Anonymous wrote:And, of course, the school would get grief from parents wondering why their higher stats kid got passed over when a lower stats kid got admitted and/or when other kids with those stats always seem to get in.

From experience, wondering is just a short-lived intermediate stage. You soon realize that the kids that get in with lower stats fit a pattern that does not apply to unhooked white kids. However, in many private schools there a lot of preferential-access kids, compared to say a suburban public school.

And, of course, the school would get grief from parents wondering why their higher stats kid got passed over when a lower stats kid got admitted and/or when other kids with those stats always seem to get in.

In addition to the privacy concern, Naviance also adds to the craziness about grades and test scores over other aspects of the college admissions process. Among a bunch of hyper-competitive parents and teachers at GDS and Sidwell, Naviance could become the focus of the college process and create a more unhealthy pressured environment. No one should be obsessed about raising their SAT scores from 1500 to 1600 or trying to game their GPA from 3.85 to 3.9 at schools with very rigorous curricula. The college admissions counselors have really good perspectives on admission chances given the totality of a student's file, including teacher recommendations, and how the student compares to the other applicants in the class. They just aren't wrong about which schools are potential fits, stretches, and safeties. Anything more specific about admission odds is fiction.

Anonymous wrote:What is the philosophy behind GDS not offering Naviance?

Usually with smaller schools its about privacy - it may be too easy to identify a particular student.

I second what the Holton parent at 08:52 said above. It was especially helpful for our student (and we parents) to see what highly-competitive colleges were real reaches and might not be wise early decision choices. I believe every public school in the area offers Naviance accounts to students and, in fact, earlier than most privates. Invaluable information, imho.

What is the philosophy behind GDS not offering Naviance?

To the GDS parent above who said they did not have at-home access to Naviance, were you ever shown the Naviance scattergrams for your student, e.g., in meetings with the college counselors at the school? If so, when do those kinds of counseling meetings start up -- junior year fall? spring?

Anonymous wrote:what is naviance?

It's a great tool that helps you understand where other students from your school have gotten into college over a five year period and what their grades and test scores were. Instead of having to rely on the metrics you see online, it gives you concrete information that helps students make decisions about where to apply. If you listen to most people applying to top colleges you would believe your child needs to have a 4.0 or higher to even be considered but the strong curriculum at the top DC area privates means that your child could have a B+ average and still get into great schools. It has been a huge help for us with a daughter at Holton in learning where she stands a chance and where it's a reach. In several cases we were pleasantly surprised about great schools that were attainable.

what is naviance?

Anonymous wrote:STA does not.

STA does use Naviance.

Holton does starting junior year.

GDS does not, but having recently gone through the college process there, we were very happy with the process and the outcomes, and found the advice/predictions received quite accurate. So did not feel particularly lacking in terms of not having Naviance

WIS does

STA does not.

Does your private upper school provide online Naviance access for juniors/seniors? Particularly curious re GDS and Maret, as our understanding is that STA, NCS, Holton and Landon do and Sidwell does not.