What happens with the Big3 kids who have sub 3.0 GPAs?

[Anonymous]

^^^ Someone had a chip on their shoulder

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At most “good” public and private schools, the top 10% gets into the very competitive, elite colleges. By “good” meaning the schools like the W high schools and private schools like Sidwell. The only private and public schools that send a greater percentage to kids that are not top 10%, are magnets like TJ, usually the top 20%, and top private schools like Andover, top 20%. DC private schools including the Big3 are nowhere on par.

So kids with sub 3.0 gpas from the Big 3 go to the same colleges that the other 90% go including the 90% from public.

My older was in a big 3 and graduated a few years ago. More than half the kids in the grade went to IVY/NESCAC/Stanford/Northwestern/Chicago/topSLAC.

The rest went to places like NYU, Tulane and that tier. There were a handful that went to schools that some here would scoff at, smaller PA/OH SLACs but they were full ride athletes. There literally wasn't a school on the grade-wide list that I would shake my head and say "why go to 'big3' and end up there" - not a single one.

You need to specify what is “a few years ago.” It likely isn’t in the past five years. And if you account for SES, the sub 3.0 kids from the Big 3 go to the same colleges as the sub 3.0 kids from the W pyramid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why have the public school parents taken over this thread? I get that you don’t understand our choice, but stop going on about the money we are wasting. Seriously, spending $200k a year for our 4 kids to attend private is a non-issue for us. Before you start in, we can still afford private college for all the kids, vacations, extracurriculars, retirement. This discussion is about private school GPA and college admissions.

Why did a private school parent (20:33) bring public school kids into the discussion in the first place? Why did other private school parents pile on? Not relevant to where the bottom half f privates goes to college.

A lot of people still are trying to get in. The reverse psychology attempts are coming into play.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My favorite:

“ Religion aside, why are parents spending so much money to send their kids to private schools?

CAL: That’s a great question, and some economists that have looked at these types of conclusions are really confused by that. Why would somebody pay money for a service that is apparently inferior to one they could get for free? It flies in the face of economic logic.”

This!

Depends on the private. IMO, the NE boarding schools, the "big 3" locally and places like Harvard-Westlake, Lab School in Chicago, Lakeside in Seattle - a handful of others, are worth it. After that, depends on the kid and the fit with public.

I agree if the only criteria you are looking at are college admissions. The big3 locally are not worth it if you compare them to top NYC private schools or even the top publics in the DMV and I am not talking about magnets like TJ or Blair but regular public high schools like Olney and the W pyramid. So it depends on the private school and what is available in the area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My favorite:

“ Religion aside, why are parents spending so much money to send their kids to private schools?

CAL: That’s a great question, and some economists that have looked at these types of conclusions are really confused by that. Why would somebody pay money for a service that is apparently inferior to one they could get for free? It flies in the face of economic logic.”

This!

Depends on the private. IMO, the NE boarding schools, the "big 3" locally and places like Harvard-Westlake, Lab School in Chicago, Lakeside in Seattle - a handful of others, are worth it. After that, depends on the kid and the fit with public.

I agree if the only criteria you are looking at are college admissions. The big3 locally are not worth it if you compare them to top NYC private schools or even the top publics in the DMV and I am not talking about magnets like TJ or Blair but regular public high schools like Olney and the W pyramid. So it depends on the private school and what is available in the area.

Which exposes the flaw in the discussion: no one only looks at college admissions when deciding what high school is the best fit for their child. No one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My favorite:

“ Religion aside, why are parents spending so much money to send their kids to private schools?

CAL: That’s a great question, and some economists that have looked at these types of conclusions are really confused by that. Why would somebody pay money for a service that is apparently inferior to one they could get for free? It flies in the face of economic logic.”

This!

Depends on the private. IMO, the NE boarding schools, the "big 3" locally and places like Harvard-Westlake, Lab School in Chicago, Lakeside in Seattle - a handful of others, are worth it. After that, depends on the kid and the fit with public.

I agree if the only criteria you are looking at are college admissions. The big3 locally are not worth it if you compare them to top NYC private schools or even the top publics in the DMV and I am not talking about magnets like TJ or Blair but regular public high schools like Olney and the W pyramid. So it depends on the private school and what is available in the area.

Which exposes the flaw in the discussion: no one only looks at college admissions when deciding what high school is the best fit for their child. No one.

Some do especially if the kid is a self starter and excels academically. Ask the kids who apply to Exeter, Andover, etc or any of the public magnets like TJ, Stuy,….

