Where does a 3.5 Sidwell kid end up going to college?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The grades wratchet for the exclusive private schools is a factor, but so is the congestion of applicants. At a school like STA or Sidwell I would assume a number of the kids are also legacies at some Ivies. If an Ivy is the pearl for a kid, consider that STA or Sidwell is only going to get 2-5 into those schools each year, and if the kid is classmates with a preferences field -- a couple of well heeled legacies plus a recruited lacrosse kid or two -- then just forget it. That's another great irony: some of the very brightest and very best students are prejudiced at these colleges in a lot of instances. The GPA algorithm is fine and all, but doesn't carry the day many times.

11 kids from Sidwell accepted to Yale last year.

[Anonymous]

Landon is a lacrosse pipeline to a lot of colleges a strong Landon student alone wouldn't be able to get into. It's basically the only angle that school has to get kids placed at top universities. Since Duke takes lacrosse seriously, then I'd sure bet some Landon kids wind up there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The grades wratchet for the exclusive private schools is a factor, but so is the congestion of applicants. At a school like STA or Sidwell I would assume a number of the kids are also legacies at some Ivies. If an Ivy is the pearl for a kid, consider that STA or Sidwell is only going to get 2-5 into those schools each year, and if the kid is classmates with a preferences field -- a couple of well heeled legacies plus a recruited lacrosse kid or two -- then just forget it. That's another great irony: some of the very brightest and very best students are prejudiced at these colleges in a lot of instances. The GPA algorithm is fine and all, but doesn't carry the day many times.

11 kids from Sidwell accepted to Yale last year.

Which everyone acknowledges was very unusual and apparently many of them were legacies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The grades wratchet for the exclusive private schools is a factor, but so is the congestion of applicants. At a school like STA or Sidwell I would assume a number of the kids are also legacies at some Ivies. If an Ivy is the pearl for a kid, consider that STA or Sidwell is only going to get 2-5 into those schools each year, and if the kid is classmates with a preferences field -- a couple of well heeled legacies plus a recruited lacrosse kid or two -- then just forget it. That's another great irony: some of the very brightest and very best students are prejudiced at these colleges in a lot of instances. The GPA algorithm is fine and all, but doesn't carry the day many times.

11 kids from Sidwell accepted to Yale last year.

Wow!

[Anonymous]

Considering Yale only has 5500 undergrads, I'd say it would be a one time anomoly that Sidwell hit that number last year. 11 is a freakish number for any prep including the Nee England blue blood ones. The only possible explanation would be a large number of very connected legacy families the same year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Considering Yale only has 5500 undergrads, I'd say it would be a one time anomoly that Sidwell hit that number last year. 11 is a freakish number for any prep including the Nee England blue blood ones. The only possible explanation would be a large number of very connected legacy families the same year.

No, wrong. 8 of 11 were not legacies of any form.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As irony would have it, a 3.5 with either a legacy (assuming moola donation per diems met) or a sports recruiting preference has it all over the 4.0 with no bump. Sidwell is a strong private school, but there are many others like that. It's delusional to think that an Ivy or a NECSAC takes kids from any elite private these days.

More and more it is about where you get a graduate degree in most desired professions, so going to any decent college and again getting great grades matters more than just getting a boost to attend Duke or an Ivy. My son has private lessons from a Dartmouth graduate who is unemployed and living with his parents. Success in life is hard earned and requires a pattern of success and achievement at every step.

A kid with a 3.5 at Sidwell is a great kid with a great future, but how great is up to him / her regardless of where the kid attends undergrad. Remember, a 3.8 at Kenyon is likely to find a decent first job or gain entrance to a fine grad school. A 2.6 in sociology at Duke = giving back yard lacrosse lessons to kids at $75 in cash paid by a loser like me who went to Chico State but started and sold a company for over $100 mil. I love the "where did you go to college" thing at coctail parties. It suits my asshole nature so well.

I agree with you that personal qualities are the ultimate determinant, but I cannot go back in time and alter my kid even if I wanted to. But I can perhaps help him on a slightly better path.

Also, not sure that your unemployed Dartmouth graduate living with his parents is the right comparison. You need to hold the kid fixed and compare schools, not pick different kids from different schools. Given that your son was unemployed and living in the basement is he more likely to land on his feet eventually with a Dartmouth degree or with one from, say, to pick a good state school, Ohio State? Also, given 6-year completion rates at Dartmouth and state schools. maybe the kid would still not have graduated.

And if you had gone to Harvard, rather than Chico State, maybe you would be looking at billions, not $100m. No easy calls.

Hey, I'm a Chico State grad too. What's your company? I haven't been following alumni news.

[Anonymous]

Vaupell Industrial Plastics. Been a while now, but hey...Go Cats!

[Anonymous]

Things people should never do: say something bad about a woman's shoes, trust a fart or say anything unkind about prep schools to DMV prep school parents.

[Anonymous]

Which everyone acknowledges was very unusual and apparently many of them were legacies.


Not true Only three were legacies.any also got into Hatvard and other ivies bu chose Yale. Let's see waht happens this year my kid is a Sr. I doubt thre will be 10 to any school. But many have gotten great scores. My kids friends cut across the economic spectrum. So these almost perfect scores aren't coming from children of privilege with hours of private tutoring. There are many greAt schools in our area. But Sidwell is great education

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Vaupell Industrial Plastics. Been a while now, but hey...Go Cats!

You founded the company in 1947? When did you graduate? You have to be at least 90 years old unless I am missing something...

http://www.plasticsnews.com/article/20140424/NEWS/140429924/sumitomo-bakelite-buying-injection-molder-vaupell-holdings

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Vaupell Industrial Plastics. Been a while now, but hey...Go Cats!

You founded the company in 1947? When did you graduate? You have to be at least 90 years old unless I am missing something...

http://www.plasticsnews.com/article/20140424/NEWS/140429924/sumitomo-bakelite-buying-injection-molder-vaupell-holdings

I bought out the company in my thirties with an equity capital firm backer HIG and we sold it out 9 years later for 20x the investment in 2014.

[Anonymous]

Sidwell sent more than usual to Yale, but the number to Ivies plus Stanford was fairly stable at about 30.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only 3.5? Say hello to UDC.

3.5 from Sidwell (unweighted) is very good.

That's sarcasm, obviously.

[Anonymous]

I also have a senior and lots are applying to top LACs this year.