Reply to Announcing National Merit Semi-Finalists

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]So, NCS stands out for DC result. JR underperforms given its overall class size. Washington Latin also punched above its weight. Maret was lackluster.  St. Anselm's was very respectable. GDS and Sidwell were as expected.[/quote]

I knew Latin was a great school, but a little mind-blowing that a 50% minority, pure lottery school is beating out STA. Know a few families at Latin, good for them.[/quote]

LOL…

The average SAT score at Latin is 1220.

The average SAT score at STA is 1420.

[/quote]

Sure, but again, STA handpicks its students for intelligence, drive and HNW donor families from a very young age, while Latin is a 50% student of color, pure lottery, purely egalitarian public school taking students from all 8 wards. They also have a 20% equitable access mandate which means food-stamps, homeless kids, foster kids, etc. The fact that the above SAT spread isn't larger tells you everything you need to know about the caliber of education kids are getting at Latin. I'd also point out that test prep matters a great deal, and you know ALL STA families are paying for that.

Not a slum on STA at all, 1420 is exactly what I would expect as an STA parent. But it doesn't negate the fact that they didn't produce as many NMS as a tiny public charter halfway across the city.[/quote]

NMS is a scholarship program. Why do STA kids need to spend extra time prepping for a test for a scholarship they don’t need? They are getting into top colleges based on other criteria, including their parents being full pay.[/quote]

That’s why no one cares about NM finalists (scholarships are often determined by need) but only semi finalists (determined by test scores).

Twenty years ago if you weren’t a national merit semi finalist you had zero chance of getting into an ivy unless you were an athlete or from a lower socioeconomic background (and therefore likely had less prep than other kids). I can’t imagine that’s changed very much.

It’s not just a random award, it reflects scoring well on the PSAT, which is an (imperfect) way of assessing intelligence and ability. [/quote]
It matters if you have a parent who works for a big company that gives scholarships for making the NMSF cut.[/quote]

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