Anonymous wrote:My kid for one is stressed and working his %&%&* OFF. Sidwell promotes this. They know exactly how much homework is given and what the expectations are. What is the purpose? My kid went from a mostly a student to a stressed out B student and will probably go to a university with less anxiety-inducing stress than Sidwell. I would have preferred a lighter HS experience.

Anonymous wrote:My kid for one is stressed and working his %&%&* OFF. Sidwell promotes this. They know exactly how much homework is given and what the expectations are. What is the purpose? My kid went from a mostly a student to a stressed out B student and will probably go to a university with less anxiety-inducing stress than Sidwell. I would have preferred a lighter HS experience.

Anonymous wrote:My kid for one is stressed and working his %&%&* OFF. Sidwell promotes this. They know exactly how much homework is given and what the expectations are. What is the purpose? My kid went from a mostly a student to a stressed out B student and will probably go to a university with less anxiety-inducing stress than Sidwell. I would have preferred a lighter HS experience.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP You should be worried if your kid is shooting for Ivy's/Stanford/Duke/MIT and even highly selective state schools.

We are at another big 3 and the party line is "All the colleges know how hard our school is and that no one gets all A's" Our kid took the most rigorous classes and had a similar GPA- bit higher and a 1540 SAT plus good ec's etc etc. Guess what - Rejected early at Ivy. Friend with similar stats rejected at Michigan. I know a dozen examples. Yes alums, athletes and URM are still getting in - but the regular "smart" kids who don't have the 4.0 Plus because our schools don't weight and now we don't have AP's are getting shut out.

Things are changing the colleges want the 4.8's and don't care that our schools don't give out 4.0's easily And our schools are too arrogant to acknowledge it. If this continues to play out with lackluster admissions something will hopefully change. Too Late for my kid.

Your kid would have been rejected whether there was grade deflation or not. You don't get it. The only Big 3 kids the T20 want are hooked kids.

PP here I do get it - this may be true now but the schools need to acknowledge and deal with this reality and they do not. The world has changed and our Big 3 still acts like if you are just a great student you have a shot at top 10-15 schools and its utter BS. The admissions counselors keep a poker face and are not honest or forthcoming with their advice. But I am sorry the grade deflation does not help.

It's not Sidwell's fault!!!

The colleges DON'T WANT YOUR SMART KID unless he/she COMES WITH A HOOK---a big donation, athletic skill or racial diversity. That has nothing to do with Sidwell and neither can they change it.

I think they should be upfront from the beginning. Then kids aren’t killing themselves with the highest math or sweating an A- because they know it doesn’t matter for college admissions anyway. Take the classes that are interesting and do your best, and you’re not throwing Harvard out the window because it was never realistic to begin with.

Anonymous wrote:To summarize, It would appear that attending private school in the future will only help if you will be a recruited athlete. If URM, a double hook. For your average smart non minority type it won’t do much of anything else.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP You should be worried if your kid is shooting for Ivy's/Stanford/Duke/MIT and even highly selective state schools.

We are at another big 3 and the party line is "All the colleges know how hard our school is and that no one gets all A's" Our kid took the most rigorous classes and had a similar GPA- bit higher and a 1540 SAT plus good ec's etc etc. Guess what - Rejected early at Ivy. Friend with similar stats rejected at Michigan. I know a dozen examples. Yes alums, athletes and URM are still getting in - but the regular "smart" kids who don't have the 4.0 Plus because our schools don't weight and now we don't have AP's are getting shut out.

Things are changing the colleges want the 4.8's and don't care that our schools don't give out 4.0's easily And our schools are too arrogant to acknowledge it. If this continues to play out with lackluster admissions something will hopefully change. Too Late for my kid.

Your kid would have been rejected whether there was grade deflation or not. You don't get it. The only Big 3 kids the T20 want are hooked kids.

PP here I do get it - this may be true now but the schools need to acknowledge and deal with this reality and they do not. The world has changed and our Big 3 still acts like if you are just a great student you have a shot at top 10-15 schools and its utter BS. The admissions counselors keep a poker face and are not honest or forthcoming with their advice. But I am sorry the grade deflation does not help.

It's not Sidwell's fault!!!

The colleges DON'T WANT YOUR SMART KID unless he/she COMES WITH A HOOK---a big donation, athletic skill or racial diversity. That has nothing to do with Sidwell and neither can they change it.