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At most “good” public and private schools, the top 10% gets into the very competitive, elite colleges. By “good” meaning the schools like the W high schools and private schools like Sidwell. The only private and public schools that send a greater percentage to kids that are not top 10%, are magnets like TJ, usually the top 20%, and top private schools like Andover, top 20%. DC private schools including the Big3 are nowhere on par.

So kids with sub 3.0 gpas from the Big 3 go to the same colleges that the other 90% go including the 90% from public.

My older was in a big 3 and graduated a few years ago. More than half the kids in the grade went to IVY/NESCAC/Stanford/Northwestern/Chicago/topSLAC.

The rest went to places like NYU, Tulane and that tier. There were a handful that went to schools that some here would scoff at, smaller PA/OH SLACs but they were full ride athletes. There literally wasn't a school on the grade-wide list that I would shake my head and say "why go to 'big3' and end up there" - not a single one.

You need to specify what is “a few years ago.” It likely isn’t in the past five years. And if you account for SES, the sub 3.0 kids from the Big 3 go to the same colleges as the sub 3.0 kids from the W pyramid.

So you're telling me that the sub 3.0 kids from Whitman are going to Tulane, Richmond, Grinnell?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At most “good” public and private schools, the top 10% gets into the very competitive, elite colleges. By “good” meaning the schools like the W high schools and private schools like Sidwell. The only private and public schools that send a greater percentage to kids that are not top 10%, are magnets like TJ, usually the top 20%, and top private schools like Andover, top 20%. DC private schools including the Big3 are nowhere on par.

So kids with sub 3.0 gpas from the Big 3 go to the same colleges that the other 90% go including the 90% from public.

My older was in a big 3 and graduated a few years ago. More than half the kids in the grade went to IVY/NESCAC/Stanford/Northwestern/Chicago/topSLAC.

The rest went to places like NYU, Tulane and that tier. There were a handful that went to schools that some here would scoff at, smaller PA/OH SLACs but they were full ride athletes. There literally wasn't a school on the grade-wide list that I would shake my head and say "why go to 'big3' and end up there" - not a single one.

You need to specify what is “a few years ago.” It likely isn’t in the past five years. And if you account for SES, the sub 3.0 kids from the Big 3 go to the same colleges as the sub 3.0 kids from the W pyramid.

This is due to the increase in the number of foreign students especially from China who apply to US colleges and universities. These kids are all full pay too, no financial aid for foreigners. So for an Ivy or similar, kids are competing internationally for a spot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My favorite:

“ Religion aside, why are parents spending so much money to send their kids to private schools?

CAL: That’s a great question, and some economists that have looked at these types of conclusions are really confused by that. Why would somebody pay money for a service that is apparently inferior to one they could get for free? It flies in the face of economic logic.”

This!

It is called quality of the experience daily for my child combined with fact that I can easily afford it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At most “good” public and private schools, the top 10% gets into the very competitive, elite colleges. By “good” meaning the schools like the W high schools and private schools like Sidwell. The only private and public schools that send a greater percentage to kids that are not top 10%, are magnets like TJ, usually the top 20%, and top private schools like Andover, top 20%. DC private schools including the Big3 are nowhere on par.

So kids with sub 3.0 gpas from the Big 3 go to the same colleges that the other 90% go including the 90% from public.

My older was in a big 3 and graduated a few years ago. More than half the kids in the grade went to IVY/NESCAC/Stanford/Northwestern/Chicago/topSLAC.

The rest went to places like NYU, Tulane and that tier. There were a handful that went to schools that some here would scoff at, smaller PA/OH SLACs but they were full ride athletes. There literally wasn't a school on the grade-wide list that I would shake my head and say "why go to 'big3' and end up there" - not a single one.

You need to specify what is “a few years ago.” It likely isn’t in the past five years. And if you account for SES, the sub 3.0 kids from the Big 3 go to the same colleges as the sub 3.0 kids from the W pyramid.

So you're telling me that the sub 3.0 kids from Whitman are going to Tulane, Richmond, Grinnell?

The sub 3.0 kids from the big 3 aren’t going there either nowadays

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If my kid had mostly Cs, I would wonder if they were in the right school.

Good point. There are just a lot of Cs given out. I'm not sure if many kids have mostly Cs but I do know a lot of kids with one or more Cs.

One C would not result in a sub 3.0 GPA. For someone to have below a 3.0 GPA, they need to have gotten mostly Cs. That's a sign that the school is not teaching in a way that is effective for that student.

Not really. All Bs = 3.0. So, all Bs + 1 C < 3.0. You can even have a GPA < 3.0 if you have all Bs, 1 A and 2 Cs.

