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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I've been following this (as a public school parent).  I have so many thoughts but will limit them to a few that will be (hopefully) viewed as constructive:

1) I have full access to Naviance and it is not very helpful--if anything, it is quite misleading as the scattergrams combine 10 years of data (we all know how the admissions world has changed over 10 years) and it does not indicate hooks.  As a result, it is incredibly easy for students (and parents) to think the odds are much greater to get into specific colleges than it actually is.

2) The basic patterns play out in schools all over this area as they do in "the Big 3" (side note, barf) with regards to college admissions--it is an incredibly unpredictable and stressful process for these kids.  However, there is a HUGE difference between kids at schools like Sidwell and those at large public schools: expectations.  For all of the short-comings of our large public--and there are a lot--I think my (high stats, NMSF) DC really benefits from being at a public school because they see other high stats students who can't apply ED because they need merit money or because  public universities are the only viable option.  This REALLY helps contextualize the whole process and give the much-needed perspective that there are outstanding students so many colleges, not just the "top 50".[/quote]

1) Suggestion: Only look at the last two, pandemic-influenced years. I would think Naviance for public high schools would be more helpful because there are more data points.
[b]2) No parent who sends their kid to Sidwell or a similar private school is okay with their DC going to a college outside the top 50 -- especially parents who start their kid in upper school. [/b]

I'm always perplexed by trolls or interested bystanders who enter these chats. You act so surprised by Sidwell and private school parents. I am always surprised that you are surprised. [/quote]

As a parent who joined at 9th (from public) I would argue that the opposite is true.  We switched our kid because he/she was learning very little in DCPS and (for example) could barely write an essay.  I know about 5 other kids who joined other Big3 schools in 9th and they moved for the same reason.  College admissions are fantastic from Wilson--there is a massive "diverse urban school" bump. [b]If I wanted the best college placement I would have have sent him there. We are very aware that my kid's peers who stayed at Wilson will probably attend better colleges than he/she will coming from a Big3. [/b] [/quote]

This is a really good point and one that I keep reminding myself as a private school (not SFS) senior parent who also has a younger child with a few more years to go at the school. It's really tempting to look at this year's college process for senior DC and think - what the hell - let's just pull younger DC, send to Wilson and virtually guarantee a 4.0+ GPA and that hardscrabble, urban admissions hook. But then I remember - I do want younger DC to be literate. [/quote]

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