How to Explain Covid Year Grades

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My A/B public school student is getting recruited by most of the Big schools in the area. My kid practices their sport and extra curricular 40+ hours a week and travels all over the country. I am quite fine with them getting Bs as I prefer a well rounded child. See you at a Big 3 PP where my kid will continue to get As and Bs and still go to a better college, for free.

Ok, we get it you are too cheap to pay for college. Its surprising a Big school would take a B student... that means the privates don't have smarter kids if your A/B public school child is getting in. Why makes you think our kids don't get all A's and still do sports and music? You realize they can do it all and still get A's. So, what happens if your kid doesn't go to school for free? Guess its McDonalds for them.

It’s not just do music and sports. Privates don’t want only all A students and you know that. Playing a sport and being one of the best in mid Atlantic are two very different things that require very different commitment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My A/B public school student is getting recruited by most of the Big schools in the area. My kid practices their sport and extra curricular 40+ hours a week and travels all over the country. I am quite fine with them getting Bs as I prefer a well rounded child. See you at a Big 3 PP where my kid will continue to get As and Bs and still go to a better college, for free.

You sound like as much of an a-hole as others on this thread

Yup, PP and their kid will fit right in at whatever “big” school they get into. Like attracts like.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I participate in interviews for my alma mater. I know your situation is different in that you're talking about a younger kid, but as a general rule, we've not been impressed with any sort of "explanations" (i.e. excuses) for "Covid year grades." All our other applicants maintained their 'A' records throughout the year, so I really don't care that you're such a social person you just couldn't deal with remote learning.

Feel better?
You seem to really get off by being condescending & sanctimonious to a complete stranger... insecure, small people like yourself sure do LOVE a power play.

Shocking that you "participate in interviews for your alma mater" lol. 🤣

OP, don't listen to people like this -- they clearly have issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My A/B public school student is getting recruited by most of the Big schools in the area. My kid practices their sport and extra curricular 40+ hours a week and travels all over the country. I am quite fine with them getting Bs as I prefer a well rounded child. See you at a Big 3 PP where my kid will continue to get As and Bs and still go to a better college, for free.

You sound like as much of an a-hole as others on this thread

Yup, PP and their kid will fit right in at whatever “big” school they get into. Like attracts like.

PP here. You are right. I was being b&tchy because PP implied young kids are less than for getting a B. I tend to fight b&tchy with b&tchy. It’s a bad trait. I apologize.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The concern is that the pandemic isn't over and schools are planning with this in mind. They aren't likely to take a risk on a kid who can can't or won't learn virtually when there may be more virtual learning to come. if they have 10 applicants per spot, why take the one who can only learn in person? it's a hard situation because it's not an isolated event that caused the low grades--it's an ongoing possibility.

I agree but public virtual was particularly mind-numbing, and getting lost in Zoom classes of 35 students might not be a perfect predictor of how a student would do with virtual learning in a private. Schools have to work with a lot of unknowns this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Gosh people can be mean! I’d just be honest and say that your child really struggled with virtual learning, as is evident in his drop in grades, and try to explain why. Maybe there was another area (helping care for a sibling?) where your child did thrive during the pandemic that you could high light.. I get how competitive these school are, but I am hopeful that the right school will give him a chance. It would be hard to imagine that people aren’t keenly aware of how difficult virtual schooling was/is on kids (but goodness, by reading these comments maybe people just live in holes), and have an understanding of the depression, mental health issues etc that plagued kids. Fingers crossed for your kiddo!

Thank you for your humanity and compassion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My A/B public school student is getting recruited by most of the Big schools in the area. My kid practices their sport and extra curricular 40+ hours a week and travels all over the country. I am quite fine with them getting Bs as I prefer a well rounded child. See you at a Big 3 PP where my kid will continue to get As and Bs and still go to a better college, for free.

Ok, we get it you are too cheap to pay for college. Its surprising a Big school would take a B student... that means the privates don't have smarter kids if your A/B public school child is getting in. Why makes you think our kids don't get all A's and still do sports and music? You realize they can do it all and still get A's. So, what happens if your kid doesn't go to school for free? Guess its McDonalds for them.

It’s not just do music and sports. Privates don’t want only all A students and you know that. Playing a sport and being one of the best in mid Atlantic are two very different things that require very different commitment.

No, I don't know that but its sad that they don't care as much about academic achievement given how the parents here brag how smart their kids are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The concern is that the pandemic isn't over and schools are planning with this in mind. They aren't likely to take a risk on a kid who can can't or won't learn virtually when there may be more virtual learning to come. if they have 10 applicants per spot, why take the one who can only learn in person? it's a hard situation because it's not an isolated event that caused the low grades--it's an ongoing possibility.

I agree but public virtual was particularly mind-numbing, and getting lost in Zoom classes of 35 students might not be a perfect predictor of how a student would do with virtual learning in a private. Schools have to work with a lot of unknowns this year.

These kids would get lost in person too. If you turned your camera on and participated given few did, you'd get a lot of attention like mine. They had very few assignments, no real homework. They spent a lot of class time for make up work kids refused to do. You can redo assignments if you get things wrong (though I like this to fix the mistakes). They don't even read full books anymore. I don't get how you get anything lower than a B, let alone an A at least in MS where classes are pretty basic (in high school I can get it).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When did mostly Bs become so terrible? At our rigorous private, Bs are respectable especially during COVID distance learning. It has been a rough ride for so many and so many had diminished learning growth.

I agree with PP who encouraged honesty about extenuating circumstances with death in family.

Good luck OP. May your son find the best fit for him. There a some very good private schools in our area that do not have single digit admit rates and welcome different ability levels.