I think they should be upfront from the beginning. Then kids aren’t killing themselves with the highest math or sweating an A- because they know it doesn’t matter for college admissions anyway. Take the classes that are interesting and do your best, and you’re not throwing Harvard out the window because it was never realistic to begin with.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP You should be worried if your kid is shooting for Ivy's/Stanford/Duke/MIT and even highly selective state schools.

We are at another big 3 and the party line is "All the colleges know how hard our school is and that no one gets all A's" Our kid took the most rigorous classes and had a similar GPA- bit higher and a 1540 SAT plus good ec's etc etc. Guess what - Rejected early at Ivy. Friend with similar stats rejected at Michigan. I know a dozen examples. Yes alums, athletes and URM are still getting in - but the regular "smart" kids who don't have the 4.0 Plus because our schools don't weight and now we don't have AP's are getting shut out.

Things are changing the colleges want the 4.8's and don't care that our schools don't give out 4.0's easily And our schools are too arrogant to acknowledge it. If this continues to play out with lackluster admissions something will hopefully change. Too Late for my kid.

Your kid would have been rejected whether there was grade deflation or not. You don't get it. The only Big 3 kids the T20 want are hooked kids.

PP here I do get it - this may be true now but the schools need to acknowledge and deal with this reality and they do not. The world has changed and our Big 3 still acts like if you are just a great student you have a shot at top 10-15 schools and its utter BS. The admissions counselors keep a poker face and are not honest or forthcoming with their advice. But I am sorry the grade deflation does not help.

what do you want them to do? Honest question. How are they going to "deal with the reality?"

They only thing the high schools are in control of is their grading. And inflating their grading (pushing more kids up into the 3.8+ range) would only make this problem worse. Then you'd have twice as many big donor kids who will be in play for the top schools. Right now you only have the the smart big donor kids.
The last thing you need to do is make grades at Sidwell, etc. irrelevant and give everyone As for attending.

There are kids with 3.85 grades+ now. They're not getting in without hooks. Inflating grades to expand this cohort is not going to help anyone.

I am not certain with the PP is actually trying to indicate...however, maybe they are asking that Sidwell gives the "scared straight" speech to parents before applying.

Basically, tell prospective parents that if they think admission to Sidwell is going to translate into admission to a Top 10 just based on good grades/merit, then they are sadly mistaken. That your completely unhooked, smart kid in any given year will always compete against legacy, athlete, big donor, URM whatever...and Harvard will probably only accept X kids each year, because that is what they always accept each year.

Just make it abundantly clear that your odds are terrible...so in 13, 7 or 4 years from now when you are upset at least they can say..."I told you so"

do you think that many parents actually believe attending Sidwell will help with college admissions?

Twenty-seven pages of this thread alone says yes, yes, they do.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP You should be worried if your kid is shooting for Ivy's/Stanford/Duke/MIT and even highly selective state schools.

We are at another big 3 and the party line is "All the colleges know how hard our school is and that no one gets all A's" Our kid took the most rigorous classes and had a similar GPA- bit higher and a 1540 SAT plus good ec's etc etc. Guess what - Rejected early at Ivy. Friend with similar stats rejected at Michigan. I know a dozen examples. Yes alums, athletes and URM are still getting in - but the regular "smart" kids who don't have the 4.0 Plus because our schools don't weight and now we don't have AP's are getting shut out.

Things are changing the colleges want the 4.8's and don't care that our schools don't give out 4.0's easily And our schools are too arrogant to acknowledge it. If this continues to play out with lackluster admissions something will hopefully change. Too Late for my kid.

Your kid would have been rejected whether there was grade deflation or not. You don't get it. The only Big 3 kids the T20 want are hooked kids.

PP here I do get it - this may be true now but the schools need to acknowledge and deal with this reality and they do not. The world has changed and our Big 3 still acts like if you are just a great student you have a shot at top 10-15 schools and its utter BS. The admissions counselors keep a poker face and are not honest or forthcoming with their advice. But I am sorry the grade deflation does not help.

what do you want them to do? Honest question. How are they going to "deal with the reality?"

They only thing the high schools are in control of is their grading. And inflating their grading (pushing more kids up into the 3.8+ range) would only make this problem worse. Then you'd have twice as many big donor kids who will be in play for the top schools. Right now you only have the the smart big donor kids.
The last thing you need to do is make grades at Sidwell, etc. irrelevant and give everyone As for attending.

There are kids with 3.85 grades+ now. They're not getting in without hooks. Inflating grades to expand this cohort is not going to help anyone.

