Anonymous
Post 07/01/2013 17:00     Subject: Any Parents Privately Disappointed with College Placement?
Anonymous wrote:For any of you snobby ass DCUM readers who chose to turn your nose up at the two STA grads who are attending Indiana, please take a flying leap off of Marriott Hall. These two young men are of the highest character and displayed on the athletic fields and in the life of the school consistently positive leadership. Having seen these young men as teammates and friends of my sons, it makes me furious to see their choice of college considered "disappointing" in some way. Both young men had several options and considered Indiana to be the best fit on multiple levels. Those of you who sneered at their college choice would be absolutely delighted to have either of these young men date your daughters. Of course, you may only let your daughters date boys from "certain" colleges. Let us hear how that strategy plays out.



Okay...we get that you feel compelled to protect your son. Certainly, they had several options and chose Indiana because it was the best fit. Again it's not about the young men, it's an inquiry into the quality of the school. This thread has opened my eyes about Indiana-Bloomington.
Anonymous
Post 07/01/2013 16:54     Subject: Any Parents Privately Disappointed with College Placement?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:We all know its very true that legacies play a big part.

Just curious ... how do you know that? I suppose some students need that legacy boost to get admitted to some colleges, but I have no idea how much it matters or for how many students. How do you know?


Not picking out any one student. But, simply go to the particular school's "Common Data Set". It provides a wealth of information about their acceptances/rejections/test scores etc. You will see the legacy admissions. There's no doubt they play a role. Schools do not deny this.


Sure, I've seen college info suggesting that 10-15% of many colleges' students are legacies. I've got no dispute that legacies make up a significant portion of each college's enrollment. What I don't understand is how anyone here can point to any local high school and claim to know for sure that a big portion of the high school's college placement success is from legacies who otherwise would not deserve admission.


One of the things about legacy is how academics are passed on by genetics to many children. Dad is Ivy, met mom at Ivy, married and surprise! DC is smart.



Not always true!
Anonymous
Post 07/01/2013 15:37     Subject: Any Parents Privately Disappointed with College Placement?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:We all know its very true that legacies play a big part.

Just curious ... how do you know that? I suppose some students need that legacy boost to get admitted to some colleges, but I have no idea how much it matters or for how many students. How do you know?


Not picking out any one student. But, simply go to the particular school's "Common Data Set". It provides a wealth of information about their acceptances/rejections/test scores etc. You will see the legacy admissions. There's no doubt they play a role. Schools do not deny this.


Sure, I've seen college info suggesting that 10-15% of many colleges' students are legacies. I've got no dispute that legacies make up a significant portion of each college's enrollment. What I don't understand is how anyone here can point to any local high school and claim to know for sure that a big portion of the high school's college placement success is from legacies who otherwise would not deserve admission.


One of the things about legacy is how academics are passed on by genetics to many children. Dad is Ivy, met mom at Ivy, married and surprise! DC is smart.
Anonymous
Post 07/01/2013 15:33     Subject: Re:Any Parents Privately Disappointed with College Placement?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It is not that simple some kids are not going to be motivated to go to college by publics.


My DCs public school typically has 25-30 going to Ivy League schools and many many more going to top colleges. My public school DC is applying to much more competitive colleges than I did as a big 3 grad. The counseling is pretty hands off compared to private schools yet the kids still do extremely well in admissions.


Urban myth. Not even top preps have that many.
Anonymous
Post 07/01/2013 15:31     Subject: Re:Any Parents Privately Disappointed with College Placement?
No one is referring to IU.

Reference is to top SLAC and IVY.
Anonymous
Post 07/01/2013 15:20     Subject: Any Parents Privately Disappointed with College Placement?
For any of you snobby ass DCUM readers who chose to turn your nose up at the two STA grads who are attending Indiana, please take a flying leap off of Marriott Hall. These two young men are of the highest character and displayed on the athletic fields and in the life of the school consistently positive leadership. Having seen these young men as teammates and friends of my sons, it makes me furious to see their choice of college considered "disappointing" in some way. Both young men had several options and considered Indiana to be the best fit on multiple levels. Those of you who sneered at their college choice would be absolutely delighted to have either of these young men date your daughters. Of course, you may only let your daughters date boys from "certain" colleges. Let us hear how that strategy plays out.
Anonymous
Post 07/01/2013 14:46     Subject: Any Parents Privately Disappointed with College Placement?
Anonymous wrote:PP because we know the kids and we know the stats. Very simple.



