Reply to Discriminatory College Advising @ Big 3

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My colleague's son went to Sidwell and was in the top most tier of students. He was advised against applying to top schools, even the ivy where his parents met as undergrads. He applied to some top schools against sidwells advice and got into them all.

His parents remain very bitter and needless to say the checks to sidwell have stopped.[/quote]

I sense some hyperbole in this statement, coming from second or third hand knowledge.  "Top" students at Sidwell are not advised to avoid applying to at least a reach school or two.  The very rare candidate gets into all of their reach schools.  Perhaps they managed the family's expectations inelegantly, but I doubt the extremes you paint reflect the realities of the situation.[/quote]

Can I know his exact rank at Sidwell? Of course not. My colleague shared the rest with me and that he felt that Sidwell chose to support other kids over his, who seemed equally qualified.[/quote]

I really do find this troubling.  I am sure your work friend was being truthful by his lights, but you know that parents are often (and understandably) not able to be objective about their own children.  (Even been to a youth sporting event.)  Your colleague could not know where his child stood class rank-wise either, because Sidwell doesn't publicize class rank.  You don't know how that child's scores stacked up with others, nor the child's GPA, nor even the level of difficulty of the courses taken -- and your colleague wouldn't know that either.  Yet you chose to believe his accusation that put one of the worst possible constructions on the college application process, and to air that on DCUM about a specific school.

How can people not see a lack of fairness in this approach?

Actually at these small schools the kids do know each others grades, they know what level of math and science people are taking, they know what their extracurriculars are, they know all about each other. They know who their main competition is and the parents are mostly successful people who don't underestimate the competition   That is a fantasy of the school staff that the parents so successful are actually stupid about their kids. 
[/quote][/quote]

The students don't know the content of their teacher recommendations.  The students don't all know each other's board scores.  The students don't sit in the Princeton admissions committee to know why Princeton let in Tyler and not Cassandra or Jennifer and not Cameron.  You've chosen to make the most negative assumption possible about the high school college admissions process, based upon the input of one angry and bitter friend at one school.   Sorry, but that is neither logical nor fair.[/quote]

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