Anonymous
05/04/2025 16:07
Subject: why are Sidwell results so much better than other DC privates this year?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I always laugh at the private school parents who say they don’t put their kids in schools like Sidwell for college admissions purposes. We all know that is total bullshit. They are obsessed with prestige. Of course they have college in mind. Why can’t we just be honest on this forum? It’s anonymous.
We are about to be Sidwell parents for high school and of course college admissions is one of the reasons we chose it. No expectation that kid is going to an ivy, but great college counselling and preparation is definitely a draw. But college is certainly not the only reason we picked it - we were impressed with the quality of the education, the curriculum, choice of classes, teaching, facilities and the very nice and normal people we met through the process. We are not obsessed with prestige either, but I imagine you will not believe that or anything I’ve said here!
There is not a single family who puts their kid in Sidwell who has zero interest in the prestige of the school. Full stop.
If you’ll notice, I didn’t say “zero interest”, I said “not obsessed with”. Happy to admit that “prestige” was one element of our decision, though certainly not the most important part
Anonymous
05/04/2025 16:05
Subject: why are Sidwell results so much better than other DC privates this year?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:The results are very similar to the local magnet schools and top publics. I would imagine these are strong academic cohorts across the board, which Sidwell is known to select for.
The facts say otherwise: https://bethesdamagazine.com/2024/09/17/where-do-moco-students-attend-college/
Please let me know which MoCo “magnet schools and top publics” have results that are similar to Sidwell’s. Make sure you control for size (Sidwell only has 125/grade in the U.S.).
Bethesda Magazine data has already been debunked. Keep up.
By whom? You and your hurt feelings.
For those of you who are interested in facts, here’s one example: According to the data, out of 353 MoCo students (10 different high schools) that applied to Harvard, 4 were admitted. Sidwell sent 4 to Harvard last year, and they’re sending 3 this year. I don’t know how many students applied last year, but Sidwell only has 125 students/class and all of them did not apply to Harvard.
Talk about cherry-picking. Okay, just based on commitment posts RMIB and Blair are each sending 3+ students to Yale and 3+ students to MIT this year. Plus students to HPS, many to Duke and Penn etc. Same sized cohort.
Cherry picking? No, Sidwell has the whole cherry tree. Are you shocked that a free STEM magnet school is sending 3 students to MIT? Sidwell is not a STEM school and it’s sending 2 students to MIT this year. In addition, 2 Sidwell students are going to Yale, 3 are going to Princeton, and 2 are going to Stanford. Next…
Most of the Sidwell T10 admits are legacy, athletic recruits, or otherwise hooked.
Not so for RMIB or Blair. And those kids didn’t pay $240k just to attend high school.
Next…
Bingo.
Accounting for hooks, RMIB and Blair have far better college outcomes per capita. And they are free.
That’s not necessarily true. There are RMIB and Blair parents who are Ivy plus legacies, and/or have children who are recruited athletes. You will never know everyone’s hidden hooks (including public school students). Public school parents graduate from top colleges too. However, per capita, Sidwell families are richer than RMIB and Blair families.
Anonymous
05/04/2025 15:59
Subject: why are Sidwell results so much better than other DC privates this year?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I always laugh at the private school parents who say they don’t put their kids in schools like Sidwell for college admissions purposes. We all know that is total bullshit. They are obsessed with prestige. Of course they have college in mind. Why can’t we just be honest on this forum? It’s anonymous.
We are about to be Sidwell parents for high school and of course college admissions is one of the reasons we chose it. No expectation that kid is going to an ivy, but great college counselling and preparation is definitely a draw. But college is certainly not the only reason we picked it - we were impressed with the quality of the education, the curriculum, choice of classes, teaching, facilities and the very nice and normal people we met through the process. We are not obsessed with prestige either, but I imagine you will not believe that or anything I’ve said here!
There is not a single family who puts their kid in Sidwell who has zero interest in the prestige of the school. Full stop.
Anonymous
05/04/2025 15:53
Subject: why are Sidwell results so much better than other DC privates this year?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:The results are very similar to the local magnet schools and top publics. I would imagine these are strong academic cohorts across the board, which Sidwell is known to select for.
The facts say otherwise: https://bethesdamagazine.com/2024/09/17/where-do-moco-students-attend-college/
Please let me know which MoCo “magnet schools and top publics” have results that are similar to Sidwell’s. Make sure you control for size (Sidwell only has 125/grade in the U.S.).
