Anonymous wrote:STA is not a strong STEM school.
Only a very small fraction of boys (10 per year or less) take math beyond Calculus before graduating.
(i.e. they started Algebra in 8th grade.).
They're not going to send many if any kids to MIT, top engineering programs, etc.
-parent

Anonymous wrote:GDS is probably the strongest STEM school in the area

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Anonymous wrote:STA sends about 20 percent of its class to Ivies, 20 percent to top ranked SLACS, and about 20 percent of its class to Chicago and Tulane.

The "Big 3" don't tell you how many of those students are recruited athletes, donor families, highly connected or under represented minorities. Take those numbers with a grain of salt.

I think the issue isn't URM, or recruited athletes or donor families, those can come from public too. It is the issue of legacy. I think it is telling how many students get into MIT, if any, as MIT does not use legacy as an element of consideration within their admissions.

Exactly this: Legacy
The low MIT numbers show that.

No, it doesn’t. It’s about culture. STA follows a liberal arts curriculum and is most appealing for boys and parents who value that. This population is not interested in sending their boys to MIT.

In addition, to be competitive at MIT or any of the schools that specialize in STEM, you need a different approach to STEM than is offered by STA.

Our son is very strong in STEM and, as STA parents, we are conscious that he will need to make a choice soon. If he wants to focus on STEM, we’ll need to think about magnet schools.

We are HYP alums who would prefer that our son take the liberal arts route, but friends who are on faculty at prestigious STEM schools have told us he will be at a disadvantage in STEM fields if he attends Harvard or Yale.

Princeton has a respected school of engineering, so that might be a compromise, but if he wants to work in computer science, even Princeton will disadvantage him.

No, he will be just fine if he goes to Princeton, (or Harvard) for CS. Dear god.
I think it is interesting to note that Maret and GDS and Potomac all have at least some kids who go to excellent engineering/science/CS place like Harvey Mudd or MIT. They are liberal arts focused as well, yes?

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Anonymous wrote:My 2.99 kid at one of these schools is getting deferred from average schools left and right. I would give anything to do it all over and let the kid have a nice childhood instead of the torture he just endured for absolutely nothing.

Sorry to hear this PP! everything happens for a reason and please be positive as I believe your kid will get in somewhere.

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I’m so sorry. Please tell us what you mean by torture endured. In hindsight would you have chosen a different independent school?

I would choose to have him attend a large, suburban public school, as I did. Where everybody has an equal shot at classes they want and the administration doesn't deliberately keep bottom kids in the bottom in order to make the top kids stand out even more. I would have had him surrounded with normal, grounded people, insteand of the horrible families and administrators that we have had to endure at this area private. Both of my kids hate it and regret having to spend their lives with the constant stress this cooker pressure school has put them under.

PP here and again I’m really sorry. I have two at SFS and hope that is not the school you are talking about. My US sounds a lot like your DC - great kid but very “average” in this sphere and not a stand out with grades, sports or test scores. But interestingly, this particular DC loved the school, friends there and teachers. Refuses to get sucked into the pressure cooker mindset and is fine making Bs. Just enjoys the experience of the school (well- did enjoy- HATES DL!). Fully resigned to going to a lesser-tier-by-DCUM-standards college. It used to bother me a little but one thing DH and I have embraced from the pandemic- life rarely works out the way we plan.

PP your DC can get a good education anywhere. I hope he embraces that and blooms where he is planted!

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Anonymous wrote:My 2.99 kid at one of these schools is getting deferred from average schools left and right. I would give anything to do it all over and let the kid have a nice childhood instead of the torture he just endured for absolutely nothing.

Sorry to hear this PP! everything happens for a reason and please be positive as I believe your kid will get in somewhere.

.

I’m so sorry. Please tell us what you mean by torture endured. In hindsight would you have chosen a different independent school?

I would choose to have him attend a large, suburban public school, as I did. Where everybody has an equal shot at classes they want and the administration doesn't deliberately keep bottom kids in the bottom in order to make the top kids stand out even more. I would have had him surrounded with normal, grounded people, insteand of the horrible families and administrators that we have had to endure at this area private. Both of my kids hate it and regret having to spend their lives with the constant stress this cooker pressure school has put them under.

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Anonymous wrote:STA sends about 20 percent of its class to Ivies, 20 percent to top ranked SLACS, and about 20 percent of its class to Chicago and Tulane.

The "Big 3" don't tell you how many of those students are recruited athletes, donor families, highly connected or under represented minorities. Take those numbers with a grain of salt.

I think the issue isn't URM, or recruited athletes or donor families, those can come from public too. It is the issue of legacy. I think it is telling how many students get into MIT, if any, as MIT does not use legacy as an element of consideration within their admissions.

Exactly this: Legacy
The low MIT numbers show that.

No, it doesn’t. It’s about culture. STA follows a liberal arts curriculum and is most appealing for boys and parents who value that. This population is not interested in sending their boys to MIT.

In addition, to be competitive at MIT or any of the schools that specialize in STEM, you need a different approach to STEM than is offered by STA.

Our son is very strong in STEM and, as STA parents, we are conscious that he will need to make a choice soon. If he wants to focus on STEM, we’ll need to think about magnet schools.

We are HYP alums who would prefer that our son take the liberal arts route, but friends who are on faculty at prestigious STEM schools have told us he will be at a disadvantage in STEM fields if he attends Harvard or Yale.

