Our k8 all of the sudden had a ton of kids needing extra time for erbs starting sixth. What? Suddenly an LD? There is also the other form of advantage for when school gives FA students free tutoring for SSAT. Advantage comes in all sorts of forms. I think this celebrity news story is going to finally get parents to question all sorts of practices.

Anonymous wrote:I don't think I am. I just think the wealthy at a private school being infuriated at the super-wealthy at a private school shows a lack of self-awareness. It's just a very weird place to draw the line ("THIS is where I draw the line on whether being rich should give you an advantage") when 99% of America is already way behind you.

Such a good point. The "it's okay for me to take advantage of my privilege, but someone more rich/connected exerting their uber-privilege?" pearl-clutching is a bit ironic.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The whole college admission scandal has brought back bad memories for me and I am wondering how it plays out today at the HS level. We all know that wealthy kids have an unfair advantage by being able to afford tutors and coaches and other extras that pad their resumes but what about the role of the high schools?

I ask because I attended an elite private school in NYC where most of the kids were wealthy, and then there was the super-wealthy. All of the sudden senior year, kids who had never attended a single club meeting, been on the yearbook or newspaper staff were elevated to leadership positions on those. One kid was put in charge of an annual charity event run by the students that he had never once participated in before. Guess where all those kids ended up in colleges? HY and P. I saw this happen with rich kid friends at other schools as well. It was infuriating. I can't help but think that pressure from their parents had something to do with it. Does this kind of thing still go on?

It's an odd question. Do you question the immense advantage you got attending the elite private school in the first place? How do you think kids who couldn't afford to go to your private school feel?

You are reasoning the question incorrectly. I am asking if the high schools here dole out advantages to the super-wealthy kids who are enrolled at the schools.

I don't think I am. I just think the wealthy at a private school being infuriated at the super-wealthy at a private school shows a lack of self-awareness. It's just a very weird place to draw the line ("THIS is where I draw the line on whether being rich should give you an advantage") when 99% of America is already way behind you.

Anonymous wrote:HS's in this area use the "captain" role on teams to make sure certain kids have leadership on their resume.

In the top 10% of donors to my kid’s “Big 3” school. Not true for donors’ kids.

Might be true for major PITA parents’ kids...

Well when about 1/3 to 1/2 of every private seems to have kids on accommodations, they yes there is cheating going on.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The whole college admission scandal has brought back bad memories for me and I am wondering how it plays out today at the HS level. We all know that wealthy kids have an unfair advantage by being able to afford tutors and coaches and other extras that pad their resumes but what about the role of the high schools?

I ask because I attended an elite private school in NYC where most of the kids were wealthy, and then there was the super-wealthy. All of the sudden senior year, kids who had never attended a single club meeting, been on the yearbook or newspaper staff were elevated to leadership positions on those. One kid was put in charge of an annual charity event run by the students that he had never once participated in before. Guess where all those kids ended up in colleges? HY and P. I saw this happen with rich kid friends at other schools as well. It was infuriating. I can't help but think that pressure from their parents had something to do with it. Does this kind of thing still go on?

It's an odd question. Do you question the immense advantage you got attending the elite private school in the first place? How do you think kids who couldn't afford to go to your private school feel?

You are reasoning the question incorrectly. I am asking if the high schools here dole out advantages to the super-wealthy kids who are enrolled at the schools.

HS's in this area use the "captain" role on teams to make sure certain kids have leadership on their resume.

Sounds gross.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not a high school, but in a college, they have an "appreciation" dinner right before casting for a music department event. The parents of the kids in the running for the lead are seated with the director of development. I kid you not.

What college has parents involved in that way? Seems absurd and utterly implausible to me.

If you've never received a personal phone call or invitation from the Development Director, you probably would be surprised by this.

Anonymous wrote:The whole college admission scandal has brought back bad memories for me and I am wondering how it plays out today at the HS level. We all know that wealthy kids have an unfair advantage by being able to afford tutors and coaches and other extras that pad their resumes but what about the role of the high schools?

I ask because I attended an elite private school in NYC where most of the kids were wealthy, and then there was the super-wealthy. All of the sudden senior year, kids who had never attended a single club meeting, been on the yearbook or newspaper staff were elevated to leadership positions on those. One kid was put in charge of an annual charity event run by the students that he had never once participated in before. Guess where all those kids ended up in colleges? HY and P. I saw this happen with rich kid friends at other schools as well. It was infuriating. I can't help but think that pressure from their parents had something to do with it. Does this kind of thing still go on?

It's an odd question. Do you question the immense advantage you got attending the elite private school in the first place? How do you think kids who couldn't afford to go to your private school feel?

I don’t have any answers on the question of unfair advantages but I cringe a little at the gray area that seems to be growing around this debate.

Is getting your kid a tutor akin to hiring someone to take the SAT on your kids’ behalf? Because the OP’s argument seems to be implying that by lumping everything into the “unfair advantage” category.

Don’t get me wrong, there are always inherent advantages that come with “privilege.” It has been that way since the beginning of time. I think the problem is actually that we allowed any of this to be seen as a meritocracy in a lot of ways. But I wonder when the slippery slope comes in? My kid gets lots of “advantages” in that I read to each of them every night, we eat dinner as a family, and I got off the ladder in my job to take a position with much more flexibility. Those are all advantages to my kids, for sure. Also, we are a while family who are third generation college graduates who send our kids to private school. We generally don’t rely on public transportation and have a yard to play in. All of that is a direct result of our privilege. Is that wrong? It certainly feels unfair if you are sitting in public housing trying to figure a way out.

I don’t have an answer. I know I don’t want to end up saying that all these actions are indistinguishable. There is certainly a difference between what went on in the cheating scandal and what most of us do on behalf of our kids. At the same time, I think we have to be careful that we don’t walk down a road that leads us to saying that any time dedicated or effort made on behalf of our kids is unfair.

Just food for thought.

Anonymous wrote:Not a high school, but in a college, they have an "appreciation" dinner right before casting for a music department event. The parents of the kids in the running for the lead are seated with the director of development. I kid you not.

What college has parents involved in that way? Seems absurd and utterly implausible to me.

Not a high school, but in a college, they have an "appreciation" dinner right before casting for a music department event. The parents of the kids in the running for the lead are seated with the director of development. I kid you not.

Anonymous wrote:..we all know that wealthy kids have an unfair advantage by being able to afford tutors and coaches and other extras that pad their resumes...

that's not cheating or unfair. it's just access to resources creating more advantages. way of the world...for better or worse

Anonymous wrote: I can't help but think that pressure from their parents had something to do with it. Does this kind of thing still go on?

yes, im sure social + financial status play's a role. big dogs eat. i can agree that is unfair but unfortunately happens

The whole college admission scandal has brought back bad memories for me and I am wondering how it plays out today at the HS level. We all know that wealthy kids have an unfair advantage by being able to afford tutors and coaches and other extras that pad their resumes but what about the role of the high schools?

I ask because I attended an elite private school in NYC where most of the kids were wealthy, and then there was the super-wealthy. All of the sudden senior year, kids who had never attended a single club meeting, been on the yearbook or newspaper staff were elevated to leadership positions on those. One kid was put in charge of an annual charity event run by the students that he had never once participated in before. Guess where all those kids ended up in colleges? HY and P. I saw this happen with rich kid friends at other schools as well. It was infuriating. I can't help but think that pressure from their parents had something to do with it. Does this kind of thing still go on?