Bethesda Magazine data has already been debunked. Keep up.
By whom? You and your hurt feelings.
For those of you who are interested in facts, here’s one example: According to the data, out of 353 MoCo students (10 different high schools) that applied to Harvard, 4 were admitted. Sidwell sent 4 to Harvard last year, and they’re sending 3 this year. I don’t know how many students applied last year, but Sidwell only has 125 students/class and all of them did not apply to Harvard.
Talk about cherry-picking. Okay, just based on commitment posts RMIB and Blair are each sending 3+ students to Yale and 3+ students to MIT this year. Plus students to HPS, many to Duke and Penn etc. Same sized cohort.
Cherry picking? No, Sidwell has the whole cherry tree. Are you shocked that a free STEM magnet school is sending 3 students to MIT? Sidwell is not a STEM school and it’s sending 2 students to MIT this year. In addition, 2 Sidwell students are going to Yale, 3 are going to Princeton, and 2 are going to Stanford. Next…
They are sending 2 to MIT this year? How many did they send last year? Or the year before? Before?Zero, zero, zero
Sidwell to MIT:
2025: 2
2024: 0
2023: 1
Did you miss the part about Sidwell not being a STEM-focused school? Yet, in any given year, they’re still sending only 1-3 students fewer to MIT than a “top” STEM focused high school.
We can go round for round on Sidwell’s admissions to Ivy+ universities, compared to those two STEM magnets, but you don’t want that fight.
You can make up numbers as much as you like, but they're wrong.
For the last 4 years ('20-24), they have been a grand total of Zero, nil, MIT matriculation from Sidwell.
You can count on one hand the number of kids going to MIT from Sidwell in the 21st century. The schools do not have much of a history with each other.
Anonymous
05/04/2025 15:14
Subject: why are Sidwell results so much better than other DC privates this year?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:The results are very similar to the local magnet schools and top publics. I would imagine these are strong academic cohorts across the board, which Sidwell is known to select for.
The facts say otherwise: https://bethesdamagazine.com/2024/09/17/where-do-moco-students-attend-college/
Please let me know which MoCo “magnet schools and top publics” have results that are similar to Sidwell’s. Make sure you control for size (Sidwell only has 125/grade in the U.S.).
Bethesda Magazine data has already been debunked. Keep up.
By whom? You and your hurt feelings.
For those of you who are interested in facts, here’s one example: According to the data, out of 353 MoCo students (10 different high schools) that applied to Harvard, 4 were admitted. Sidwell sent 4 to Harvard last year, and they’re sending 3 this year. I don’t know how many students applied last year, but Sidwell only has 125 students/class and all of them did not apply to Harvard.
Talk about cherry-picking. Okay, just based on commitment posts RMIB and Blair are each sending 3+ students to Yale and 3+ students to MIT this year. Plus students to HPS, many to Duke and Penn etc. Same sized cohort.
Cherry picking? No, Sidwell has the whole cherry tree. Are you shocked that a free STEM magnet school is sending 3 students to MIT? Sidwell is not a STEM school and it’s sending 2 students to MIT this year. In addition, 2 Sidwell students are going to Yale, 3 are going to Princeton, and 2 are going to Stanford. Next…
They are sending 2 to MIT this year? How many did they send last year? Or the year before? Before?Zero, zero, zero
Sidwell to MIT:
2025: 2
2024: 0
2023: 1
Did you miss the part about Sidwell not being a STEM-focused school? Yet, in any given year, they’re still sending only 1-3 students fewer to MIT than a “top” STEM focused high school.
We can go round for round on Sidwell’s admissions to Ivy+ universities, compared to those two STEM magnets, but you don’t want that fight.
Its a fight that those 2 STEM schools have won long ago.
Anonymous
05/04/2025 15:11
Subject: why are Sidwell results so much better than other DC privates this year?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:The results are very similar to the local magnet schools and top publics. I would imagine these are strong academic cohorts across the board, which Sidwell is known to select for.
The facts say otherwise: https://bethesdamagazine.com/2024/09/17/where-do-moco-students-attend-college/
Please let me know which MoCo “magnet schools and top publics” have results that are similar to Sidwell’s. Make sure you control for size (Sidwell only has 125/grade in the U.S.).
Bethesda Magazine data has already been debunked. Keep up.
By whom? You and your hurt feelings.
