It's sooooo hilarious OP thinks that there will be a choice available, even with the potential athletic hook. It's like saying "should I apply to Harvard or Princeton" as if admission to both schools was a fait accompli.

I'm thinking that the overwhelming majority of families feel lucky to have been admitted to one...including ours.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there an academic difference between either school? It seems like GDS is easier to graduate from with an Ivy-worthy GPA than Sidwell. I'm not insulting GDS, nor am I trolling. My kid is applying to both of these schools and is an athlete the coaches are interested in.

If we are shooting for a 3.9+ GPA, would GDS be a better fit? I think he like Sidwell's facilities and culture better, but GDS may be an easier journey for someone looking to get stellar grades.

What does this forum think?

Based on this year’s IG posts, 2023 Sidwell students had better luck gaining admission to Ivy+ colleges than GDS students. It may vary from year to year though.

All hooked except one or two.

In other words, the same way it works at other elite private schools around this country.

Anonymous wrote:Is there an academic difference between either school? It seems like GDS is easier to graduate from with an Ivy-worthy GPA than Sidwell. I'm not insulting GDS, nor am I trolling. My kid is applying to both of these schools and is an athlete the coaches are interested in.

If we are shooting for a 3.9+ GPA, would GDS be a better fit? I think he like Sidwell's facilities and culture better, but GDS may be an easier journey for someone looking to get stellar grades.

What does this forum think?

Looks like you're looking for the easier school.

Among those two, yes, GDS would be a better fit. Most people don't even think of them as being in the same academic league.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think if your kid goes to Sidwell and gets a 3.75 GPA, they are doing really well and will be in the mix for top schools. Sounds like your kid might have an athletic hook, which will help a lot

If you mean top schools like T20 without a hook and a 3.75 - this is not likely. (Maybe ED Chicago)

Well, maybe things have changed, but my kid got into a T20 with no hook and a 3.6 just a couple years ago.

Anonymous wrote:Is there an academic difference between either school? It seems like GDS is easier to graduate from with an Ivy-worthy GPA than Sidwell. I'm not insulting GDS, nor am I trolling. My kid is applying to both of these schools and is an athlete the coaches are interested in.

If we are shooting for a 3.9+ GPA, would GDS be a better fit? I think he like Sidwell's facilities and culture better, but GDS may be an easier journey for someone looking to get stellar grades.

What does this forum think?

OP I’d love to know if your child agrees with your statement that “we” are shooting for a 3.9 GPA.

Do you plan to divvy up the work between the two of you to accomplish this?

Your child should go to the school that is the better fit. They will do better academically if they are happier and in the right place.

I was forced to go to a "better" New England private (years ago). Although, I did great academically, I was unhappy there. That matters to your child and they will excel at the 'better fit' school. Let them pick (if they get into both and $ isn't an issue).

Currently your kid will need a hook to get into an Ivy and maybe that means the athletics. They also need to be authentic in their essays. That might change in 5 years, who knows. Says the person who has a few people in my life who work in (or are the Deans) of admissions at Ivy or equivalent.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there an academic difference between either school? It seems like GDS is easier to graduate from with an Ivy-worthy GPA than Sidwell. I'm not insulting GDS, nor am I trolling. My kid is applying to both of these schools and is an athlete the coaches are interested in.

If we are shooting for a 3.9+ GPA, would GDS be a better fit? I think he like Sidwell's facilities and culture better, but GDS may be an easier journey for someone looking to get stellar grades.

What does this forum think?

Based on this year’s IG posts, 2023 Sidwell students had better luck gaining admission to Ivy+ colleges than GDS students. It may vary from year to year though.

All hooked except one or two.

Anonymous wrote:Is there an academic difference between either school? It seems like GDS is easier to graduate from with an Ivy-worthy GPA than Sidwell. I'm not insulting GDS, nor am I trolling. My kid is applying to both of these schools and is an athlete the coaches are interested in.

If we are shooting for a 3.9+ GPA, would GDS be a better fit? I think he like Sidwell's facilities and culture better, but GDS may be an easier journey for someone looking to get stellar grades.

What does this forum think?

Based on this year’s IG posts, 2023 Sidwell students had better luck gaining admission to Ivy+ colleges than GDS students. It may vary from year to year though.

Anonymous wrote:I think if your kid goes to Sidwell and gets a 3.75 GPA, they are doing really well and will be in the mix for top schools. Sounds like your kid might have an athletic hook, which will help a lot

If you mean top schools like T20 without a hook and a 3.75 - this is not likely. (Maybe ED Chicago)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Colleges know the academic rigor involved at both schools, so getting less than a 3.9 may not be a dealbreaker. What it really comes down to is whether your kid prefers a progressive approach or a traditional one.

Lol wishful thinking. Why would a college take a 3.5 from either of these school when they can take someone who gets 4.0 of higher from the same school or one of the numbers similar or more rigorous private and public schools throughout the country?

Yeah, I think the issue here is that very bright kids at these schools get a 3.5 GPA. However, even though DCUM talks non-stop about how hard they are, there are certainly kids smart enough to get a 3.9-4.0 GPA there. There are kids that do it every year.

