Anonymous
Post 06/07/2026 16:27     Subject: Class of '26 Instagram College Decisions

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:This has to be their best year ever. This is just insane:

https://www.instagram.com/brearley26collegedecisions/


Probably more legacies and hooks this year than before. Assume that's a year by year variation. Also maybe the elimination at some elite colleges of test optional.


or maybe the girls are just amazing and the school does a great job teaching and placing them.

Legacies really don't mean that much, it helps at one school.
Anonymous
Post 06/07/2026 15:02     Subject: Class of '26 Instagram College Decisions

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:This has to be their best year ever. This is just insane:

https://www.instagram.com/brearley26collegedecisions/


Probably more legacies and hooks this year than before. Assume that's a year by year variation. Also maybe the elimination at some elite colleges of test optional.


Don’t know about year to year specifically but this is pretty typical for last several years.
Anonymous
Post 06/07/2026 14:26     Subject: Class of '26 Instagram College Decisions

Anonymous wrote:This has to be their best year ever. This is just insane:

https://www.instagram.com/brearley26collegedecisions/


Probably more legacies and hooks this year than before. Assume that's a year by year variation. Also maybe the elimination at some elite colleges of test optional.
Anonymous
Post 06/07/2026 14:11     Subject: Class of '26 Instagram College Decisions

This has to be their best year ever. This is just insane:

https://www.instagram.com/brearley26collegedecisions/
Anonymous
Post 06/06/2026 09:25     Subject: Class of '26 Instagram College Decisions

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:for me, preschool was about fit for our family as much as for the kid.

my first kid went to preschool 15 years ago, and my social circle still has a ton of people from that group. plus parents from kid #2 class. I think preschool and k-5 is all about a match for parents and kids both. those are going to be your friends.

dont' worry about college. worry about if these are people you can see being friends with when youre 60.


Interesting take. When we looked for school we wanted the best environment where DC could thrive. Commute is a consideration but being friends with other parents was never a consideration.


wasn't for us either, but should have been


This is true! We didn't do this on purpose, but we definitely chose our pre-school for what felt right for us as a family, and we are still friends 10+ year later with a group of 6 families from pre-school. We all socialize together, go on trips together, and our kids are psyched because they're all going to high schools that have ties to Interschool and they'll see each other socially (we all chose K-8 schools or public originally). It's lovely and all because you have time and inclination to find people in pre-school, and if you chose the right pre-school for your family, you will find people who were attracted to that school for the same reasons, which maybe isn't exmissions being #1.
Anonymous
Post 06/06/2026 08:38     Subject: Class of '26 Instagram College Decisions

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:for me, preschool was about fit for our family as much as for the kid.

my first kid went to preschool 15 years ago, and my social circle still has a ton of people from that group. plus parents from kid #2 class. I think preschool and k-5 is all about a match for parents and kids both. those are going to be your friends.

dont' worry about college. worry about if these are people you can see being friends with when youre 60.


Interesting take. When we looked for school we wanted the best environment where DC could thrive. Commute is a consideration but being friends with other parents was never a consideration.


wasn't for us either, but should have been
Anonymous
Post 06/05/2026 17:52     Subject: Class of '26 Instagram College Decisions

Anonymous wrote:for me, preschool was about fit for our family as much as for the kid.

my first kid went to preschool 15 years ago, and my social circle still has a ton of people from that group. plus parents from kid #2 class. I think preschool and k-5 is all about a match for parents and kids both. those are going to be your friends.

dont' worry about college. worry about if these are people you can see being friends with when youre 60.


Interesting take. When we looked for school we wanted the best environment where DC could thrive. Commute is a consideration but being friends with other parents was never a consideration.
Anonymous
Post 06/05/2026 09:24     Subject: Class of '26 Instagram College Decisions

for me, preschool was about fit for our family as much as for the kid.

my first kid went to preschool 15 years ago, and my social circle still has a ton of people from that group. plus parents from kid #2 class. I think preschool and k-5 is all about a match for parents and kids both. those are going to be your friends.

dont' worry about college. worry about if these are people you can see being friends with when youre 60.
Anonymous
Post 06/05/2026 08:27     Subject: Class of '26 Instagram College Decisions

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Does it matter? if your DC is top 10% at CSH or Marymount, vs. top 70% at Brearley? TTs like Brearley is impossible to get into. You probably have a pretty good idea whether the kid is going to perform well at either tier of schools by the age of 10 or 12.

