Anonymous wrote:WIS parents are funny. Nobody would ever consider WIS as a Big 3.

I'm not sure why this thread is so divisive. Our DC got into WIS middle school last year, and we loved it in so many ways. DC wanted a different school and we went with it. He's delighted where he is. But we looked long and hard at WIS and thought it had a ton to offer - smart, nice kids and families, excellent outcomes, lovely setting, great experiences, and strong teachers/faculty.

WIS is definitely under appreciated beyond families with ties to the bank and the fund. And I don't think the parents are on here regularly if at all. You've got to really meet families who have kids there to see what it offers. It's worth taking the time and getting to know the school, which is clearly going places.

I mean, why fight to be called one of the Big Apples when everyone recognizes you’re THE star fruit (whether they like star fruit or not)?

Anonymous wrote:Never see WIS discussed but it appears to be just as competent at sending kids to the Ivies as STA/NCS, Sidwell, and GDS. So why do we pretend it doesn't exist?

A. Comparing WIS to non-IB is schools is useless. Like apples and star fruit.

B. It's a small pool of comparables. Three are public or public charter schools. One is Catholic (Archbishop Carroll). One is for-profit (British International School) and then there's WIS.

That's not a lot of parents to begin with. Why would they spend much time here? Ivies aren't usually a priority for parents and students who pick IB Diploma schools.

BTW, the public DC schools include Benjamin Banneker (academically selective STEM school, also AP.), Eastern (honors program, not the entire school), DC International (charter with bilingual feeder school network). DCI is probably closest to WIS in bilingual model. It's free, but you only get in by lottery. You literally cannot buy your way into the school.

So are we done with this thread or are the PP trolls coming back out from under their bridges?

Stay safe!

My kid graduated from WIS a few years ago. DC got into several top LACs and desirable public universities like UCLA, Michigan and UNC with a ACT score of 31 and grades of 6's and 5's in most of the WIS classes (that would be the equivalent of B+ and Bs at other private high schools). We think the rigor of the IB program/reputation of WIS/and personal interaction with admissions officers visiting the school (graduating class only has about 60 students) definitely helped DC with admissions. Friends at comparable Big 3 schools needed a higher testing score and probably a better GPA to get into the same schools. I should add that DC is not a minority or an athlete but did have some unique volunteering extracurriculars that could have helped with admissions.

You mean, there is a well-regraded school in dc with great college matriculation and non-asshole parents? I don’t believe you, post a peer reviewed article published in a well-regarded scientific journal or IT ISN'T TRUE!

Just kidding. I just love dcum!!

Anonymous wrote:WIS parents are funny. Nobody would ever consider WIS as a Big 3.

Which is what makes WIS so awesome.

Anonymous wrote:WIS parents are funny. Nobody would ever consider WIS as a Big 3.

I never met a WIS parent who referred to the school as a Big 3. Partially because they would not even be aware what the Big 3 is. The school does not attract your typical prestige obsessed DCUM mom, god bless. I find it actually more fascinating why so many who “would never consider” the school, have such a strong urge to insult it whenever given a chance.

WIS parents are funny. Nobody would ever consider WIS as a Big 3.

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Anonymous wrote:Never see WIS discussed but it appears to be just as competent at sending kids to the Ivies as STA/NCS, Sidwell, and GDS. So why do we pretend it doesn't exist?

Maybe because their admits are the token Italians, Ghanans, brasilians at the colleges they get admitted to?

If the kids were born here, they are American regardless of where their parents came from. And those admitted to top colleges might just be very smart children of very accomplished parents. For example a son of a high level official at the IMF who was admitted to Princeton despite neither parent being a legacy. To get any meaningful comparison of WIS vs STA/NCS admits to top schools you would need to know the share of legacies. I would be almost certain it is much lower at WIS. Many WIS parents are not interested in US colleges either because IMF kids get 75% of their tuition and any travel expenses paid if they go abroad. That explains the high proportion of top UK and Canadian colleges among their admits.

Anonymous wrote:Never see WIS discussed but it appears to be just as competent at sending kids to the Ivies as STA/NCS, Sidwell, and GDS. So why do we pretend it doesn't exist?

Maybe because their admits are the token Italians, Ghanans, brasilians at the colleges they get admitted to?

WIS parents are international, and many plan on sending their kids to cheaper universities abroad. There is less focus on US universities. Plenty of kids do go to US universities, but a measurably smaller percentage than kids from the other privates in town

This focus on international universities, which usually admit kids based on test scores, means that the focus on extracurriculars is less than at the other privates. This makes kids less competitive for the top US universities. It doesnt mean that no kids get into Ivy equivalents, but fewer do. (I've interviewed many local kids for an Ivy, and I've spoken to a former WIS college counselor).