I am not certain with the PP is actually trying to indicate...however, maybe they are asking that Sidwell gives the "scared straight" speech to parents before applying.

Basically, tell prospective parents that if they think admission to Sidwell is going to translate into admission to a Top 10 just based on good grades/merit, then they are sadly mistaken. That your completely unhooked, smart kid in any given year will always compete against legacy, athlete, big donor, URM whatever...and Harvard will probably only accept X kids each year, because that is what they always accept each year.

Just make it abundantly clear that your odds are terrible...so in 13, 7 or 4 years from now when you are upset at least they can say..."I told you so"

do you think that many parents actually believe attending Sidwell will help with college admissions?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP You should be worried if your kid is shooting for Ivy's/Stanford/Duke/MIT and even highly selective state schools.

We are at another big 3 and the party line is "All the colleges know how hard our school is and that no one gets all A's" Our kid took the most rigorous classes and had a similar GPA- bit higher and a 1540 SAT plus good ec's etc etc. Guess what - Rejected early at Ivy. Friend with similar stats rejected at Michigan. I know a dozen examples. Yes alums, athletes and URM are still getting in - but the regular "smart" kids who don't have the 4.0 Plus because our schools don't weight and now we don't have AP's are getting shut out.

Things are changing the colleges want the 4.8's and don't care that our schools don't give out 4.0's easily And our schools are too arrogant to acknowledge it. If this continues to play out with lackluster admissions something will hopefully change. Too Late for my kid.

Your kid would have been rejected whether there was grade deflation or not. You don't get it. The only Big 3 kids the T20 want are hooked kids.

PP here I do get it - this may be true now but the schools need to acknowledge and deal with this reality and they do not. The world has changed and our Big 3 still acts like if you are just a great student you have a shot at top 10-15 schools and its utter BS. The admissions counselors keep a poker face and are not honest or forthcoming with their advice. But I am sorry the grade deflation does not help.

It's not Sidwell's fault!!!

The colleges DON'T WANT YOUR SMART KID unless he/she COMES WITH A HOOK---a big donation, athletic skill or racial diversity. That has nothing to do with Sidwell and neither can they change it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP You should be worried if your kid is shooting for Ivy's/Stanford/Duke/MIT and even highly selective state schools.

We are at another big 3 and the party line is "All the colleges know how hard our school is and that no one gets all A's" Our kid took the most rigorous classes and had a similar GPA- bit higher and a 1540 SAT plus good ec's etc etc. Guess what - Rejected early at Ivy. Friend with similar stats rejected at Michigan. I know a dozen examples. Yes alums, athletes and URM are still getting in - but the regular "smart" kids who don't have the 4.0 Plus because our schools don't weight and now we don't have AP's are getting shut out.

Things are changing the colleges want the 4.8's and don't care that our schools don't give out 4.0's easily And our schools are too arrogant to acknowledge it. If this continues to play out with lackluster admissions something will hopefully change. Too Late for my kid.

Your kid would have been rejected whether there was grade deflation or not. You don't get it. The only Big 3 kids the T20 want are hooked kids.

PP here I do get it - this may be true now but the schools need to acknowledge and deal with this reality and they do not. The world has changed and our Big 3 still acts like if you are just a great student you have a shot at top 10-15 schools and its utter BS. The admissions counselors keep a poker face and are not honest or forthcoming with their advice. But I am sorry the grade deflation does not help.

what do you want them to do? Honest question. How are they going to "deal with the reality?"

They only thing the high schools are in control of is their grading. And inflating their grading (pushing more kids up into the 3.8+ range) would only make this problem worse. Then you'd have twice as many big donor kids who will be in play for the top schools. Right now you only have the the smart big donor kids.
The last thing you need to do is make grades at Sidwell, etc. irrelevant and give everyone As for attending.

There are kids with 3.85 grades+ now. They're not getting in without hooks. Inflating grades to expand this cohort is not going to help anyone.

I am not certain with the PP is actually trying to indicate...however, maybe they are asking that Sidwell gives the "scared straight" speech to parents before applying.

Basically, tell prospective parents that if they think admission to Sidwell is going to translate into admission to a Top 10 just based on good grades/merit, then they are sadly mistaken. That your completely unhooked, smart kid in any given year will always compete against legacy, athlete, big donor, URM whatever...and Harvard will probably only accept X kids each year, because that is what they always accept each year.