Half or more of the ivy admits at these schools are hooked. 10% CSH or Marymount doesn't mean top 10% all go to an ivy. Probably means only 3 or 5 unhooked kids from CSH or Marymount are accepted into ivies each year.


are you saying more than half of us with kids at a TT are hooked?

don't think so.

Definitely not.

But half of ivy admits at the TT are hooked: donor, legacy, low income, first gen, athlete, connection, faculty.


at TT i’d bet one of the parents of more than half the kids is an ivy+ alum


The number has to be higher. My child EC have over 80%. The ones who don’t tend to be new money families. You have to come from an old money family and have multiple generation of Ivy+ alum to distinguish yourself.


Your child EC? What's EC?


Extracurricular activities - my child is in preschool. They attend TT preschools. A few are already admitted to HM.


Oh dear . . . please don't worry about college prospects now, even when considering where to send your child to kindergarten. Focus on fit and where your child and family will feel comfortable and a valued part of the school community, and stay away from threads like these that are full of anxious parents of older children who want to believe that there is some magic formula (discoverable through IG posts, no less that will land their child in the college of their dreams.


Honestly, I think this is bad advice. Not because we’re all just jockeying for Harvard, but because there’s only so much you can glean from an open house, presentation, tour, and maybe 1-2 events. Absent having close friends with DCs already there (and even that can be skewed), those impressions are pretty curated. A lot rides on who leads the tour, and in our experience, reality often differed quite a bit from the pitch—sometimes for the better. DC attends a TT that’s known as a pressure cooker, and it’s been outrageously warmer than expected.

Also, most kids are adaptable. Most families are adaptable. You’ll probably find your way in a lot of places.

But college placements are objective. You can argue about what drives them—legacy, athletes, donors, whatever—but the numbers are the numbers. DC2 attends a 3T with meaningfully different college placements, and the difference is obvious. That doesn’t necessarily mean one school is “better,” but pretending it doesn’t matter doesn’t make much sense.


If your kid is in K, they won't be applying to college for another 12 years. Do you really think these schools are going to remain the same for that long? So many things could change. You child, who may seem like a perfect genius headed for Harvard now (if only you could get them to the perfect right TT school!) will also change, sometimes dramatically. None of these statistics matter, just find the right school that fits your values, switch schools if it doesn't seem like a great fit and stop putting so much pressure on yourself and your kids.


Actually the TTs have been remarkably consistent over the last decade plus (or more). And you can consider this in your school calculus without putting pressure on your kids.


Or you can take the advice of BTDT old moms and stop worrying about whether your four year old will be brokered to U Chicago one day.


My kids are in high school. I have BTDT.


Then you should know better than to counsel someone with a very young child to care about college placements now, particularly when essentially comparing apples to apples at NYC private schools.
Anonymous
Post 06/04/2026 20:10     Subject: Class of '26 Instagram College Decisions

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Does it matter? if your DC is top 10% at CSH or Marymount, vs. top 70% at Brearley? TTs like Brearley is impossible to get into. You probably have a pretty good idea whether the kid is going to perform well at either tier of schools by the age of 10 or 12.

Half or more of the ivy admits at these schools are hooked. 10% CSH or Marymount doesn't mean top 10% all go to an ivy. Probably means only 3 or 5 unhooked kids from CSH or Marymount are accepted into ivies each year.


are you saying more than half of us with kids at a TT are hooked?

don't think so.

Definitely not.

But half of ivy admits at the TT are hooked: donor, legacy, low income, first gen, athlete, connection, faculty.


at TT i’d bet one of the parents of more than half the kids is an ivy+ alum


The number has to be higher. My child EC have over 80%. The ones who don’t tend to be new money families. You have to come from an old money family and have multiple generation of Ivy+ alum to distinguish yourself.


Your child EC? What's EC?


Extracurricular activities - my child is in preschool. They attend TT preschools. A few are already admitted to HM.


Oh dear . . . please don't worry about college prospects now, even when considering where to send your child to kindergarten. Focus on fit and where your child and family will feel comfortable and a valued part of the school community, and stay away from threads like these that are full of anxious parents of older children who want to believe that there is some magic formula (discoverable through IG posts, no less that will land their child in the college of their dreams.


Honestly, I think this is bad advice. Not because we’re all just jockeying for Harvard, but because there’s only so much you can glean from an open house, presentation, tour, and maybe 1-2 events. Absent having close friends with DCs already there (and even that can be skewed), those impressions are pretty curated. A lot rides on who leads the tour, and in our experience, reality often differed quite a bit from the pitch—sometimes for the better. DC attends a TT that’s known as a pressure cooker, and it’s been outrageously warmer than expected.

