Sidwell Junior - GPA concerns

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Parent of a current Sidwell senior. My child thinks there is one student in the grade that has a 4.0. DC’s perception is she’s the smartest girl in the grade. I have no idea whatsoever how many kids have above a 3.9. Mine has a 3.7ish (3.7-3.75) and I have no idea where that stands relative to the rest of the class. Mine got into a top 10 school, but we feel like it was a lottery win.

Sidwell does not let parents see the school profile. They let parents see the naviance scattergram’s only when the college counselor pulls it up for them. Someone earlier posted that this is changing for next year which would be a wonderful change as it’s insulting that Sidwell doesn’t trust the parents to view this information on their own.

Unless Sidwell improves the college counseling, I will absolutely positively hire a consultant for my next one. At a minimum, I Reccomended you hire an essay coach for your junior. Good luck!

PP, what was so bad about the college counseling for your DC? I have an 8th grader and am concerned he won’t get the support he needs when the time comes.

[Anonymous]

There is a 40+ page thread in the College forum about the SFS CCO.

Bottom line, there is one person whose kid got into their ED who is complaining incessantly about the lack of engagement their kid received.

Uh, their kid got in to their ED, they didn't NEED more engagement.

The post-COVID college process and acceptance rates are a phenomenon that parents and CCO's are going to need to deal with. By the time your kid is in the tube for it, there will be a better handle on how to approach it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not a sidwell parent but rather another private - you probably also need to account for rigor of curriculum (math level, years of foreign language etc).

This is a bust in the dc top privates saying this. Many dc kids shut out of top schools because they have lower GPAs than kids across the country coming in with 4.0 averages. Colleges are overwhelmed with applications and don’t have a way to actually fairly compare each students course load.

+2

Untrue. Sidwell senior parent here who posted earlier. All the top schools clearly know GDS, Sidwell, sta/ncs and maybe other DC schools. The exception seems to be competitive state flagships - IME some do know Sidwell (Michigan) and some don’t and your point is valid about them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is a 40+ page thread in the College forum about the SFS CCO.

Bottom line, there is one person whose kid got into their ED who is complaining incessantly about the lack of engagement their kid received.

Uh, their kid got in to their ED, they didn't NEED more engagement.

The post-COVID college process and acceptance rates are a phenomenon that parents and CCO's are going to need to deal with. By the time your kid is in the tube for it, there will be a better handle on how to approach it.

Students were supposed to have their lists finalized before ED decisions came out. And the CCO understandably was not really available to schedule new meetings with students in the few days before break, or during. So your critique of that poster makes no sense. Students who got in early needed the same engagement from the CCO to help develop a list as students who did not get in early.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parent of a current Sidwell senior. My child thinks there is one student in the grade that has a 4.0. DC’s perception is she’s the smartest girl in the grade. I have no idea whatsoever how many kids have above a 3.9. Mine has a 3.7ish (3.7-3.75) and I have no idea where that stands relative to the rest of the class. Mine got into a top 10 school, but we feel like it was a lottery win.

Sidwell does not let parents see the school profile. They let parents see the naviance scattergram’s only when the college counselor pulls it up for them. Someone earlier posted that this is changing for next year which would be a wonderful change as it’s insulting that Sidwell doesn’t trust the parents to view this information on their own.

Unless Sidwell improves the college counseling, I will absolutely positively hire a consultant for my next one. At a minimum, I Reccomended you hire an essay coach for your junior. Good luck!

PP, what was so bad about the college counseling for your DC? I have an 8th grader and am concerned he won’t get the support he needs when the time comes.

Oh for heaven's sake....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not a sidwell parent but rather another private - you probably also need to account for rigor of curriculum (math level, years of foreign language etc).

This is a bust in the dc top privates saying this. Many dc kids shut out of top schools because they have lower GPAs than kids across the country coming in with 4.0 averages. Colleges are overwhelmed with applications and don’t have a way to actually fairly compare each students course load.

