Anonymous wrote:I understand that UVA and William and Mary accept a lower percentage of Northern Virginia students because there are so many who apply. Will it be easier for my DD to apply from a DC school (although we are Virginia residents)? Background: My DD was accepted to a DC public school and we currently pay non-resident tuition for her to attend. She is getting straight As (the academics are easier, for sure) in all honors and AP classes and is in the top 1% of her class. I am thinking that she may be more competitive applying from the DC school with likely higher grades than she would get in a NOVA school and from a school that will have very few kids applying to UVA and William and Mary. She is considering coming back to a NOVA school, but on the fence (she loves her DC school, but worried about her competitiveness in applying to college).

Is it better to be a big fish in a little pond in a DC school? Or would she still be considered a little fish in the bigger NOVA pond because of our address?

Yes she will be viewed as a VA resident based on your address. Going to an easy DC public school.

Just looked it up:

UVA accepted 28% of total in-state applications and 15% of total out-of-state applications for class of 2025. They received 48,011 applications and accepted a total iof 9898. So 20.62% of total applications. This shows they have plenty and accept plenty of in-state applicants. They will look at thr HS attended and rank against classmates. So being at the top of a class at an easy school won't hold much weight.

This posts reminds me of what happened to my cousin's daughter a few years ago.

They live in McLean but their daughter went to a boarding high school that was out of state (NC). She really wanted to go to UVA, and applied to UVA, W&M, and JMU as instate public universities. My kids are younger, so I haven't gone through this process yet with mine, but I do distinctly remember my cousin reporting to me that his daughter's grades and test scores were excellent, ECs great, and that the college counselor had told her she had a very good shot at UVA.

Well she was flat out denied to all of them, which was a major shock (and JMU had been her safety). She ended up big state flagship university in another state that is often talked about on DCUM and just graduated from there. She loved it, it worked out. BUT her school and college counselor had asked when she had been rejected why, and they were told by at least 2 schools that the universities looked down on an instate family sending their kid to an out of state school for high school. Seemed ridiculous, especially since this was a boarding school, but at least two schools said it, and it hurt her, all things being equal against someone who didn't go out of state. Not sure what colleges think about someone deliberately sending their kid to a DC public school. Who knows. But it's food for thought.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First, your premise that UVA and William & Mary accept a lower percentage of applicants from NOVA than other regions in Virginia is a myth. It simply isn't true.

Second, if your daughter applies from a DC public school that is "easier," these schools will know that it's "easier." They will evaluate your daughter's application in the context of her DC high school.

If you are saying that DC will be evaluated as compared to her own classmates and rank, APs, ecs in her D.C. school, then yes. But, she is not applying OOS; she still would be applying in-state as a VA resident. And the competition for the NOVA slots is staggering, especially as the slacs contintue to price themselves out of existence.

So she's applying as in-state while going to an "easier" school? The VA public school kids with the same grades will rank higher with the admissions office. This is not a private school situation just because you're paying tuition.

Anonymous wrote:First, your premise that UVA and William & Mary accept a lower percentage of applicants from NOVA than other regions in Virginia is a myth. It simply isn't true.

Second, if your daughter applies from a DC public school that is "easier," these schools will know that it's "easier." They will evaluate your daughter's application in the context of her DC high school.

This.

Anonymous wrote:If she is going to Duke Ellington I think that is a great experience to write about and she will be considered in the context of the school and should not be disadvantaged. Those kids take 10 courses and go to school from 8:30 to 5 daily so it is a different sort of rigor.

If your child goes to Walls and is in the top 1% there, again you have nothing to worry about.

If you are paying tuition for a different DCPS school and it is not about keeping your kid in the same school for social continuity then I am perplexed with the why.

Other schools -
Banneker
DCI (immersion +IB)

If she is going to Duke Ellington I think that is a great experience to write about and she will be considered in the context of the school and should not be disadvantaged. Those kids take 10 courses and go to school from 8:30 to 5 daily so it is a different sort of rigor.

