Anonymous
Post 02/24/2022 15:48     Subject: Sidwell College Admissions This Year
Anonymous wrote:I've been following this (as a public school parent). I have so many thoughts but will limit them to a few that will be (hopefully) viewed as constructive:

1) I have full access to Naviance and it is not very helpful--if anything, it is quite misleading as the scattergrams combine 10 years of data (we all know how the admissions world has changed over 10 years) and it does not indicate hooks. As a result, it is incredibly easy for students (and parents) to think the odds are much greater to get into specific colleges than it actually is.

2) The basic patterns play out in schools all over this area as they do in "the Big 3" (side note, barf) with regards to college admissions--it is an incredibly unpredictable and stressful process for these kids. However, there is a HUGE difference between kids at schools like Sidwell and those at large public schools: expectations. For all of the short-comings of our large public--and there are a lot--I think my (high stats, NMSF) DC really benefits from being at a public school because they see other high stats students who can't apply ED because they need merit money or because public universities are the only viable option. This REALLY helps contextualize the whole process and give the much-needed perspective that there are outstanding students so many colleges, not just the "top 50".


Sidwell senior parent here, and I can so appreciate this. Some of the conversation that DC and DC's friends have on this topic is nothing short of ridiculous. They spin themselves into this web about T-10 or T-20 or T-whatever schools. The appeal of a school like Sidwell or any Big 3 is supposed to be that you are surrounded by an ambitious peer group. But when that peer group becomes an echo chamber for wrong and misleading information, and there is no reality to counter-balance it, that becomes a problem.
Anonymous
Post 02/24/2022 15:45     Subject: Sidwell College Admissions This Year
Anonymous wrote:I've been following this (as a public school parent). I have so many thoughts but will limit them to a few that will be (hopefully) viewed as constructive:

1) I have full access to Naviance and it is not very helpful--if anything, it is quite misleading as the scattergrams combine 10 years of data (we all know how the admissions world has changed over 10 years) and it does not indicate hooks. As a result, it is incredibly easy for students (and parents) to think the odds are much greater to get into specific colleges than it actually is.

2) The basic patterns play out in schools all over this area as they do in "the Big 3" (side note, barf) with regards to college admissions--it is an incredibly unpredictable and stressful process for these kids. However, there is a HUGE difference between kids at schools like Sidwell and those at large public schools: expectations. For all of the short-comings of our large public--and there are a lot--I think my (high stats, NMSF) DC really benefits from being at a public school because they see other high stats students who can't apply ED because they need merit money or because public universities are the only viable option. This REALLY helps contextualize the whole process and give the much-needed perspective that there are outstanding students so many colleges, not just the "top 50".


1) Suggestion: Only look at the last two, pandemic-influenced years. I would think Naviance for public high schools would be more helpful because there are more data points.
2) No parent who sends their kid to Sidwell or a similar private school is okay with their DC going to a college outside the top 50 -- especially parents who start their kid in upper school.

I'm always perplexed by trolls or interested bystanders who enter these chats. You act so surprised by Sidwell and private school parents. I am always surprised that you are surprised.
Anonymous
Post 02/24/2022 15:44     Subject: Sidwell College Admissions This Year
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I've been following this (as a public school parent). I have so many thoughts but will limit them to a few that will be (hopefully) viewed as constructive:

1) I have full access to Naviance and it is not very helpful--if anything, it is quite misleading as the scattergrams combine 10 years of data (we all know how the admissions world has changed over 10 years) and it does not indicate hooks. As a result, it is incredibly easy for students (and parents) to think the odds are much greater to get into specific colleges than it actually is.

2) The basic patterns play out in schools all over this area as they do in "the Big 3" (side note, barf) with regards to college admissions--it is an incredibly unpredictable and stressful process for these kids. However, there is a HUGE difference between kids at schools like Sidwell and those at large public schools: expectations. For all of the short-comings of our large public--and there are a lot--I think my (high stats, NMSF) DC really benefits from being at a public school because they see other high stats students who can't apply ED because they need merit money or because public universities are the only viable option. This REALLY helps contextualize the whole process and give the much-needed perspective that there are outstanding students so many colleges, not just the "top 50".


Hear, hear to this.