This is going to be my kid. Not a “big 3” or big anything, but a good independent school. He gets the occasional A, mostly Bs, and some Cs. I’ll be thrilled if he ends up with a GPA over 3. I don’t think public school would have been better for him - he probably would have done less work and learned less, and been satisfied with Bs there too. He’s just not academically motivated. So better he is pushed and challenged. Hopefully he’ll find a good fit college.

This is my kid

In at: Indiana; Auburn; Elon; College of Charleston; UNC Charlotte; U of Arizona; Boulder; U of Iowa; Rollins; U of S Carolina 3.2 good private 30 ACT

PP here he got mostly Bs and B+, occasional A- and a couple of Cs (math) /

Thank you for sharing. My big 4 junior has similar grades. Came from public where he got lots of As.
He wants a smallish SLAC where he can get access to teachers, make good friends and he hasn’t decided yet which major he wants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At most “good” public and private schools, the top 10% gets into the very competitive, elite colleges. By “good” meaning the schools like the W high schools and private schools like Sidwell. The only private and public schools that send a greater percentage to kids that are not top 10%, are magnets like TJ, usually the top 20%, and top private schools like Andover, top 20%. DC private schools including the Big3 are nowhere on par.

So kids with sub 3.0 gpas from the Big 3 go to the same colleges that the other 90% go including the 90% from public.

My older was in a big 3 and graduated a few years ago. More than half the kids in the grade went to IVY/NESCAC/Stanford/Northwestern/Chicago/topSLAC.

The rest went to places like NYU, Tulane and that tier. There were a handful that went to schools that some here would scoff at, smaller PA/OH SLACs but they were full ride athletes. There literally wasn't a school on the grade-wide list that I would shake my head and say "why go to 'big3' and end up there" - not a single one.

You need to specify what is “a few years ago.” It likely isn’t in the past five years. And if you account for SES, the sub 3.0 kids from the Big 3 go to the same colleges as the sub 3.0 kids from the W pyramid.

Class of 2020

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At most “good” public and private schools, the top 10% gets into the very competitive, elite colleges. By “good” meaning the schools like the W high schools and private schools like Sidwell. The only private and public schools that send a greater percentage to kids that are not top 10%, are magnets like TJ, usually the top 20%, and top private schools like Andover, top 20%. DC private schools including the Big3 are nowhere on par.

So kids with sub 3.0 gpas from the Big 3 go to the same colleges that the other 90% go including the 90% from public.

My older was in a big 3 and graduated a few years ago. More than half the kids in the grade went to IVY/NESCAC/Stanford/Northwestern/Chicago/topSLAC.

The rest went to places like NYU, Tulane and that tier. There were a handful that went to schools that some here would scoff at, smaller PA/OH SLACs but they were full ride athletes. There literally wasn't a school on the grade-wide list that I would shake my head and say "why go to 'big3' and end up there" - not a single one.

You need to specify what is “a few years ago.” It likely isn’t in the past five years. And if you account for SES, the sub 3.0 kids from the Big 3 go to the same colleges as the sub 3.0 kids from the W pyramid.

Class of 2020

Really? and HALF the class went to Ivy…. Stanford, Northwestern…. Top SLAC. You have to name this school that had this outstanding results!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My favorite:

“ Religion aside, why are parents spending so much money to send their kids to private schools?

CAL: That’s a great question, and some economists that have looked at these types of conclusions are really confused by that. Why would somebody pay money for a service that is apparently inferior to one they could get for free? It flies in the face of economic logic.”

This!

Depends on the private. IMO, the NE boarding schools, the "big 3" locally and places like Harvard-Westlake, Lab School in Chicago, Lakeside in Seattle - a handful of others, are worth it. After that, depends on the kid and the fit with public.

I agree if the only criteria you are looking at are college admissions. The big3 locally are not worth it if you compare them to top NYC private schools or even the top publics in the DMV and I am not talking about magnets like TJ or Blair but regular public high schools like Olney and the W pyramid. So it depends on the private school and what is available in the area.

Which exposes the flaw in the discussion: no one only looks at college admissions when deciding what high school is the best fit for their child. No one.

Disagree. Plenty do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My favorite:

“ Religion aside, why are parents spending so much money to send their kids to private schools?

CAL: That’s a great question, and some economists that have looked at these types of conclusions are really confused by that. Why would somebody pay money for a service that is apparently inferior to one they could get for free? It flies in the face of economic logic.”

This!

It is called quality of the experience daily for my child combined with fact that I can easily afford it.

It’s not about affording it as plenty affluent send kids to publics. Again, I understand your justification / self preservation