Why do people dislike the Big Three?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:20:52, why do you assume that the PP is a Sidwell parent? I'd be very surprised if he/she is; most of the Sidwell parents I know, including DH and myself, like the school very much for our own children, but don't believe it's some golden ticket as PP does. Nor do we believe it's an educational nirvana -- just what works best for our kids. My guess is that a lot of the overblown rhetoric about "the Big 3" on this board comes from wanna-bees.

I agree. I don't understand why people have such a problem though acknowledging that certain schools carry a certain prestige or level, just as the Ivy League schools do. My question is why do you all mind the term so much? Did you have problems acknowledging Ivies if you didn't attend one? I don't understand what the issue is here. There are certain schools that are "harder" to get into and do carry more prestige. That is how it is and most people know it. If you want to get hung up on terms and pretend that this doesn't exist, then fine. I am not at a Big Three by the way but grew up here and know how it works.

[Anonymous]

I agree that some schools carry more prestige, especially if you can say you went to school with Obama's kids....

I don't agree with that PP that this is somehow going to give anybody's kid an advantage -- it's much harder for any kid, even one who's really strong academically, to stand out from a whole class of academically strong kids. Many of whom are Ivy legacies. If you want a leg up into college, you're better off at the local public or charter -- this has been discussed ad nauseum on this board.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I, too, am curious about which schools have better academics than NCS/Sidwell/GDS.

The best academics are the one that fit your kid's needs.

AMEN!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Jesus- you ppl are insane. I don't want my children anywhere near you or your children. I also here there is a SERIOUS drug culture at the Big Three.

Hmmm that just isnt true. A small group of kids at every school do drugs, but by no means are they rampant in the US at my big 3.

[Anonymous]

. . . If you want a leg up into college, you're better off at the local public or charter -- this has been discussed ad nauseum on this board.

Where has this been discussed?? Please paste the thread. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

One of many previous threads:


Anonymous wrote:
To get into an Ivy these days, you either have to be a legacy, have a "hook" that has to do with some exclusive skill, or be an underrepresented minority.




Actually, that's almost right! Recruited athletes also have a route in, as do kids with parents who are extremely wealthy or who have global access, and kids who have world-class talent or achievement. A few other "regular" kids without these hooks will also get in, but they will have top-notch SATs and class standing. And remember that there are 27,000 valedictorians every year, and the Ivies routinely turn down kids with perfect SATs. Can the "pull" of a private school occasionally get a kid like this plucked from the crowd? Maybe. But that very slim chance is no reason to go to a private school. Nor is the dream that a private school will somehow take an average student and turn him or her into a merit scholar.



11/21/2008 17:30 Subject: advice needed regarding private vs public school
Anonymous



Plus, these smart "regular" kids, if not under parental pressure, just aren't seeking out the Ivies like they used to.

[Anonymous]

Another good one:

11/11/2008 21:14 Subject: Re:advice needed regarding private vs public school
Anonymous

Even at excellent private schools, lots of parents feel that their kids are slowed down/cease to be as "advanced" as they were prior to entering real school. That phenomenon isn't unique to public schools, nor is it a sign that your kid is in the wrong school.

As for college admissions, odds are your kid will have a better chance coming from public schools. Many of the Ivies basically have per school quotas for admissions. It's harder to be in the top six candidates from Sidwell (where a disproportionate number of parents will have Ivy degrees and thus their kids will have a leg up on admissions at those school) than at an excellent public high school. There's probably some breakpoint (e.g. if your kid is in the top third rather than the top 10% of his/her class) where private school kids have an advantage over public school kids (assuming class rank in both contexts would be similar, which strikes me as an iffy assumption), but that's not a calculation you can sensibly make when your kid is 5. And, of course, you can revisit the public vs. private decision later. It's not a permanent commitment.

I send my kid to private school but mainly because I'm an academic (and a teacher of teachers, from both public and private schools) and I want my daughter to be taught in an environment where standardized test scores aren't a major focus. Basically, I wanted her school to embrace the same intellectual values my husband and I do. I'm not too concerned about college admissions or about how she compares to other kids. I'm sure she'll get into a good college (there are lots out there) and her cohort/frame of reference will keep changing. From that standpoint, comparisons among preschoolers are pretty arbitrary.



.