Agree. Very well said. The expectation that Big3 students (and parents) have that they will attend a top college (as evidenced by the fact that 15 applied early to Brown---i.e. many outside of the top students) is just indicative of this as well. There is definitely an undercurrent that top (or at least very good) placement is merited regardless of academic performance.
It is very different in public.
--parent of both Big3 and public kids
Anonymous
Post 02/24/2022 15:31     Subject: Sidwell College Admissions This Year
Anonymous wrote:I've been following this (as a public school parent). I have so many thoughts but will limit them to a few that will be (hopefully) viewed as constructive:

1) I have full access to Naviance and it is not very helpful--if anything, it is quite misleading as the scattergrams combine 10 years of data (we all know how the admissions world has changed over 10 years) and it does not indicate hooks. As a result, it is incredibly easy for students (and parents) to think the odds are much greater to get into specific colleges than it actually is.

2) The basic patterns play out in schools all over this area as they do in "the Big 3" (side note, barf) with regards to college admissions--it is an incredibly unpredictable and stressful process for these kids. However, there is a HUGE difference between kids at schools like Sidwell and those at large public schools: expectations. For all of the short-comings of our large public--and there are a lot--I think my (high stats, NMSF) DC really benefits from being at a public school because they see other high stats students who can't apply ED because they need merit money or because public universities are the only viable option. This REALLY helps contextualize the whole process and give the much-needed perspective that there are outstanding students so many colleges, not just the "top 50".


Hear, hear to this.
Anonymous
Post 02/24/2022 15:25     Subject: Sidwell College Admissions This Year
I've been following this (as a public school parent). I have so many thoughts but will limit them to a few that will be (hopefully) viewed as constructive:

1) I have full access to Naviance and it is not very helpful--if anything, it is quite misleading as the scattergrams combine 10 years of data (we all know how the admissions world has changed over 10 years) and it does not indicate hooks. As a result, it is incredibly easy for students (and parents) to think the odds are much greater to get into specific colleges than it actually is.

2) The basic patterns play out in schools all over this area as they do in "the Big 3" (side note, barf) with regards to college admissions--it is an incredibly unpredictable and stressful process for these kids. However, there is a HUGE difference between kids at schools like Sidwell and those at large public schools: expectations. For all of the short-comings of our large public--and there are a lot--I think my (high stats, NMSF) DC really benefits from being at a public school because they see other high stats students who can't apply ED because they need merit money or because public universities are the only viable option. This REALLY helps contextualize the whole process and give the much-needed perspective that there are outstanding students so many colleges, not just the "top 50".
Anonymous
Post 02/24/2022 15:18     Subject: Re:Sidwell College Admissions This Year
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Publish the high school profile to parents. Provide the past years' matriculation lists (even if it's anonymous if privacy is really the concern). Make Naviance accessible to families outside the CCO. These are pieces of information that a school could provide in order to help families develop reasonable expectations. Sidwell does not do any of them.


I agree


But frankly, this information is totally irrelevant to the majority of the high school students. For example, so far this year XX Big3 school is sending 4 kids to Harvard. Three of these 4 are URM, one is not but is a double legacy.
The fact that XX school is sending any number of kids to Harvard IS COMPLETELY IRRELEVANT TO MY KID who has none of those hooks.


It's not all about Harvard. Just making up examples, but if your 3.5 student sees that their not-top-tier dream school has never accepted a Sidwell student with less than a 3.8 ever, that is useful information. If they see that School X has never accepted a Sidwell student in spite of strong applications, they may second-guess ED to that school. There are all kinds of patterns you find in Naviance as a helpful (but not solid guarantee) guide. You can sometimes tell which schools yield protect your students (pattern show lower stats kids accepted and high stats kids rejected), you can tell which schools love your students (very high rate of school-specific acceptance over time), etc. Yes, there is a lot you can't tell, but it is a useful tool if you get to really explore it. It helps you create the list and questions for the CCO to put color on those patterns.

Of course, if you personally don't think Naviance is useful, then you don't have to look at it. Others will use it.
Anonymous
Post 02/24/2022 15:17     Subject: Re:Sidwell College Admissions This Year
There is so much public griping about Sidwell's HOS. US Principal and CCO and yet its amazing to me that the Board of Trustees does not step in to make some well deserved changes. How can Trustees stay oblivious to the declining reputation of the school and not step in? Maybe the rot starts at the top.
Anonymous
Post 02/24/2022 15:11     Subject: Sidwell College Admissions This Year
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The lack of access to Naviance data us absolutely ridiculous and symbolizes the abuse of the power that the school has over its students/parents. Exit is an option, I know. But...