Its a bit surprising a top private would take kids from public with B's. Nothing wrong with it, but those are not particularly good grades, especially when publics were so watered down in virtual last year. It was nearly impossible to get a B or C.

Kid ended 7th grade with all As except one B in final grades. 8th grade term one 4 As, 2 Bs

If your kid was doing Geometry in 7th or hard classes, I could get it but that's not very impressive given how painful virtual was last year. You basically show up and get 50%

[Anonymous]

Remote learning was an exercise in executive functioning not really learning. This s why so many NT and compliant kids had straight As. My non ADHD kid’s lowest grade was 98% in one semester. My ADHD kid barely ended up with all 90-88% and it was a constant battle to catch up on work. Other kids hit depression and just a wall in terms of motivation.

OP you could have your child focus on reflecting why he did poorly in remote and what skills he’s learned to address it if it comes up in the future. This could be picky a subject outside of school to study independently, executive functioning coaching or classes, mindfulness and exercise to help address depression etc etc. people grow and learn when they struggle. Privates don’t want to deal with the struggle but if you can show he’s overcome it himself he has a lot to offer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, the cruelty in response to this post is shocking even for DCUM. Many students understandably struggled with online learning, including at the schools you are applying your child to. Talk to the schools, explain the circumstances, ask if you can share an additional year of grades. I guarantee admissions officers will have more compassion and understanding than the clearly miserable, very bored, exceptionally judgmental posters on this forum.

OP here - thank you for this response. The other people responding with such nastiness, snobbery and all around awfulness is disgusting. My child struggled, and you are awful humans. I'd rather have a kid with B's than one who grows up to be like any of you. Thanks for nothing beasts.

You tell 'em, OP! I'd rather hang out with you and your kid than with the snots who love the smell of their own poop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Remote learning was an exercise in executive functioning not really learning. This s why so many NT and compliant kids had straight As. My non ADHD kid’s lowest grade was 98% in one semester. My ADHD kid barely ended up with all 90-88% and it was a constant battle to catch up on work. Other kids hit depression and just a wall in terms of motivation.

OP you could have your child focus on reflecting why he did poorly in remote and what skills he’s learned to address it if it comes up in the future. This could be picky a subject outside of school to study independently, executive functioning coaching or classes, mindfulness and exercise to help address depression etc etc. people grow and learn when they struggle. Privates don’t want to deal with the struggle but if you can show he’s overcome it himself he has a lot to offer.

The ability to study and juggle assignments in general is a test of executive functioning. It’s a required skill at a school that has expectations of homework, expected reading, and longer term projects, and most private high schools have those things.

[Anonymous]

I would think the key to offsetting this would be really stellar teacher recommendations. Teachers who believe in your child’s abilities and relay their enthusiastic support will, in my opinion, weigh more than your description of what happened, although of course you should address it directly and honestly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Remote learning was an exercise in executive functioning not really learning. This s why so many NT and compliant kids had straight As. My non ADHD kid’s lowest grade was 98% in one semester. My ADHD kid barely ended up with all 90-88% and it was a constant battle to catch up on work. Other kids hit depression and just a wall in terms of motivation.

OP you could have your child focus on reflecting why he did poorly in remote and what skills he’s learned to address it if it comes up in the future. This could be picky a subject outside of school to study independently, executive functioning coaching or classes, mindfulness and exercise to help address depression etc etc. people grow and learn when they struggle. Privates don’t want to deal with the struggle but if you can show he’s overcome it himself he has a lot to offer.

The ability to study and juggle assignments in general is a test of executive functioning. It’s a required skill at a school that has expectations of homework, expected reading, and longer term projects, and most private high schools have those things.

Agree with this 1000%. My kid moved from public school to a Big3 for high school this year. It's been a struggle because the public school (especially during Covid) had next to no expectations. Assignments could be turned in any time without penalty. Tests could
always be retaken so there was literally no point to studying for them the first time. Kids got 50% even if nothing is turned in at all. It was almost impossible to not get an A/B. I don't think those of you with kids only in private know how easy it was in the DMV
public school districts (for middle school). A kid would literally have to not turn in anything for weeks on end to get a C. Even then it would be hard.

In contrast, the Big3 is never-ending test of executive functioning: things must be turned in on time, tests cannot be retaken (so better be studied for the night before), etc, etc. Plus the biggest thing is the amount of work. Public had maybe one assignment per class, per week.
Now it's homework every night in every class, sometimes multiple assignments. So instead of doing 5 things a week, it's often 15 (and with no grace for being late).

We're 3 months in and my public school kid is finally in a good study groove (independent of us) And I was a stickler for him turning in EVERYTHING on time last year. He was a 14 year old boy during the pandemic--stuck on Zoom school, depressed, loosing a favorite grandmother to Covid---
it was rough. He did not want to logon or turn things it. However, I made this an absolute non-negotiable (do it or lose your phone). I checked his account every.single.night at 10pm. "Did you turn everything in? Yes? Great. No? Well, you have 2 hours to get it done".
Call me a helicopter but I knew private school applications were in progress and more importantly, I knew he needed to develop good study habits (getting everything turned in on time) if he was going to succeed in high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are some true haters on this thread. Those of you gloating about your private admissions membership. Guess what? I am in charge of reviewing applications at my university, and you better believe if I see a kid with all As during the COVID year I will assume you were over-privileged and will want to have a vested interest in understanding those kids who did not do "as well".

You just sound dumb. Lol, probably reviewing applicants for a university you could never attend. 🥱

Sorry, but calling someone on a forum "dumb" doesn't take away the fact that I am Ivy League educated. Some admissions committees try to have compassion. Sorry it is such a foreign concept to you. I bet you think you are raising fine kids.