For those of you who are interested in facts, here’s one example: According to the data, out of 353 MoCo students (10 different high schools) that applied to Harvard, 4 were admitted. Sidwell sent 4 to Harvard last year, and they’re sending 3 this year. I don’t know how many students applied last year, but Sidwell only has 125 students/class and all of them did not apply to Harvard.
Talk about cherry-picking. Okay, just based on commitment posts RMIB and Blair are each sending 3+ students to Yale and 3+ students to MIT this year. Plus students to HPS, many to Duke and Penn etc. Same sized cohort.
Cherry picking? No, Sidwell has the whole cherry tree. Are you shocked that a free STEM magnet school is sending 3 students to MIT? Sidwell is not a STEM school and it’s sending 2 students to MIT this year. In addition, 2 Sidwell students are going to Yale, 3 are going to Princeton, and 2 are going to Stanford. Next…
They are sending 2 to MIT this year? How many did they send last year? Or the year before? Before?Zero, zero, zero
Sidwell to MIT:
2025: 2
2024: 0
2023: 1
Did you miss the part about Sidwell not being a STEM-focused school? Yet, in any given year, they’re still sending only 1-3 students fewer to MIT than a “top” STEM focused high school.
We can go round for round on Sidwell’s admissions to Ivy+ universities, compared to those two STEM magnets, but you don’t want that fight.
You can make up numbers as much as you like, but they're wrong.
For the last 4 years ('20-24), they have been a grand total of Zero, nil, MIT matriculation from Sidwell.
Anonymous
05/04/2025 15:01
Subject: why are Sidwell results so much better than other DC privates this year?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:The results are very similar to the local magnet schools and top publics. I would imagine these are strong academic cohorts across the board, which Sidwell is known to select for.
The facts say otherwise: https://bethesdamagazine.com/2024/09/17/where-do-moco-students-attend-college/
Please let me know which MoCo “magnet schools and top publics” have results that are similar to Sidwell’s. Make sure you control for size (Sidwell only has 125/grade in the U.S.).
Bethesda Magazine data has already been debunked. Keep up.
By whom? You and your hurt feelings.
For those of you who are interested in facts, here’s one example: According to the data, out of 353 MoCo students (10 different high schools) that applied to Harvard, 4 were admitted. Sidwell sent 4 to Harvard last year, and they’re sending 3 this year. I don’t know how many students applied last year, but Sidwell only has 125 students/class and all of them did not apply to Harvard.
Talk about cherry-picking. Okay, just based on commitment posts RMIB and Blair are each sending 3+ students to Yale and 3+ students to MIT this year. Plus students to HPS, many to Duke and Penn etc. Same sized cohort.
Cherry picking? No, Sidwell has the whole cherry tree. Are you shocked that a free STEM magnet school is sending 3 students to MIT? Sidwell is not a STEM school and it’s sending 2 students to MIT this year. In addition, 2 Sidwell students are going to Yale, 3 are going to Princeton, and 2 are going to Stanford. Next…
Most of the Sidwell T10 admits are legacy, athletic recruits, or otherwise hooked.
Not so for RMIB or Blair. And those kids didn’t pay $240k just to attend high school.
Next…
Bingo.
Accounting for hooks, RMIB and Blair have far better college outcomes per capita. And they are free.
Anonymous
05/04/2025 13:16
Subject: why are Sidwell results so much better than other DC privates this year?
Anonymous wrote:Rich people’s kids don’t need to go to top schools. They are already set for life.
It’s the UMC who are obsessed! They need a top school to stay in the UMC.
True. Yet many of the rich Sidwell families most definitely send their children to top schools, and it’s their priority. Two things can be true at the same time.
Anonymous
05/04/2025 13:04
Subject: why are Sidwell results so much better than other DC privates this year?
Rich people’s kids don’t need to go to top schools. They are already set for life.
It’s the UMC who are obsessed! They need a top school to stay in the UMC.
It’s the UMC who are obsessed! They need a top school to stay in the UMC.
Anonymous
05/04/2025 13:01
Subject: why are Sidwell results so much better than other DC privates this year?
Anonymous wrote:I always laugh at the private school parents who say they don’t put their kids in schools like Sidwell for college admissions purposes. We all know that is total bullshit. They are obsessed with prestige. Of course they have college in mind. Why can’t we just be honest on this forum? It’s anonymous.