If your child goes to Walls and is in the top 1% there, again you have nothing to worry about.

If you are paying tuition for a different DCPS school and it is not about keeping your kid in the same school for social continuity then I am perplexed with the why.

If she's enjoying her high school experience, why not stay there? Being happy as a teenager is worth a lot. She can do text prep if necessary. I would think a student in the the top 1% of a high school with a 1500+ will get into William & Mary definitely and a has good shot at UVA (no guarantee on that one though).

Anonymous wrote:I understand that UVA and William and Mary accept a lower percentage of Northern Virginia students because there are so many who apply. Will it be easier for my DD to apply from a DC school (although we are Virginia residents)? Background: My DD was accepted to a DC public school and we currently pay non-resident tuition for her to attend. She is getting straight As (the academics are easier, for sure) in all honors and AP classes and is in the top 1% of her class. I am thinking that she may be more competitive applying from the DC school with likely higher grades than she would get in a NOVA school and from a school that will have very few kids applying to UVA and William and Mary. She is considering coming back to a NOVA school, but on the fence (she loves her DC school, but worried about her competitiveness in applying to college).

Is it better to be a big fish in a little pond in a DC school? Or would she still be considered a little fish in the bigger NOVA pond because of our address?

Currently - your child will be applying as in instate resident but not in the pool of your local public school (think of it as instate but "private" and the "private" happens to be a DC Public School)
What is the current schools track record for placement at schools like UVA? This is where the counselor matters.
The other question is - do you think the current high school is providing the rigor needed to be successful at the next level? If your DD is getting 5's on APs, I would not worry. If your child is not getting 4s or 5s, I would move her to your local public. The kids from local privates who are going to William and Mary or UVA are not getting 3s on APs

Idk, I think it depends on her test scores. If she's rocking lots of 5's and a 1500+ it shows that she is a strong student regardless.

Anonymous wrote:First, your premise that UVA and William & Mary accept a lower percentage of applicants from NOVA than other regions in Virginia is a myth. It simply isn't true.

Second, if your daughter applies from a DC public school that is "easier," these schools will know that it's "easier." They will evaluate your daughter's application in the context of her DC high school.

If you are saying that DC will be evaluated as compared to her own classmates and rank, APs, ecs in her D.C. school, then yes. But, she is not applying OOS; she still would be applying in-state as a VA resident. And the competition for the NOVA slots is staggering, especially as the slacs contintue to price themselves out of existence.

Very perplexed why you would spend money to send kid to a DC public school with less rigor when you are zoned for one that is rigorous (unless the school is Duke Ellington). If that’s the case and your child is gifted with arts I would stay put if that interest is something your child would pursue at s college level. But if not then I’m just confused what you are trying to do.

My advice would be to go the HS with more rigor. Don’t try to game the system of going to a cakewalk in HS on the hopes of getting into a better college. That strategy seldom pays off in the long run.

First, your premise that UVA and William & Mary accept a lower percentage of applicants from NOVA than other regions in Virginia is a myth. It simply isn't true.

Second, if your daughter applies from a DC public school that is "easier," these schools will know that it's "easier." They will evaluate your daughter's application in the context of her DC high school.

I understand that UVA and William and Mary accept a lower percentage of Northern Virginia students because there are so many who apply. Will it be easier for my DD to apply from a DC school (although we are Virginia residents)? Background: My DD was accepted to a DC public school and we currently pay non-resident tuition for her to attend. She is getting straight As (the academics are easier, for sure) in all honors and AP classes and is in the top 1% of her class. I am thinking that she may be more competitive applying from the DC school with likely higher grades than she would get in a NOVA school and from a school that will have very few kids applying to UVA and William and Mary. She is considering coming back to a NOVA school, but on the fence (she loves her DC school, but worried about her competitiveness in applying to college).

Is it better to be a big fish in a little pond in a DC school? Or would she still be considered a little fish in the bigger NOVA pond because of our address?