GDS - Wow!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does BCC have a Instagram page?

If you type "bcc de" in the IG search feature it magically appears. https://www.instagram.com/bccdecisions_2024?igshid=YzAwZjE1ZTI0Zg==

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So far GDS’s early admissions results are super impressive. As a parent from another good private school, I am curious why their results are so much better than other privates. We toured GDS 20 years ago for PreK and were not impressed, so chose another top school. Is it their college counselors connections, greater amount of Ivy League/top 20 alum parents, big donors? I am honestly curious, how they can have so many more top college admits than other good privates? Many of these private schools have hand picked super smart kids who don’t get into this level of top school and certainly not at these numbers. GDS is not known for athletics or anything really, besides smart quirky liberal kids. Maybe that’s all the colleges are looking for? It’s not like their students are smarter or more accomplished than students at other good privates. Or do the GDS college counselors have the “secret sauce” with connections and packaging abilities? Honestly curious.

A few thoughts ---

Colleges like "smart, quirky, liberal kids. "
The college counseling office is very well run and there has been a lot of stability there over the past five or six years.

The high school is run like it's a small liberal arts college. There are prospective families who walk away noting nothing other than students using first names for teachers, kids and backpacks strewn across the forum and every other shared space all day long, or classrooms arranged in a circle with kids sipping drinks. But the reality of the classrooms is that they are generally run in a discussion based small seminar style, taught by teachers who very often have taught at the college level. The discussions carry over after class with even my very laid back kids going to see teachers during their free periods. There is zero academic transition when the kids show up at college. And at this point, colleges know that.

And of course, admissions results go up and down. Gds is having a great week, but some classes have a few more strong applicants than others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does BCC have a Instagram page?

If you type "bcc de" in the IG search feature it magically appears. https://www.instagram.com/bccdecisions_2024?igshid=YzAwZjE1ZTI0Zg==

Weird. Stalking high school kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You people are obsessed. Why do you worry about anybody else’s kid but your own? And why are you competing schools against each other?

Because they want to know that all the money they spent on private schools was worth it.

Wait, but according to DCUM you don't go to private school to get into a good college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So far GDS’s early admissions results are super impressive. As a parent from another good private school, I am curious why their results are so much better than other privates. We toured GDS 20 years ago for PreK and were not impressed, so chose another top school. Is it their college counselors connections, greater amount of Ivy League/top 20 alum parents, big donors? I am honestly curious, how they can have so many more top college admits than other good privates? Many of these private schools have hand picked super smart kids who don’t get into this level of top school and certainly not at these numbers. GDS is not known for athletics or anything really, besides smart quirky liberal kids. Maybe that’s all the colleges are looking for? It’s not like their students are smarter or more accomplished than students at other good privates. Or do the GDS college counselors have the “secret sauce” with connections and packaging abilities? Honestly curious.

A few thoughts ---

Colleges like "smart, quirky, liberal kids. "
The college counseling office is very well run and there has been a lot of stability there over the past five or six years.

The high school is run like it's a small liberal arts college. There are prospective families who walk away noting nothing other than students using first names for teachers, kids and backpacks strewn across the forum and every other shared space all day long, or classrooms arranged in a circle with kids sipping drinks. But the reality of the classrooms is that they are generally run in a discussion based small seminar style, taught by teachers who very often have taught at the college level. The discussions carry over after class with even my very laid back kids going to see teachers during their free periods. There is zero academic transition when the kids show up at college. And at this point, colleges know that.

And of course, admissions results go up and down. Gds is having a great week, but some classes have a few more strong applicants than others.

Great summation. College AOs know what they are getting when reviewing a GDS applicant.

If I had a quarter for every person who raised an eyebrow or turned up their nose when hearing our kids went to GDS, nearly always followed with some statement about the lack of respect students show adults - would make a sizable dent in the tuition bill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So far GDS’s early admissions results are super impressive. As a parent from another good private school, I am curious why their results are so much better than other privates. We toured GDS 20 years ago for PreK and were not impressed, so chose another top school. Is it their college counselors connections, greater amount of Ivy League/top 20 alum parents, big donors? I am honestly curious, how they can have so many more top college admits than other good privates? Many of these private schools have hand picked super smart kids who don’t get into this level of top school and certainly not at these numbers. GDS is not known for athletics or anything really, besides smart quirky liberal kids. Maybe that’s all the colleges are looking for? It’s not like their students are smarter or more accomplished than students at other good privates. Or do the GDS college counselors have the “secret sauce” with connections and packaging abilities? Honestly curious.