Also, most kids are adaptable. Most families are adaptable. You’ll probably find your way in a lot of places.

But college placements are objective. You can argue about what drives them—legacy, athletes, donors, whatever—but the numbers are the numbers. DC2 attends a 3T with meaningfully different college placements, and the difference is obvious. That doesn’t necessarily mean one school is “better,” but pretending it doesn’t matter doesn’t make much sense.


Is the placements difference due to the kids (work ethic, brains, ECs) or school?

Both. CSH and Marymount have declined, as reflected in their college admissions results. It is not entirely because of the students. For various reasons, these two schools are not performing as well as they used to. The issue may be their counseling teams, the quality of education, or both.
Anonymous
Post 06/04/2026 18:38     Subject: Class of '26 Instagram College Decisions

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Does it matter? if your DC is top 10% at CSH or Marymount, vs. top 70% at Brearley? TTs like Brearley is impossible to get into. You probably have a pretty good idea whether the kid is going to perform well at either tier of schools by the age of 10 or 12.

Half or more of the ivy admits at these schools are hooked. 10% CSH or Marymount doesn't mean top 10% all go to an ivy. Probably means only 3 or 5 unhooked kids from CSH or Marymount are accepted into ivies each year.


are you saying more than half of us with kids at a TT are hooked?

don't think so.

Definitely not.

But half of ivy admits at the TT are hooked: donor, legacy, low income, first gen, athlete, connection, faculty.


at TT i’d bet one of the parents of more than half the kids is an ivy+ alum


The number has to be higher. My child EC have over 80%. The ones who don’t tend to be new money families. You have to come from an old money family and have multiple generation of Ivy+ alum to distinguish yourself.


Your child EC? What's EC?


Extracurricular activities - my child is in preschool. They attend TT preschools. A few are already admitted to HM.


Oh dear . . . please don't worry about college prospects now, even when considering where to send your child to kindergarten. Focus on fit and where your child and family will feel comfortable and a valued part of the school community, and stay away from threads like these that are full of anxious parents of older children who want to believe that there is some magic formula (discoverable through IG posts, no less that will land their child in the college of their dreams.


Honestly, I think this is bad advice. Not because we’re all just jockeying for Harvard, but because there’s only so much you can glean from an open house, presentation, tour, and maybe 1-2 events. Absent having close friends with DCs already there (and even that can be skewed), those impressions are pretty curated. A lot rides on who leads the tour, and in our experience, reality often differed quite a bit from the pitch—sometimes for the better. DC attends a TT that’s known as a pressure cooker, and it’s been outrageously warmer than expected.

Also, most kids are adaptable. Most families are adaptable. You’ll probably find your way in a lot of places.

But college placements are objective. You can argue about what drives them—legacy, athletes, donors, whatever—but the numbers are the numbers. DC2 attends a 3T with meaningfully different college placements, and the difference is obvious. That doesn’t necessarily mean one school is “better,” but pretending it doesn’t matter doesn’t make much sense.


If your kid is in K, they won't be applying to college for another 12 years. Do you really think these schools are going to remain the same for that long? So many things could change. You child, who may seem like a perfect genius headed for Harvard now (if only you could get them to the perfect right TT school!) will also change, sometimes dramatically. None of these statistics matter, just find the right school that fits your values, switch schools if it doesn't seem like a great fit and stop putting so much pressure on yourself and your kids.


Actually the TTs have been remarkably consistent over the last decade plus (or more). And you can consider this in your school calculus without putting pressure on your kids.


Or you can take the advice of BTDT old moms and stop worrying about whether your four year old will be brokered to U Chicago one day.


My kids are in high school. I have BTDT.
Anonymous
Post 06/04/2026 17:12     Subject: Class of '26 Instagram College Decisions

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Does it matter? if your DC is top 10% at CSH or Marymount, vs. top 70% at Brearley? TTs like Brearley is impossible to get into. You probably have a pretty good idea whether the kid is going to perform well at either tier of schools by the age of 10 or 12.

Half or more of the ivy admits at these schools are hooked. 10% CSH or Marymount doesn't mean top 10% all go to an ivy. Probably means only 3 or 5 unhooked kids from CSH or Marymount are accepted into ivies each year.


are you saying more than half of us with kids at a TT are hooked?

don't think so.

Definitely not.

But half of ivy admits at the TT are hooked: donor, legacy, low income, first gen, athlete, connection, faculty.


at TT i’d bet one of the parents of more than half the kids is an ivy+ alum


The number has to be higher. My child EC have over 80%. The ones who don’t tend to be new money families. You have to come from an old money family and have multiple generation of Ivy+ alum to distinguish yourself.