[Anonymous]

FWIW.... Back 10-20 years ago, my class at NCS sent 9 out 65 girls to Yale alone... in addition a wide samplings of the usual Ivies. Clearly 9 out 65 to Yale is definitely NOT a case where the top students eliminate with one another.

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure where the posters that PP is citing are getting their info. It seems like graduates of top DC private schools are not having too much difficulty getting into Ivy league schools. I doubt anyone here really has the data necessary to make a meaningful comparison of the odds of Ivy league admission for DC privates vs. DC public schools. As one easily researched data set, below is a list of Ivy league colleges where two or more STA grads went in the past 5 years (all of them I believe). Given the size of the class there, this seems like a fairly significant percentage. There also are those WSJ articles that assessed the percentage of students going to certain top colleges -- as I recall, the top DC private schools fared pretty well in those assessments.

Brown University
Columbia University
Cornell University
Dartmouth College
Harvard University
Princeton University
University of Pennsylvania
Yale University

I know many public school grads go to Ivy league schools, probably more of them on a numbers basis than private school grads. I am not suggesting anything negative about public schools or sending kids there. I also recognize that Ivy league admissions are highly competitive no matter who you are. I just think it's incorrect to suggest that grads of top DC private schools are somehow disadvantaged in Ivy league admissions. That's what I read PP to be suggesting -- if I misinterpreted her post, and she wants to clarify that it's no disadvantage, then I apologize.

[Anonymous]

I don't think she was saying that kids at STA are disadvantaged as a group but rather suggesting that your average bright kid (particularly a non-legacy) might increase his odds of attending Harvard, say, by graduating from a public school instead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think she was saying that kids at STA are disadvantaged as a group but rather suggesting that your average bright kid (particularly a non-legacy) might increase his odds of attending Harvard, say, by graduating from a public school instead.

Your logic breaks down if that bright kid is graduating from a top public school (like a Fairfax, TJ, or Montgomery County school)... as at those schools you have a large number of well-qualified students competing for those Ivy league slots too... arguably you have even more competition given the larger size of the classes. So, the only way your bright kid might get a public school ivy league admission "advantage" is by graduating from a mediocre or sub-par public school.... and still score high on the SATs, etc. This is hard to do... which is why its easier for someone at one of these schools to stand out. I personally would not risk my kid's educational experience by sending him/her to a sub-par public for a little college admission advantage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think she was saying that kids at STA are disadvantaged as a group but rather suggesting that your average bright kid (particularly a non-legacy) might increase his odds of attending Harvard, say, by graduating from a public school instead.

Your logic breaks down if that bright kid is graduating from a top public school (like a Fairfax, TJ, or Montgomery County school)... as at those schools you have a large number of well-qualified students competing for those Ivy league slots too... arguably you have even more competition given the larger size of the classes. So, the only way your bright kid might get a public school ivy league admission "advantage" is by graduating from a mediocre or sub-par public school.... and still score high on the SATs, etc. This is hard to do... which is why its easier for someone at one of these schools to stand out.

Exactly my thoughts. In talking about how competitive Ivy league admissions are, one of the PPs commented that every year there are many valedictorians who are not admitted to any Ivy league schools. I've heard those same stories, but they're always the valedictorians from large public schools with mediocre reputations. I'd be willing to bet money that the valedictorians of Sidwell, STA, GDS, and other top private schools were accepted to at least some Ivy league schools if they applied there.

[Anonymous]

Competition to get into [fill in school name here] is tough at any top school, public or private. But assuming the percentage of smart kids in the two environments is roughly the same, the difference between public and private is that the private schools, even today, are more likely to be stuffed with legacy cases. (Schools like TJ are obviously a rare exception since the percentage of smart kids there IS higher and competition on merit is therefore stiffer.) And I think the presence of lots of legacies has a greater impact on competition than the size of the school. Harvard still accepts 40% of legacy applicants.

[Anonymous]

We're not really that concerned with getting our kids into a good college. We'll teach them to work hard and hopefully choose elementary / middle / high schools that will instill a love of learning and create a really wonderful and rich experience for those critical years. The rest is up to them. Between the two of us we do have legacy status at three top colleges / universities and one average one, so maybe that colors the equation, but are we alone?

[Anonymous]

7:09 How old are your children?