A few thoughts ---

Colleges like "smart, quirky, liberal kids. "
The college counseling office is very well run and there has been a lot of stability there over the past five or six years.

The high school is run like it's a small liberal arts college. There are prospective families who walk away noting nothing other than students using first names for teachers, kids and backpacks strewn across the forum and every other shared space all day long, or classrooms arranged in a circle with kids sipping drinks. But the reality of the classrooms is that they are generally run in a discussion based small seminar style, taught by teachers who very often have taught at the college level. The discussions carry over after class with even my very laid back kids going to see teachers during their free periods. There is zero academic transition when the kids show up at college. And at this point, colleges know that.

And of course, admissions results go up and down. Gds is having a great week, but some classes have a few more strong applicants than others.

Would also say GDS does a good job of helping kids figure out their interests/passions/fit so when they go to apply to college it’s more targeted and students ED to a wide variety of schools—not just ivies.

Note have a child at another DMV private that does not do as good of a job at self-discovery and kids end up applying to 15-20 schools so tons of overlap.

[Anonymous]

Congrats to these kids and others! Very happy for them - to be honest - mostly because they can now enjoy the rest of the year.

But folks, you cannot look from the outside and claim GDS did a great job or compare to other schools. There's often much behind the scenes that you do not know and that GDS has nothing to do with - VIP, legacy, sport, special EC. It is also the case that students haven't posted (at GDS and at other schools you are comparing) - at our school, many did not post until RD decisions were release and some kids never post.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does BCC have a Instagram page?

If you type "bcc de" in the IG search feature it magically appears. https://www.instagram.com/bccdecisions_2024?igshid=YzAwZjE1ZTI0Zg==

Weird. Stalking high school kids?

Huh? It was a response.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Congrats to these kids and others! Very happy for them - to be honest - mostly because they can now enjoy the rest of the year.

But folks, you cannot look from the outside and claim GDS did a great job or compare to other schools. There's often much behind the scenes that you do not know and that GDS has nothing to do with - VIP, legacy, sport, special EC. It is also the case that students haven't posted (at GDS and at other schools you are comparing) - at our school, many did not post until RD decisions were release and some kids never post.

“Behind the scenes” applies to every school, not just GDS. GDS isn’t the only school asking about parent legacy on the application.

[Anonymous]

Credit where it is due. Well done GDS!

[Anonymous]

Is there an Insta thread like that for Walls?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is there an Insta thread like that for Walls?

Yes, but it hasn't been updated yet with yesterday's decision results. Looks like many schools haven't done so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Congrats to these kids and others! Very happy for them - to be honest - mostly because they can now enjoy the rest of the year.

But folks, you cannot look from the outside and claim GDS did a great job or compare to other schools. There's often much behind the scenes that you do not know and that GDS has nothing to do with - VIP, legacy, sport, special EC. It is also the case that students haven't posted (at GDS and at other schools you are comparing) - at our school, many did not post until RD decisions were release and some kids never post.

“Behind the scenes” applies to every school, not just GDS. GDS isn’t the only school asking about parent legacy on the application.

Agreed - This is why I said "compare to other schools". It's the same for all of these schools. You cannot look at a list and compare across schools - OR assume it has anything to do with the school. The majority of these very high admissions tend to have a hook. Smart kids, but with hooks to get them over the line - it is not GDS that did a good job - even for unhooked. It's the kid or the kid's family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there an Insta thread like that for Walls?

Yes, but it hasn't been updated yet with yesterday's decision results. Looks like many schools haven't done so.

The schools don't run these site, the kids do.

And some schools' populations are more discrete.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Best Ivy application strategy this year an date next will be to have your mailing address in Gaza. Mark my words.

No. One of the goals of the Ivy League presidents thing was to increase Jewish students at these schools. The percentages have fallen at a few Ivies in the last few years but are very high when compared to these general population. Penn a few years ago was 30% and is now 16%. Look for that number to go back up.

Palestinians, Muslims or people from Gaza will not be accepted and existing students will be targeted for removal. Scary time to be someone with that back round. Next up will be going after professors. That should make you happy.

Haha.