Your child EC? What's EC?


Extracurricular activities - my child is in preschool. They attend TT preschools. A few are already admitted to HM.


Oh dear . . . please don't worry about college prospects now, even when considering where to send your child to kindergarten. Focus on fit and where your child and family will feel comfortable and a valued part of the school community, and stay away from threads like these that are full of anxious parents of older children who want to believe that there is some magic formula (discoverable through IG posts, no less that will land their child in the college of their dreams.


Honestly, I think this is bad advice. Not because we’re all just jockeying for Harvard, but because there’s only so much you can glean from an open house, presentation, tour, and maybe 1-2 events. Absent having close friends with DCs already there (and even that can be skewed), those impressions are pretty curated. A lot rides on who leads the tour, and in our experience, reality often differed quite a bit from the pitch—sometimes for the better. DC attends a TT that’s known as a pressure cooker, and it’s been outrageously warmer than expected.

Also, most kids are adaptable. Most families are adaptable. You’ll probably find your way in a lot of places.

But college placements are objective. You can argue about what drives them—legacy, athletes, donors, whatever—but the numbers are the numbers. DC2 attends a 3T with meaningfully different college placements, and the difference is obvious. That doesn’t necessarily mean one school is “better,” but pretending it doesn’t matter doesn’t make much sense.


If your kid is in K, they won't be applying to college for another 12 years. Do you really think these schools are going to remain the same for that long? So many things could change. You child, who may seem like a perfect genius headed for Harvard now (if only you could get them to the perfect right TT school!) will also change, sometimes dramatically. None of these statistics matter, just find the right school that fits your values, switch schools if it doesn't seem like a great fit and stop putting so much pressure on yourself and your kids.


Actually the TTs have been remarkably consistent over the last decade plus (or more). And you can consider this in your school calculus without putting pressure on your kids.


Be interesting to see if we could go back to the early days of UB and see what where the TT schools then. and what are the TT schools now.
the only difference i know is that Trevor has joined the ranks, but i think the rest are pretty much the same.


Please stop trolling by saying Trevor is TT

The list is the same. None that was TT has fallen off. Some 2Ts may have declined.


settle down. the trevor thing is a joke. g
Anonymous
Post 06/04/2026 17:08     Subject: Class of '26 Instagram College Decisions

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Does it matter? if your DC is top 10% at CSH or Marymount, vs. top 70% at Brearley? TTs like Brearley is impossible to get into. You probably have a pretty good idea whether the kid is going to perform well at either tier of schools by the age of 10 or 12.

Half or more of the ivy admits at these schools are hooked. 10% CSH or Marymount doesn't mean top 10% all go to an ivy. Probably means only 3 or 5 unhooked kids from CSH or Marymount are accepted into ivies each year.


are you saying more than half of us with kids at a TT are hooked?

don't think so.

Definitely not.

But half of ivy admits at the TT are hooked: donor, legacy, low income, first gen, athlete, connection, faculty.


at TT i’d bet one of the parents of more than half the kids is an ivy+ alum


The number has to be higher. My child EC have over 80%. The ones who don’t tend to be new money families. You have to come from an old money family and have multiple generation of Ivy+ alum to distinguish yourself.


Your child EC? What's EC?


Extracurricular activities - my child is in preschool. They attend TT preschools. A few are already admitted to HM.


Oh dear . . . please don't worry about college prospects now, even when considering where to send your child to kindergarten. Focus on fit and where your child and family will feel comfortable and a valued part of the school community, and stay away from threads like these that are full of anxious parents of older children who want to believe that there is some magic formula (discoverable through IG posts, no less that will land their child in the college of their dreams.


Honestly, I think this is bad advice. Not because we’re all just jockeying for Harvard, but because there’s only so much you can glean from an open house, presentation, tour, and maybe 1-2 events. Absent having close friends with DCs already there (and even that can be skewed), those impressions are pretty curated. A lot rides on who leads the tour, and in our experience, reality often differed quite a bit from the pitch—sometimes for the better. DC attends a TT that’s known as a pressure cooker, and it’s been outrageously warmer than expected.

Also, most kids are adaptable. Most families are adaptable. You’ll probably find your way in a lot of places.

But college placements are objective. You can argue about what drives them—legacy, athletes, donors, whatever—but the numbers are the numbers. DC2 attends a 3T with meaningfully different college placements, and the difference is obvious. That doesn’t necessarily mean one school is “better,” but pretending it doesn’t matter doesn’t make much sense.