But Naviance wouldn’t even help because it doesn’t show who got in because of athletics or legacy or just connected. It just doesn’t paint the full picture.


No one will give you the full picture. But the information in Naviance will help to some extent. It is better than none.
Anonymous
Post 02/24/2022 15:07     Subject: Re:Sidwell College Admissions This Year
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Publish the high school profile to parents. Provide the past years' matriculation lists (even if it's anonymous if privacy is really the concern). Make Naviance accessible to families outside the CCO. These are pieces of information that a school could provide in order to help families develop reasonable expectations. Sidwell does not do any of them.


The school can only do so much. Unreasonable parents cannot be made to be reasonable.


How much work it is to let parents access Naviance? Another poster above said you can access from counselor’s office. That is more work than to give access to parents. Public schools and a lot of private schools give full access. why not Sidwell?
Anonymous
Post 02/24/2022 15:03     Subject: Re:Sidwell College Admissions This Year
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Publish the high school profile to parents. Provide the past years' matriculation lists (even if it's anonymous if privacy is really the concern). Make Naviance accessible to families outside the CCO. These are pieces of information that a school could provide in order to help families develop reasonable expectations. Sidwell does not do any of them.


The school can only do so much. Unreasonable parents cannot be made to be reasonable.


Outside looking in, I disagree. I don't know how we would have come up with a realistic initial list of schools for our not-at-the-top student without the basic information requested here. The information on colleges' common data sets are so wildly different from the data about admitted students from our school that the CDS is useless. It's hard enough when you do have the school-specific data points; I cannot imagine navigating this process without some basic necessary information.
Anonymous
Post 02/24/2022 14:48     Subject: Re:Sidwell College Admissions This Year
Anonymous wrote:Publish the high school profile to parents. Provide the past years' matriculation lists (even if it's anonymous if privacy is really the concern). Make Naviance accessible to families outside the CCO. These are pieces of information that a school could provide in order to help families develop reasonable expectations. Sidwell does not do any of them.


The school can only do so much. Unreasonable parents cannot be made to be reasonable.
Anonymous
Post 02/24/2022 14:47     Subject: Sidwell College Admissions This Year
Anonymous wrote:Oh to have Sidwell parent problems...


Yes. First world problems.
Anonymous
Post 02/24/2022 14:41     Subject: Re:Sidwell College Admissions This Year
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Publish the high school profile to parents. Provide the past years' matriculation lists (even if it's anonymous if privacy is really the concern). Make Naviance accessible to families outside the CCO. These are pieces of information that a school could provide in order to help families develop reasonable expectations. Sidwell does not do any of them.


I agree


But frankly, this information is totally irrelevant to the majority of the high school students. For example, so far this year XX Big3 school is sending 4 kids to Harvard. Three of these 4 are URM, one is not but is a double legacy.
The fact that XX school is sending any number of kids to Harvard IS COMPLETELY IRRELEVANT TO MY KID who has none of those hooks.


It will be helpful. It is a piece of educated information. It is better than none. A private school charging parents $50K+ should provide this basic information that’s available to public schools and most of the private schools.


You are telling us that one of the most expensive schools in this area does not provide or publish a school profile or share any matriculation data, and you did not know this before sending your DC there? And that you have no access to Naviance outside of the CCO office -- you cannot access it yourself from home? Wow.


No Naviance data for parents or students.


No Naviance at home or for personal use. You can meet with your CO, give them the school(s) you are interested in, and they will pull up Naviance report for you to review in their office or over zoom. Screen shots abound.
Anonymous
Post 02/24/2022 14:39     Subject: Sidwell College Admissions This Year
Oh to have Sidwell parent problems...
Anonymous
Post 02/24/2022 14:38     Subject: Sidwell College Admissions This Year
Anonymous wrote:The lack of access to Naviance data us absolutely ridiculous and symbolizes the abuse of the power that the school has over its students/parents. Exit is an option, I know. But...


But Naviance wouldn’t even help because it doesn’t show who got in because of athletics or legacy or just connected. It just doesn’t paint the full picture.