Does anyone who applied to the Big 3 for pre-K ever get into all of them?

[Anonymous]

Does that ever happen or do the schools talk to one another? Obviously your kid could get not get into any, but I was wondering if people ever have a choice or if their choice is made for them.

[Anonymous]

Yes, there are many who get admistted to 3 big 3 private schools in the D.C. area...depending on what is your definition of big 3.

[Anonymous]

I guess the ones on the site that everyone refers to as the Big three: Sidwell, Beauvoir, GDS. (Not really interested in debating which really are the big 3 though.)

[Anonymous]

DC admitted GDS, W/L @ Sidwell, did not apply to Beauvoir.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I guess the ones on the site that everyone refers to as the Big three: Sidwell, Beauvoir, GDS. (Not really interested in debating which really are the big 3 though.)

Many of us on this forum believe the whole "Big 3" idea is being promoted by GDS boosters. Clearly Sidwell and the Cathedral schools belong there - but there is no material difference between GDS, Maret, Potomac, and arguably a few others. In fact, if things like athletics are important to you in addition to academics, then GDS would not be one of your top schools. Other 3rd party "rankings" have ranked schools very differently than DCUM in terms of school's national reputations. Regardless, all of the schools that The Examiner highlighted in it's article this past year deserve to be considered in that same elite tier - http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/40314672.html

I for one advocate dropping the whole "Big 3" terminology all together.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess the ones on the site that everyone refers to as the Big three: Sidwell, Beauvoir, GDS. (Not really interested in debating which really are the big 3 though.)

Many of us on this forum believe the whole "Big 3" idea is being promoted by GDS boosters. Clearly Sidwell and the Cathedral schools belong there - but there is no material difference between GDS, Maret, Potomac, and arguably a few others. In fact, if things like athletics are important to you in addition to academics, then GDS would not be one of your top schools. Other 3rd party "rankings" have ranked schools very differently than DCUM in terms of school's national reputations. Regardless, all of the schools that The Examiner highlighted in it's article this past year deserve to be considered in that same elite tier - http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/40314672.html

I for one advocate dropping the whole "Big 3" terminology all together.

PP -- What puts Sidwell and the Cathedral schools out of the category that includes Maret, Sheridan and others? applying for K to all three so very interested in your thoughts

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does that ever happen or do the schools talk to one another? Obviously your kid could get not get into any, but I was wondering if people ever have a choice or if their choice is made for them.

DC was admitted to Beauvoir and GDS, and denied at Sidwell. Don't know if schools talk to one another.

Have a friend whose child DC was admitted to Beauvoir and Sidwell, and didn't apply to GDS.

Don't know anyone whose child was admitted to all three, though I'm sure they are out there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess the ones on the site that everyone refers to as the Big three: Sidwell, Beauvoir, GDS. (Not really interested in debating which really are the big 3 though.)

Many of us on this forum believe the whole "Big 3" idea is being promoted by GDS boosters. Clearly Sidwell and the Cathedral schools belong there - but there is no material difference between GDS, Maret, Potomac, and arguably a few others. In fact, if things like athletics are important to you in addition to academics, then GDS would not be one of your top schools. Other 3rd party "rankings" have ranked schools very differently than DCUM in terms of school's national reputations. Regardless, all of the schools that The Examiner highlighted in it's article this past year deserve to be considered in that same elite tier - http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/40314672.html

I for one advocate dropping the whole "Big 3" terminology all together.

PP -- What puts Sidwell and the Cathedral schools out of the category that includes Maret, Sheridan and others? applying for K to all three so very interested in your thoughts

Nothing tangible really. More just prestige - if you're into those things. Even then, there's not much difference between Sidwell, Cathedral, Maret, Potomac, and GDS - and possibly some others too.

[Anonymous]

I like the idea of calling them "elite" schools. This gets to the point of really competitive admissions. And people can decide what "elite" means to them -- number of Ivy acceptances? PSAT scores (with a nod to the recent thread)? Which Administration people send their kids to which schools?

"Elite" means different things to different people, because once you get past the competitive admissions angle, then everybody has a completely different idea of status. The discussions here on DCUM about how to define "status" get really tiresome and circular, so why even settle on one definition of "status"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I like the idea of calling them "elite" schools. This gets to the point of really competitive admissions. And people can decide what "elite" means to them -- number of Ivy acceptances? PSAT scores (with a nod to the recent thread)? Which Administration people send their kids to which schools?

"Elite" means different things to different people, because once you get past the competitive admissions angle, then everybody has a completely different idea of status. The discussions here on DCUM about how to define "status" get really tiresome and circular, so why even settle on one definition of "status"?

Well said PP. I agree.

[Anonymous]

I like the idea of calling them "elite" schools. This gets to the point of really competitive admissions. And people can decide what "elite" means to them -- number of Ivy acceptances? PSAT scores (with a nod to the recent thread)? Which Administration people send their kids to which schools?

"Elite" means different things to different people, because once you get past the competitive admissions angle, then everybody has a completely different idea of status. The discussions here on DCUM about how to define "status" get really tiresome and circular, so why even settle on one definition of "status"?

Why not simply refer to schools by their names. This is the simplest and most common sensical way to avoid the variation in definition or interpretation of elite, status, Big 3 etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I like the idea of calling them "elite" schools. This gets to the point of really competitive admissions. And people can decide what "elite" means to them -- number of Ivy acceptances? PSAT scores (with a nod to the recent thread)? Which Administration people send their kids to which schools?

"Elite" means different things to different people, because once you get past the competitive admissions angle, then everybody has a completely different idea of status. The discussions here on DCUM about how to define "status" get really tiresome and circular, so why even settle on one definition of "status"?

Why not simply refer to schools by their names. This is the simplest and most common sensical way to avoid the variation in definition or interpretation of elite, status, Big 3 etc.

I agree- let's just call them by their names.

[Anonymous]

Has anyone who applied to Sidwell, Beauvoir, and GDS for PK gotten into all three? (Just interested in those three.)

[Anonymous]

Interested in Sidwell, Beauvoir and GDS. Did anyone ever get into all of them or two of them?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I like the idea of calling them "elite" schools. This gets to the point of really competitive admissions. And people can decide what "elite" means to them -- number of Ivy acceptances? PSAT scores (with a nod to the recent thread)? Which Administration people send their kids to which schools?

"Elite" means different things to different people, because once you get past the competitive admissions angle, then everybody has a completely different idea of status. The discussions here on DCUM about how to define "status" get really tiresome and circular, so why even settle on one definition of "status"?

Why not simply refer to schools by their names. This is the simplest and most common sensical way to avoid the variation in definition or interpretation of elite, status, Big 3 etc.

Because nobody wants to type out a string of "Beauvoir, GDS, Sidwell, Maret, Potomac". First, it takes time to type these out and it's annoying. But second, and more important, you will inevitably get people saying "but you should really include Lowell or WIS or whatever in your list" because "these are good schools too" (and in my view they are, just trying to make an example).

And they you are back on the gerbil wheel of what schools OP should be referring to, and why. Which has been gone over on DCUM about a million times without reaching any consensus, and is totally annoying not to mention bootless.