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Anonymous wrote:Nobody cares about that school

Sorry that your kid was rejected.

1. We never even thought of that school, let alone applied.

2. Everyone gets into that school

3. Have you seen the facilities? LOL.

Interesting that someone who never even thought of that schools knows so well what the facilities look like. And yes, I have seen them and they compared well to other privates in the area, though their playground in the lower school could certainly be nicer. Their upper campus is beautiful.
It is outright wrong that everyone gets in. I know several full pay families, including with siblings attending, whose kids were rejected. One of those families had both their twins accepted to Beauvoir. The school looks for fit and the reality is that not every kid/family can handle the language immersion aspect.

Our son had to unfortunately play on their turf field. Needless to say his team pummeled WIS.

And this is relevant to his life in the long run, how? Is he going to play a sport in college? Is he going to be a professional athlete? Mama may think so, but the odds are overwhelmingly against either of those taking place -- which makes your post even more inane. Why is your kid in school in the first place?

But ten years from now when he is working for a globally educated, multi-lingual WIS grad, he can always remind him of how his team "pummeled" WIS and that it was so unfortunate that he once had to play on their turf field.

Ah, yes. The "your kid will work for my kid" retort. Based on academic reputation, more likely the WIS kid is going to be the other kid's Uber driver.

Says the parent who is paying $50,000 a year for the STA/NCS education, who is positive Johnny or Susie will get into HYP, but is in for a big disappointment.

And it's not "academic reputation" that determines where people end up in life, PP, or did you not know that. It's skills obtained, which is why I maintain that a WIS grad, in general, is far better positioned than those from the "rival" schools OP notes. Are you still trading on your success from your glory days at City High?

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nobody cares about that school

Sorry that your kid was rejected.

1. We never even thought of that school, let alone applied.

2. Everyone gets into that school

3. Have you seen the facilities? LOL.

Interesting that someone who never even thought of that schools knows so well what the facilities look like. And yes, I have seen them and they compared well to other privates in the area, though their playground in the lower school could certainly be nicer. Their upper campus is beautiful.
It is outright wrong that everyone gets in. I know several full pay families, including with siblings attending, whose kids were rejected. One of those families had both their twins accepted to Beauvoir. The school looks for fit and the reality is that not every kid/family can handle the language immersion aspect.

Our son had to unfortunately play on their turf field. Needless to say his team pummeled WIS.

And this is relevant to his life in the long run, how? Is he going to play a sport in college? Is he going to be a professional athlete? Mama may think so, but the odds are overwhelmingly against either of those taking place -- which makes your post even more inane. Why is your kid in school in the first place?

But ten years from now when he is working for a globally educated, multi-lingual WIS grad, he can always remind him of how his team "pummeled" WIS and that it was so unfortunate that he once had to play on their turf field.

Ah, yes. The "your kid will work for my kid" retort. Based on academic reputation, more likely the WIS kid is going to be the other kid's Uber driver.

We are an international family from WB, IMF, etc. we speak 3 languages at home and decided to not apply to WIS. Many of our friends send their kids to WIS. We decided for another well known school in DC. We have many reasons for this decision. We wanted more exposure to the American culture since the kids are not getting it at home, Spanish and French are not languages we speak and I think bilingual education can be inferior.
I remember reading that when teachers have to “deal” with kids that don’t speak the language perfectly, they have to dumb down the content a bit. Meaning that teachers will spend sometime making sure everyone understand instructions and therefore less time to dig deeper. Again, my kids speak 3 languages and are very international so for me it was an easy decision.
Had I been American, I would have definitely preferred WIS because I appreciate how important it is to experience, understand and breath different cultures

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nobody cares about that school

Sorry that your kid was rejected.

1. We never even thought of that school, let alone applied.

2. Everyone gets into that school

3. Have you seen the facilities? LOL.

Interesting that someone who never even thought of that schools knows so well what the facilities look like. And yes, I have seen them and they compared well to other privates in the area, though their playground in the lower school could certainly be nicer. Their upper campus is beautiful.
It is outright wrong that everyone gets in. I know several full pay families, including with siblings attending, whose kids were rejected. One of those families had both their twins accepted to Beauvoir. The school looks for fit and the reality is that not every kid/family can handle the language immersion aspect.

Our son had to unfortunately play on their turf field. Needless to say his team pummeled WIS.

So WIS has their own field? They don’t have to bus their kids to a public field that they refuse to share with anyone else in the community?