone are the days when you can just get in by being a kid with excellent grades in top courses at a rigorous school.
Kids need a hook, in most cases two PLUS the good grades for admission to an Ivy:

Hooks to be added to a baseline of good grades from a rigorous school: (pick any two): URM, legacy, VIP (parent or child), athlete, super advanced coursework, rare and/or ground-breaking extracurricular(s), etc

This. Also be a twin, go ROTC, be first gen, be from South Dakota or similar

preferably at least a couple of these things on top of your perfect stats.

This is important to note.