Having "college in mind" doesn't mean that admissions is anywhere near the top of reasons for choosing private school. For many, including us, it was at best the fifth or sixth reason.
Anonymous
05/04/2025 12:46
Subject: why are Sidwell results so much better than other DC privates this year?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:The results are very similar to the local magnet schools and top publics. I would imagine these are strong academic cohorts across the board, which Sidwell is known to select for.
They are not.
Actually they are. And a number of top magnet students, including international olympiad gold medal winners, haven't even posted yet.
Do the math. By any metric, the Sidwell-rescue privates do objectively better by leaps and bounds for their students. Any. Give me your very best magnetic/public Insta vs Sidwell this year and I will explain it to ya.
Anonymous
05/04/2025 12:44
Subject: why are Sidwell results so much better than other DC privates this year?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:The results are very similar to the local magnet schools and top publics. I would imagine these are strong academic cohorts across the board, which Sidwell is known to select for.
The facts say otherwise: https://bethesdamagazine.com/2024/09/17/where-do-moco-students-attend-college/
Please let me know which MoCo “magnet schools and top publics” have results that are similar to Sidwell’s. Make sure you control for size (Sidwell only has 125/grade in the U.S.).
Bethesda Magazine data has already been debunked. Keep up.
By whom? You and your hurt feelings.
For those of you who are interested in facts, here’s one example: According to the data, out of 353 MoCo students (10 different high schools) that applied to Harvard, 4 were admitted. Sidwell sent 4 to Harvard last year, and they’re sending 3 this year. I don’t know how many students applied last year, but Sidwell only has 125 students/class and all of them did not apply to Harvard.
Talk about cherry-picking. Okay, just based on commitment posts RMIB and Blair are each sending 3+ students to Yale and 3+ students to MIT this year. Plus students to HPS, many to Duke and Penn etc. Same sized cohort.
Cherry picking? No, Sidwell has the whole cherry tree. Are you shocked that a free STEM magnet school is sending 3 students to MIT? Sidwell is not a STEM school and it’s sending 2 students to MIT this year. In addition, 2 Sidwell students are going to Yale, 3 are going to Princeton, and 2 are going to Stanford. Next…
They are sending 2 to MIT this year? How many did they send last year? Or the year before? Before?Zero, zero, zero
Sidwell to MIT:
2025: 2
2024: 0
2023: 1
Did you miss the part about Sidwell not being a STEM-focused school? Yet, in any given year, they’re still sending only 1-3 students fewer to MIT than a “top” STEM focused high school.
We can go round for round on Sidwell’s admissions to Ivy+ universities, compared to those two STEM magnets, but you don’t want that fight.
Different schools different kids. Sidwell has a lot more money as a community. Kids will go Tulane over UMBC because they have the resources. While there are immigrant a second generation families at Sidwell, public magnets have more. Many families have political connections or generational wealth high gives an edge in college admissions. So given that context, kids from public magnets do well.
Yes, they are very different schools so I don’t know why anyone mentioned those two public schools in the first place. This thread is about Sidwell, so two random public magnet schools in Maryland shouldn’t even enter this conversation. It’s akin to comparing apples and cars. They are not the same.
Anonymous
05/04/2025 12:31
Subject: why are Sidwell results so much better than other DC privates this year?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:The results are very similar to the local magnet schools and top publics. I would imagine these are strong academic cohorts across the board, which Sidwell is known to select for.
The facts say otherwise: https://bethesdamagazine.com/2024/09/17/where-do-moco-students-attend-college/
Please let me know which MoCo “magnet schools and top publics” have results that are similar to Sidwell’s. Make sure you control for size (Sidwell only has 125/grade in the U.S.).
Bethesda Magazine data has already been debunked. Keep up.
By whom? You and your hurt feelings.
For those of you who are interested in facts, here’s one example: According to the data, out of 353 MoCo students (10 different high schools) that applied to Harvard, 4 were admitted. Sidwell sent 4 to Harvard last year, and they’re sending 3 this year. I don’t know how many students applied last year, but Sidwell only has 125 students/class and all of them did not apply to Harvard.
Talk about cherry-picking. Okay, just based on commitment posts RMIB and Blair are each sending 3+ students to Yale and 3+ students to MIT this year. Plus students to HPS, many to Duke and Penn etc. Same sized cohort.
