Anonymous
Post 03/20/2017 12:04     Subject: Re:3.5 students at SFS
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Not a recruited athlete? Duke, U Chicago, Wesleyan, Northwestern, Wash U, to name a few.

LOL maybe twenty years ago. Look one or two tiers down now and forget about any highly selective majors like computer science. These Colleges and universities have their pick of kids with a lot higher gpa and class ranking.


This seems on target to me. A 3.5 is 90% or A- average. This is a very strong GPA at Sidwell and indicates high percentile test scores, prolly 1500+ SATs and 34+ ACT. I would add Tufts, Penn, Colgate, Hamilton, Haverford, Colorado College to this list.
Anonymous
Post 03/20/2017 10:29     Subject: Re:3.5 students at SFS
UChicago is filled with NE Boarding school kids.
Anonymous
Post 03/20/2017 07:12     Subject: Re:3.5 students at SFS
Schools in the Northeast can be tough even with the best stats - Chicago, Wash U, USC, Michigan, Emory, Tulane and maybe Duke may be slightly safer bets based upon location. I would also think Georgetown as SFS would have pull there.
Anonymous
Post 03/19/2017 22:34     Subject: Re:3.5 students at SFS
The admissions landscape has really shifted quickly across the country into ED these past few years. For a full pay student, it doesn't seem worth it any more to throw that card away on a top 10 SCEA or EA school unless you're very confident a connection/hook will come through.
Anonymous
Post 03/19/2017 21:21     Subject: 3.5 students at SFS
I know of only one student into Chicago this year.
Anonymous
Post 03/19/2017 21:17     Subject: Re:3.5 students at SFS
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:U Chicago
Johns Hopkins
maybe Dartmouth, Cornell


Is it easier to get accepted to Chicago, which is ranked so much higher, than to Cornell and Dartmouth?


No and I hear it was really tough this year. Chicago likes really high stats kids.
Anonymous
Post 03/19/2017 21:08     Subject: 3.5 students at SFS
What about LACs like Bowdoin, Haverford, Swarthmore?
Anonymous
Post 03/19/2017 21:07     Subject: 3.5 students at SFS
U Chicago has taken a lot of SFS students in the past, but the admissions structure changed this year from EA to ED. I don't think as many applied early.
Anonymous
Post 03/19/2017 18:54     Subject: Re:3.5 students at SFS
Anonymous wrote:U Chicago
Johns Hopkins
maybe Dartmouth, Cornell


Is it easier to get accepted to Chicago, which is ranked so much higher, than to Cornell and Dartmouth?
Anonymous
Post 03/19/2017 18:27     Subject: Re:3.5 students at SFS
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Not a recruited athlete? Duke, U Chicago, Wesleyan, Northwestern, Wash U, to name a few.

LOL maybe twenty years ago. Look one or two tiers down now and forget about any highly selective majors like computer science. These Colleges and universities have their pick of kids with a lot higher gpa and class ranking.


My Sidwell '16 had a 3.54 GPA and scored 2280 on the SAT and was accepted at Wash U and Northwestern. And University of Wisconsin, UMDCMP, Georgetown, Tulane, Syracuse, UT-Austin and Michigan, Not accepted at Duke or Penn.
Anonymous
Post 03/19/2017 18:21     Subject: Re:3.5 students at SFS
Anonymous wrote:Naviance is really useless for Sidwell kids. With relatively small classes, the hooks skew the charting a lot.


Agree completely; especially with the kind of kid that OP describes, the variables that Naviance doesn't track are critical.
Anonymous
Post 03/19/2017 18:20     Subject: Re:3.5 students at SFS
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Not a recruited athlete? Duke, U Chicago, Wesleyan, Northwestern, Wash U, to name a few.

LOL maybe twenty years ago. Look one or two tiers down now and forget about any highly selective majors like computer science. These Colleges and universities have their pick of kids with a lot higher gpa and class ranking.


My 3.5 SFS grad was accepted at two of the schools listed above; chose to go elsewhere.