+2

Untrue. Sidwell senior parent here who posted earlier. All the top schools clearly know GDS, Sidwell, sta/ncs and maybe other DC schools. The exception seems to be competitive state flagships - IME some do know Sidwell (Michigan) and some don’t and your point is valid about them.

Wisconsin and Michigan certainly know these schools. They have regional AO's who make it their job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a 40+ page thread in the College forum about the SFS CCO.

Bottom line, there is one person whose kid got into their ED who is complaining incessantly about the lack of engagement their kid received.

Uh, their kid got in to their ED, they didn't NEED more engagement.

The post-COVID college process and acceptance rates are a phenomenon that parents and CCO's are going to need to deal with. By the time your kid is in the tube for it, there will be a better handle on how to approach it.

Students were supposed to have their lists finalized before ED decisions came out. And the CCO understandably was not really available to schedule new meetings with students in the few days before break, or during. So your critique of that poster makes no sense. Students who got in early needed the same engagement from the CCO to help develop a list as students who did not get in early.

Families should have the lists and strategy fully thought out.

1) Any ED/SCEA
2) All EA's
3) What happens if ED is deferred or denied (ie ED2)
4) Decision tree as EA's come in; ideally hearing from at least 1 that the student is happy with before the holidays so you know whether to scramble for more safeties or focus on more target/reach schools for the Jan deadline.

The student should be requesting the transcripts and recommendations be sent to any school they are planning on applying to, and discuss their strategy with the CCO in plenty of time so as to not jam them before the holidays.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is this the same way at other private schools in the area- do only a handful of students have 3.9/4.0 at NCS, GDS, Potomac, Holton etc.?

GDS gives A+ grades, so I would think the distribution is higher.

Who at GDS is getting A+s???

I don't think it's that rare - but who knows? We're all guessing.

[Anonymous]

Some schools give a+ for 95 and above but there is no extra weight assigned to that letter grade in terms of GPA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is this the same way at other private schools in the area- do only a handful of students have 3.9/4.0 at NCS, GDS, Potomac, Holton etc.?

GDS gives A+ grades, so I would think the distribution is higher.

Who at GDS is getting A+s???

I don't think it's that rare - but who knows? We're all guessing.

Seriously? I thought even As were hard to come by.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is this the same way at other private schools in the area- do only a handful of students have 3.9/4.0 at NCS, GDS, Potomac, Holton etc.?

GDS gives A+ grades, so I would think the distribution is higher.

Who at GDS is getting A+s???

me

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are right to be concerned.

This year's senior class is a cautionary tale. The school's rampant grade deflation is a huge problem. You may think a 3.7 is "sidwell good," but no college cares. Top colleges need to see a 3.9. When colleges get 50k applications, do you really think they care that sidwell grades tough? Nope.

The kids with sky high GPAs did great this year. the 3.7's not so much.

This is patently false. The school profile that goes with the Guidance Office recommendation provides a full curriculum assessment and places the applicant in context of the current and past year standing. The Admissions officers (and regional officers for the bigger schools) understand this context, and will place the grades and grade point in the proper context as it weigh applicants from a variety of background. The deflation doesn't matter.

Does the profile provide ranges for GPAs? Our school's does not. It does provide summary SAT/ACT/AP info and a list of all classes offered.

Sidwell does not make its profile available to anyone, so no one can answer that question. It's another aspect of their total lack of transparency.

This sucks as my DC would say!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some schools give a+ for 95 and above but there is no extra weight assigned to that letter grade in terms of GPA

Some schools don’t give A+ as all (looking at you, NCS).

[Anonymous]

Holton doesn’t give A+ either. And I appreciate that.

[Anonymous]

This is a perennial topic at Sidwell. In my experience, the 3.7 students are really sought after because they do well at a difficult school and are generally balanced in doing a lot out of school. My children were in that category and both ended up at top 20 universities. The college counseling office has had its ups and downs, but the current director is quite good.