Cherry picking? No, Sidwell has the whole cherry tree. Are you shocked that a free STEM magnet school is sending 3 students to MIT? Sidwell is not a STEM school and it’s sending 2 students to MIT this year. In addition, 2 Sidwell students are going to Yale, 3 are going to Princeton, and 2 are going to Stanford. Next…
If your kid can get into Blair or RM, you can save $$ and get equally good results. Colleges are not as keen on private schools so you have better chances coming from public magnet.
Based on their T-20 outcomes, that seems to be the case. They won't benefit from small class size or detailed teacher recs like Sidwell kids, but seem to do extremely well in admissions. Lots of NMSF kids, many more than Sidwell, so not terribly surprising.
If their kids aren't smart enough to get into a magnet and the parents don't live in one of the handful of top public school districts, then private is the way to go in this area. For true upper class wealth, probably not a question anyway. Sidwell and GDS objectively have the best outcomes, depending on the year. Sidwell is strongest this year, GDS was strongest last year. They are peer schools.
College like Colby or Colgate will take mediocre what kids from Sidwell or GDS knowing they are full pay. RM or Blair kids don’t gravitate towards those types of LACs. If they close to go to LACs, they’ll. Go to top-tier ones like Amherst that pulll academic high achievers. Top magnets like RM or TJ have a different culture than private schools like Sidwell or gds. There is a lot of politics along with academics.
Actually it looks like RM has plenty of kids attending top SLACs. A smaller percentage than Sidwell.
Anonymous
05/04/2025 12:23
Subject: why are Sidwell results so much better than other DC privates this year?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:The results are very similar to the local magnet schools and top publics. I would imagine these are strong academic cohorts across the board, which Sidwell is known to select for.
The facts say otherwise: https://bethesdamagazine.com/2024/09/17/where-do-moco-students-attend-college/
Please let me know which MoCo “magnet schools and top publics” have results that are similar to Sidwell’s. Make sure you control for size (Sidwell only has 125/grade in the U.S.).
Bethesda Magazine data has already been debunked. Keep up.
By whom? You and your hurt feelings.
For those of you who are interested in facts, here’s one example: According to the data, out of 353 MoCo students (10 different high schools) that applied to Harvard, 4 were admitted. Sidwell sent 4 to Harvard last year, and they’re sending 3 this year. I don’t know how many students applied last year, but Sidwell only has 125 students/class and all of them did not apply to Harvard.
Talk about cherry-picking. Okay, just based on commitment posts RMIB and Blair are each sending 3+ students to Yale and 3+ students to MIT this year. Plus students to HPS, many to Duke and Penn etc. Same sized cohort.
Cherry picking? No, Sidwell has the whole cherry tree. Are you shocked that a free STEM magnet school is sending 3 students to MIT? Sidwell is not a STEM school and it’s sending 2 students to MIT this year. In addition, 2 Sidwell students are going to Yale, 3 are going to Princeton, and 2 are going to Stanford. Next…
They are sending 2 to MIT this year? How many did they send last year? Or the year before? Before?Zero, zero, zero
Sidwell to MIT:
2025: 2
2024: 0
2023: 1
Did you miss the part about Sidwell not being a STEM-focused school? Yet, in any given year, they’re still sending only 1-3 students fewer to MIT than a “top” STEM focused high school.
We can go round for round on Sidwell’s admissions to Ivy+ universities, compared to those two STEM magnets, but you don’t want that fight.
Different schools different kids. Sidwell has a lot more money as a community. Kids will go Tulane over UMBC because they have the resources. While there are immigrant a second generation families at Sidwell, public magnets have more. Many families have political connections or generational wealth high gives an edge in college admissions. So given that context, kids from public magnets do well.
Anonymous
05/04/2025 12:20
Subject: why are Sidwell results so much better than other DC privates this year?
Anonymous wrote:I always laugh at the private school parents who say they don’t put their kids in schools like Sidwell for college admissions purposes. We all know that is total bullshit. They are obsessed with prestige. Of course they have college in mind. Why can’t we just be honest on this forum? It’s anonymous.
We are about to be Sidwell parents for high school and of course college admissions is one of the reasons we chose it. No expectation that kid is going to an ivy, but great college counselling and preparation is definitely a draw. But college is certainly not the only reason we picked it - we were impressed with the quality of the education, the curriculum, choice of classes, teaching, facilities and the very nice and normal people we met through the process. We are not obsessed with prestige either, but I imagine you will not believe that or anything I’ve said here!