If your kid is in K, they won't be applying to college for another 12 years. Do you really think these schools are going to remain the same for that long? So many things could change. You child, who may seem like a perfect genius headed for Harvard now (if only you could get them to the perfect right TT school!) will also change, sometimes dramatically. None of these statistics matter, just find the right school that fits your values, switch schools if it doesn't seem like a great fit and stop putting so much pressure on yourself and your kids.


Actually the TTs have been remarkably consistent over the last decade plus (or more). And you can consider this in your school calculus without putting pressure on your kids.


Be interesting to see if we could go back to the early days of UB and see what where the TT schools then. and what are the TT schools now.
the only difference i know is that Trevor has joined the ranks, but i think the rest are pretty much the same.


Please stop trolling by saying Trevor is TT

The list is the same. None that was TT has fallen off. Some 2Ts may have declined.
Anonymous
Post 06/04/2026 16:35     Subject: Class of '26 Instagram College Decisions

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Does it matter? if your DC is top 10% at CSH or Marymount, vs. top 70% at Brearley? TTs like Brearley is impossible to get into. You probably have a pretty good idea whether the kid is going to perform well at either tier of schools by the age of 10 or 12.

Half or more of the ivy admits at these schools are hooked. 10% CSH or Marymount doesn't mean top 10% all go to an ivy. Probably means only 3 or 5 unhooked kids from CSH or Marymount are accepted into ivies each year.


are you saying more than half of us with kids at a TT are hooked?

don't think so.

Definitely not.

But half of ivy admits at the TT are hooked: donor, legacy, low income, first gen, athlete, connection, faculty.


at TT i’d bet one of the parents of more than half the kids is an ivy+ alum


The number has to be higher. My child EC have over 80%. The ones who don’t tend to be new money families. You have to come from an old money family and have multiple generation of Ivy+ alum to distinguish yourself.


Your child EC? What's EC?


Extracurricular activities - my child is in preschool. They attend TT preschools. A few are already admitted to HM.


Oh dear . . . please don't worry about college prospects now, even when considering where to send your child to kindergarten. Focus on fit and where your child and family will feel comfortable and a valued part of the school community, and stay away from threads like these that are full of anxious parents of older children who want to believe that there is some magic formula (discoverable through IG posts, no less that will land their child in the college of their dreams.


Honestly, I think this is bad advice. Not because we’re all just jockeying for Harvard, but because there’s only so much you can glean from an open house, presentation, tour, and maybe 1-2 events. Absent having close friends with DCs already there (and even that can be skewed), those impressions are pretty curated. A lot rides on who leads the tour, and in our experience, reality often differed quite a bit from the pitch—sometimes for the better. DC attends a TT that’s known as a pressure cooker, and it’s been outrageously warmer than expected.

Also, most kids are adaptable. Most families are adaptable. You’ll probably find your way in a lot of places.

But college placements are objective. You can argue about what drives them—legacy, athletes, donors, whatever—but the numbers are the numbers. DC2 attends a 3T with meaningfully different college placements, and the difference is obvious. That doesn’t necessarily mean one school is “better,” but pretending it doesn’t matter doesn’t make much sense.


Is the placements difference due to the kids (work ethic, brains, ECs) or school?


Those are crazy correlated. Is Stuy about the community, and kids there randomly have brains and work ethic?
Anonymous
Post 06/04/2026 16:25     Subject: Class of '26 Instagram College Decisions

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Does it matter? if your DC is top 10% at CSH or Marymount, vs. top 70% at Brearley? TTs like Brearley is impossible to get into. You probably have a pretty good idea whether the kid is going to perform well at either tier of schools by the age of 10 or 12.

Half or more of the ivy admits at these schools are hooked. 10% CSH or Marymount doesn't mean top 10% all go to an ivy. Probably means only 3 or 5 unhooked kids from CSH or Marymount are accepted into ivies each year.


are you saying more than half of us with kids at a TT are hooked?

don't think so.

Definitely not.

But half of ivy admits at the TT are hooked: donor, legacy, low income, first gen, athlete, connection, faculty.


at TT i’d bet one of the parents of more than half the kids is an ivy+ alum


The number has to be higher. My child EC have over 80%. The ones who don’t tend to be new money families. You have to come from an old money family and have multiple generation of Ivy+ alum to distinguish yourself.


WTF is a TT preschool?


The more I think about it the more I believe that most of the people on this board are New York private school LARPers from overseas or recent immigrants with a very warped understanding of how life in the city works. The language is very ESL.


It’s probably a troll. And TBH this ridiculous thread roundly deserves one.


definitely some ESL going on here.