Just make it abundantly clear that your odds are terrible...so in 13, 7 or 4 years from now when you are upset at least they can say..."I told you so"

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP You should be worried if your kid is shooting for Ivy's/Stanford/Duke/MIT and even highly selective state schools.

We are at another big 3 and the party line is "All the colleges know how hard our school is and that no one gets all A's" Our kid took the most rigorous classes and had a similar GPA- bit higher and a 1540 SAT plus good ec's etc etc. Guess what - Rejected early at Ivy. Friend with similar stats rejected at Michigan. I know a dozen examples. Yes alums, athletes and URM are still getting in - but the regular "smart" kids who don't have the 4.0 Plus because our schools don't weight and now we don't have AP's are getting shut out.

Things are changing the colleges want the 4.8's and don't care that our schools don't give out 4.0's easily And our schools are too arrogant to acknowledge it. If this continues to play out with lackluster admissions something will hopefully change. Too Late for my kid.

Your kid would have been rejected whether there was grade deflation or not. You don't get it. The only Big 3 kids the T20 want are hooked kids.

PP here I do get it - this may be true now but the schools need to acknowledge and deal with this reality and they do not. The world has changed and our Big 3 still acts like if you are just a great student you have a shot at top 10-15 schools and its utter BS. The admissions counselors keep a poker face and are not honest or forthcoming with their advice. But I am sorry the grade deflation does not help.

what do you want them to do? Honest question. How are they going to "deal with the reality?"

They only thing the high schools are in control of is their grading. And inflating their grading (pushing more kids up into the 3.8+ range) would only make this problem worse. Then you'd have twice as many big donor kids who will be in play for the top schools. Right now you only have the the smart big donor kids.
The last thing you need to do is make grades at Sidwell, etc. irrelevant and give everyone As for attending.

There are kids with 3.85 grades+ now. They're not getting in without hooks. Inflating grades to expand this cohort is not going to help anyone.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP You should be worried if your kid is shooting for Ivy's/Stanford/Duke/MIT and even highly selective state schools.

We are at another big 3 and the party line is "All the colleges know how hard our school is and that no one gets all A's" Our kid took the most rigorous classes and had a similar GPA- bit higher and a 1540 SAT plus good ec's etc etc. Guess what - Rejected early at Ivy. Friend with similar stats rejected at Michigan. I know a dozen examples. Yes alums, athletes and URM are still getting in - but the regular "smart" kids who don't have the 4.0 Plus because our schools don't weight and now we don't have AP's are getting shut out.

Things are changing the colleges want the 4.8's and don't care that our schools don't give out 4.0's easily And our schools are too arrogant to acknowledge it. If this continues to play out with lackluster admissions something will hopefully change. Too Late for my kid.

Your kid would have been rejected whether there was grade deflation or not. You don't get it. The only Big 3 kids the T20 want are hooked kids.

PP here I do get it - this may be true now but the schools need to acknowledge and deal with this reality and they do not. The world has changed and our Big 3 still acts like if you are just a great student you have a shot at top 10-15 schools and its utter BS. The admissions counselors keep a poker face and are not honest or forthcoming with their advice. But I am sorry the grade deflation does not help.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP You should be worried if your kid is shooting for Ivy's/Stanford/Duke/MIT and even highly selective state schools.

We are at another big 3 and the party line is "All the colleges know how hard our school is and that no one gets all A's" Our kid took the most rigorous classes and had a similar GPA- bit higher and a 1540 SAT plus good ec's etc etc. Guess what - Rejected early at Ivy. Friend with similar stats rejected at Michigan. I know a dozen examples. Yes alums, athletes and URM are still getting in - but the regular "smart" kids who don't have the 4.0 Plus because our schools don't weight and now we don't have AP's are getting shut out.

Things are changing the colleges want the 4.8's and don't care that our schools don't give out 4.0's easily And our schools are too arrogant to acknowledge it. If this continues to play out with lackluster admissions something will hopefully change. Too Late for my kid.

Your kid would have been rejected whether there was grade deflation or not. You don't get it. The only Big 3 kids the T20 want are hooked kids.

PP here I do get it - this may be true now but the schools need to acknowledge and deal with this reality and they do not. The world has changed and our Big 3 still acts like if you are just a great student you have a shot at top 10-15 schools and its utter BS. The admissions counselors keep a poker face and are not honest or forthcoming with their advice. But I am sorry the grade deflation does not help.