Princeton has a respected school of engineering, so that might be a compromise, but if he wants to work in computer science, even Princeton will disadvantage him.

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Anonymous wrote:My 2.99 kid at one of these schools is getting deferred from average schools left and right. I would give anything to do it all over and let the kid have a nice childhood instead of the torture he just endured for absolutely nothing.

Sorry to hear this PP! everything happens for a reason and please be positive as I believe your kid will get in somewhere.

.

I’m so sorry. Please tell us what you mean by torture endured. In hindsight would you have chosen a different independent school?

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Anonymous wrote:To those whose DC got accepted into Tulane, what were test scores like and did you get merit aid?

34 ACT. $20,000 annually in merit aid.

Tulane regional Admissions Director loves DMV private schools. He recognizes the majority of applicants are full pay with likely high annual donation amounts on top of that, the kids are super bright but not dorks, and they all know how to let loose. It’s called I’ll scratch yours if you scratch mine. All have a Happy Ending!!

Honest question- is that why Tulane is becoming so popular with DMV independent school kids? And will my DC (Big 3 class of 22, B average student, better test scores, no real hooks) have a chance there?

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Anonymous wrote:My 2.99 kid at one of these schools is getting deferred from average schools left and right. I would give anything to do it all over and let the kid have a nice childhood instead of the torture he just endured for absolutely nothing.

Sorry to hear this PP! everything happens for a reason and please be positive as I believe your kid will get in somewhere.

.

I’m so sorry. Please tell us what you mean by torture endured. In hindsight would you have chosen a different independent school?

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Anonymous wrote:My 2.99 kid at one of these schools is getting deferred from average schools left and right. I would give anything to do it all over and let the kid have a nice childhood instead of the torture he just endured for absolutely nothing.

Sorry to hear this PP! everything happens for a reason and please be positive as I believe your kid will get in somewhere.

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Anonymous wrote:To those whose DC got accepted into Tulane, what were test scores like and did you get merit aid?

34 ACT. $20,000 annually in merit aid.

Tulane regional Admissions Director loves DMV private schools. He recognizes the majority of applicants are full pay with likely high annual donation amounts on top of that, the kids are super bright but not dorks, and they all know how to let loose. It’s called I’ll scratch yours if you scratch mine. All have a Happy Ending!!

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Anonymous wrote:^ NP. I am guessing that the Big 3 kids in your classes were not the ones in the top of the class at their Big 3s, but the W kids were probably at the top of class or closer to it. So you are not comparing the same tier of kids. I have kids who have attended public and Big 3, and am very confident that the top 50% at the Big 3 are at least as strong academically as the top 15-20% at a W school (and we are in a W district).

I doubt it. I don't want to out myself on this board, but there's no way a student not in the top of their class got into the school I teach at. We live in the DC area, I "super commute" when I am teaching in person bc my spouse works in this area. My kids go to a Big 3 but I'm thinking strongly of pulling them before MS.

It's not at all fabrication, but you believe what you want.

I have a kid at each. The top students at both Big 3 schools and a school like Whitman are all very bright and hard working. But public school kids often have more grit.
Private school parents love to put down the public schools, saying they can retake tests and have rampant grade inflation. The retaking tests is in MS. My kid at Whitman has never been allowed to retake a test. And there is grade inflation, which hurts the top students somewhat. But it is actually very rare for kids to graduate with a perfect 4.0 unweighted. The teachers and classes are tough. And there is not the hand holding that you get in private school. It’s more sink or swim.

Can you help me find the spot in the application process to quantify level of "grit"?

L.o.l. You are a desperate mom trying to include Whitman in a Big 3 discussion. I am a law professor. No one considers wealthy suburban white kids at Whitman to be "gritty".

Can't speak to Whitman BUT can to BCC. My friend's daughter transferred from a top Denver public school (Cherry Creek) Fall of 2019 for her Junior year and is a senior now. The daughter told me BCC is so much easier than Cherry Creek, but has much better college matriculations. She struggled at Cherry Creek but has straight As at BCC. She explained that they have a quarterly system but only semesters are reported to colleges. If you have a 89.5 in the first quarter that is considered an A, if you have a 79.5 the second quarter is a B. These would result in an A- for the semester which is reporter to colleges. [These would have resulted in a B in a Big 3]. I double checked and this policy is outlined on page 12 & 13 of the BCC handbook which is online. My friend's daughter went from a B student at the Denver public to straight As at BCC and she said it was easy. I can assure you that none of the Big 3s have any sort of grade inflation like this. My friend's daughter said that grades were a total joke at her school and couldn't believe universities gave BCC so much weight as it wasn't nearly as rigorous as her previous school.

Me thinks the professor has an agenda to see things the way she or he wants to.

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Anonymous wrote:STA sends about 20 percent of its class to Ivies, 20 percent to top ranked SLACS, and about 20 percent of its class to Chicago and Tulane.

The "Big 3" don't tell you how many of those students are recruited athletes, donor families, highly connected or under represented minorities. Take those numbers with a grain of salt.

I think the issue isn't URM, or recruited athletes or donor families, those can come from public too. It is the issue of legacy. I think it is telling how many students get into MIT, if any, as MIT does not use legacy as an element of consideration within their admissions.

Exactly this: Legacy
The low MIT numbers show that.