When Ivies are only admitting <3 students per school, they are going to take the top GPAs, URM, Legacy, VIP/Donor applicants. The typical big law child with a 3.6 GPA/1500+ SAT will be tossed into the trashcan. They don't fit any institutional priority or aren't the among top students in their class.

I wouldn't quite put it that way but it is true that those 3.6 unhooked from Big 3 are not getting into Ivy. But note that this is also true for a 3.8-3.9 unhooked student in high rigor track at GDS/Sidwell. In last year's admissions, it was very rare for unhooked high stats students at these schools to get into Ivy or even to T20. There are just too many hooked students in their cohort. Some of the hooked students have both high stats and rigor, but most do not have both, and some have neither. But the Ivy/T20 knows that those kids will still all end up doing fine in college because GDS/Sidwell give a solid foundation. There's no need to get into comparisons with other elite HS or with STEM magnets. Don't fool yourself into believing the colleges (in T30 probably) will overlook a 3.6 or even 3.7 from a Big 3 for unhooked. That said, chances are pretty good to punch above weight in the T30-T50 range and at (not T10) SLACs - especially if you ED carefully.

I think if your kid goes to Sidwell and gets a 3.75 GPA, they are doing really well and will be in the mix for top schools. Sounds like your kid might have an athletic hook, which will help a lot

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Colleges know the academic rigor involved at both schools, so getting less than a 3.9 may not be a dealbreaker. What it really comes down to is whether your kid prefers a progressive approach or a traditional one.

Lol wishful thinking. Why would a college take a 3.5 from either of these school when they can take someone who gets 4.0 of higher from the same school or one of the numbers similar or more rigorous private and public schools throughout the country?

There aren't really more rigorous schools across the country. There is an upper echelon of private schools; Sidwell is included in that cohort.

Maybe in humanities. Sidewall doesn't hold a candle to a STEM magnet.

This is a board about private schools. STEM magnets are public schools.

Apples to oranges.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Colleges know the academic rigor involved at both schools, so getting less than a 3.9 may not be a dealbreaker. What it really comes down to is whether your kid prefers a progressive approach or a traditional one.

Lol wishful thinking. Why would a college take a 3.5 from either of these school when they can take someone who gets 4.0 of higher from the same school or one of the numbers similar or more rigorous private and public schools throughout the country?

There aren't really more rigorous schools across the country. There is an upper echelon of private schools; Sidwell is included in that cohort.

Just because you believe that does not make it true. Groton School, Phillips Exeter Academy, Choate Rosemary Hall, Harvard-Westlake School, Phillips Academy Andover, The Nueva School, Commonwealth School, The College Preparatory School, St. Mark’s School of Texas, Trinity School, etc, etc.

Sidwell and GDS are not even close to these schools. Sidwell and GDS are in the third or fourth tier of private schools. They a good but every major city has 2-3 similar schools.

Clearly you don't like Sidwell or GDS.

There are 3700 private high schools in the US. Sidwell and GDS are continually ranked in the top 50 private high schools. I'm not sure how this is 3rd or 4th tier.

According to Niche, every single school ranked above them is in San Francisco, LA, NY/NJ or the New England boarding schools. Oh and St. Marks in Texas.

That's it. Not sure how this is "every city in the US". There are about 45 states that don't have a private high school ranked above Sidwell or GDS.


I don't have a kid in either but I hate when people make sh$%t up.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Colleges know the academic rigor involved at both schools, so getting less than a 3.9 may not be a dealbreaker. What it really comes down to is whether your kid prefers a progressive approach or a traditional one.

Lol wishful thinking. Why would a college take a 3.5 from either of these school when they can take someone who gets 4.0 of higher from the same school or one of the numbers similar or more rigorous private and public schools throughout the country?

There aren't really more rigorous schools across the country. There is an upper echelon of private schools; Sidwell is included in that cohort.

Just because you believe that does not make it true. Groton School, Phillips Exeter Academy, Choate Rosemary Hall, Harvard-Westlake School, Phillips Academy Andover, The Nueva School, Commonwealth School, The College Preparatory School, St. Mark’s School of Texas, Trinity School, etc, etc.

Sidwell and GDS are not even close to these schools. Sidwell and GDS are in the third or fourth tier of private schools. They a good but every major city has 2-3 similar schools.

Prove it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Colleges know the academic rigor involved at both schools, so getting less than a 3.9 may not be a dealbreaker. What it really comes down to is whether your kid prefers a progressive approach or a traditional one.

Lol wishful thinking. Why would a college take a 3.5 from either of these school when they can take someone who gets 4.0 of higher from the same school or one of the numbers similar or more rigorous private and public schools throughout the country?

There aren't really more rigorous schools across the country. There is an upper echelon of private schools; Sidwell is included in that cohort.

Just because you believe that does not make it true. Groton School, Phillips Exeter Academy, Choate Rosemary Hall, Harvard-Westlake School, Phillips Academy Andover, The Nueva School, Commonwealth School, The College Preparatory School, St. Mark’s School of Texas, Trinity School, etc, etc.

Sidwell and GDS are not even close to these schools. Sidwell and GDS are in the third or fourth tier of private schools. They a good but every major city has 2-3 similar schools.