Anonymous wrote:I grew up in suburbia. At my high school cities felt a little intimidating to a lot of kids. And a lot didn't want an enormous state school so SLACs were very popular.

But my kids were born and raised in DC, and while it's not a huge city, they think it would be weird to be at a college in the middle of nowhere. So less excited about SLACs.

+1 I could not imagine living in a city as a kid and also thought I'd totally get lost at a massive state school. My high school was only a few hundred kids and rural. I underestimated myself and found myself totally bored at a SLAC. I didn't care about the small class sizes or anything else I'd been told was important. It was just so small! And lots of people were alike and quite boring. Moved to NYC immediately after and then came to DC later for a job and stayed here. I also think it's unlikely my kids would get the appeal after growing up here, but who knows. Maybe they will rebel. Hah.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Davidson would love more DCPS and DCPCS but preferences matter, and they just don’t apply. Plenty of private applicants, plenty of athletes. Not a lot of kids from JR, Walls, or Banneker let alone DCI or BASIS. Honestly Dartmouth and Brown feel the same way.

I’ve never heard of Davidson.

Without judgment, I’d just say that is an indicator of your socioeconomic class.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your post just reveals the world you grew up in, which is not generally applicable.

Where I "came from" (UMC suburb public school) everyone aimed for top 10 universities or state schools. I think we had one person in our top 10 percent who went to a SLAC.

When I see a SLAC on a resume I immediately assume you came from a privileged background and won’t try very hard. Sorry!

That’s funny because I’ll assume you can write well and have actually read the books.

I grew up in suburbia. At my high school cities felt a little intimidating to a lot of kids. And a lot didn't want an enormous state school so SLACs were very popular.

But my kids were born and raised in DC, and while it's not a huge city, they think it would be weird to be at a college in the middle of nowhere. So less excited about SLACs.

Anonymous wrote:Davidson would love more DCPS and DCPCS but preferences matter, and they just don’t apply. Plenty of private applicants, plenty of athletes. Not a lot of kids from JR, Walls, or Banneker let alone DCI or BASIS. Honestly Dartmouth and Brown feel the same way.

I’ve never heard of Davidson.

I think it's partly cost, partly that many kids prefer cities now. DC got into Amherst but decided on a larger school.

I have another dc at another small liberal arts college and while the quality of education IS great, there are downsides like very limited food/eating choices, difficulty getting preferred classes, and fewer social options. It's mixed and I don't think it's right for every kid.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your post just reveals the world you grew up in, which is not generally applicable.

Where I "came from" (UMC suburb public school) everyone aimed for top 10 universities or state schools. I think we had one person in our top 10 percent who went to a SLAC.

When I see a SLAC on a resume I immediately assume you came from a privileged background and won’t try very hard. Sorry!

You should work on your tendency to make assumptions.

I graduated from a top 10 SLAC and worked and paid my own way through with about a 50% scholarship and a whole lot of loans. I was far from the only one.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your post just reveals the world you grew up in, which is not generally applicable.

Where I "came from" (UMC suburb public school) everyone aimed for top 10 universities or state schools. I think we had one person in our top 10 percent who went to a SLAC.

When I see a SLAC on a resume I immediately assume you came from a privileged background and won’t try very hard. Sorry!

Oof. Maybe a SLAC would have given you the skills to test those assumptions and think outside the box.

I’ve never been proven wrong yet!

I mean... the one person from our high school who went to a SLAC was a delicate flower of a girl.

Nowadays a lot of kids I see going to SLACs are recruited athletes.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly those schools are just too expensive.

Lots of SLACs have generous aid. They can often be cheaper than attending a state school OOS, even after DC TAG funds.

Come talk to me when your kids are applying.

Davidson would love more DCPS and DCPCS but preferences matter, and they just don’t apply. Plenty of private applicants, plenty of athletes. Not a lot of kids from JR, Walls, or Banneker let alone DCI or BASIS. Honestly Dartmouth and Brown feel the same way.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly those schools are just too expensive.

Lots of SLACs have generous aid. They can often be cheaper than attending a state school OOS, even after DC TAG funds.

Not in our case. Especially now that TAG is $15k. My DD applied to equal parts private and state schools and in every scenario, even the most expensive state school (Penn State for her) was $10-25k lower than the privates after giving $30-50k in merit.

Put another way, our CHEAPEST private after merit ($28k) was $45k all in.

After small merit and TAG, Penn State, VT, Rutgers, South Carolina, LSU, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Alabama were cheaper. Compared to the higher SLACs, we're talking $25-45k difference.

Anonymous wrote:Honestly those schools are just too expensive.

Lots of SLACs have generous aid. They can often be cheaper than attending a state school OOS, even after DC TAG funds.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your post just reveals the world you grew up in, which is not generally applicable.

Where I "came from" (UMC suburb public school) everyone aimed for top 10 universities or state schools. I think we had one person in our top 10 percent who went to a SLAC.

When I see a SLAC on a resume I immediately assume you came from a privileged background and won’t try very hard. Sorry!

Oof. Maybe a SLAC would have given you the skills to test those assumptions and think outside the box.

I’ve never been proven wrong yet!

I mean... the one person from our high school who went to a SLAC was a delicate flower of a girl.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your post just reveals the world you grew up in, which is not generally applicable.

Where I "came from" (UMC suburb public school) everyone aimed for top 10 universities or state schools. I think we had one person in our top 10 percent who went to a SLAC.

When I see a SLAC on a resume I immediately assume you came from a privileged background and won’t try very hard. Sorry!

Oof. Maybe a SLAC would have given you the skills to test those assumptions and think outside the box.

I’ve never been proven wrong yet!

Confirmation bias is a hell of a drug!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your post just reveals the world you grew up in, which is not generally applicable.

Where I "came from" (UMC suburb public school) everyone aimed for top 10 universities or state schools. I think we had one person in our top 10 percent who went to a SLAC.

When I see a SLAC on a resume I immediately assume you came from a privileged background and won’t try very hard. Sorry!

Oof. Maybe a SLAC would have given you the skills to test those assumptions and think outside the box.

I’ve never been proven wrong yet!