Who are you one of the school's college counselors?
Anonymous
Post 07/01/2013 14:34     Subject: Any Parents Privately Disappointed with College Placement?
Anonymous wrote:PP because we know the kids and we know the stats. Very simple.

What kids and what stats are you talking about? You can't mean you know all the SAT/AP scores and grades of all kids graduating from STA, and which of them are legacies to which colleges, can you? That seems unlikely to me.
Anonymous
Post 07/01/2013 14:17     Subject: Any Parents Privately Disappointed with College Placement?
PP because we know the kids and we know the stats. Very simple.
Anonymous
Post 07/01/2013 12:56     Subject: Any Parents Privately Disappointed with College Placement?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:We all know its very true that legacies play a big part.

Just curious ... how do you know that? I suppose some students need that legacy boost to get admitted to some colleges, but I have no idea how much it matters or for how many students. How do you know?


Not picking out any one student. But, simply go to the particular school's "Common Data Set". It provides a wealth of information about their acceptances/rejections/test scores etc. You will see the legacy admissions. There's no doubt they play a role. Schools do not deny this.


Sure, I've seen college info suggesting that 10-15% of many colleges' students are legacies. I've got no dispute that legacies make up a significant portion of each college's enrollment. What I don't understand is how anyone here can point to any local high school and claim to know for sure that a big portion of the high school's college placement success is from legacies who otherwise would not deserve admission.
Anonymous
Post 07/01/2013 12:47     Subject: Any Parents Privately Disappointed with College Placement?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:We all know its very true that legacies play a big part.

Just curious ... how do you know that? I suppose some students need that legacy boost to get admitted to some colleges, but I have no idea how much it matters or for how many students. How do you know?


Not picking out any one student. But, simply go to the particular school's "Common Data Set". It provides a wealth of information about their acceptances/rejections/test scores etc. You will see the legacy admissions. There's no doubt they play a role. Schools do not deny this.
Anonymous
Post 07/01/2013 10:27     Subject: Any Parents Privately Disappointed with College Placement?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Maybe STA should take a lesson from Sidwell and stop publishing its matriculation list. If a few kids get accepted at HYP you can't wait to jump on here and start bragging. The conversation in those cases could easily slip into debating the merits of those candidates.


The school does not publish a matriculation list. In past years the student newspaper did so -- this year that was not the case.


STA certainly toots its college matriculation horn here [http://www.stalbansschool.org/page.aspx?pid=2722] and here [http://www.stalbansschool.org/page.aspx?pid=722]. There may be other places too. Perhaps if STA really wants to stop publishing a matriculation list, it should quit posting the info on its website.


It seems pretty clear that an aggregate 5-year list is a far cry from a yearly list published by the school with names and colleges, and, to my mind, does not justify people discussing the college choices of specific kids (particularly in a dismissive/critical way).







Actually, the college choice not the specific young men was being discussed. Then, there were folks from STA's community with personal knowledge about the students who chimed in defending them and their special reasons for attending. I'm sure applying from STA, they were also accepted elsewhere.

If this school was a SLAC or Ivy there would have been chest thumping not the defensive posture.

A pp, possibly a STA parent/student posted the name of the school initially, not clear for what reason. However, someone mentioned that the matriculation list was in the commencement program (?).

Anonymous
Post 07/01/2013 06:29     Subject: Any Parents Privately Disappointed with College Placement?
It only justifies discussing specific college choices in a self congratulatory way?
Anonymous
Post 06/30/2013 22:33     Subject: Any Parents Privately Disappointed with College Placement?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Maybe STA should take a lesson from Sidwell and stop publishing its matriculation list. If a few kids get accepted at HYP you can't wait to jump on here and start bragging. The conversation in those cases could easily slip into debating the merits of those candidates.


The school does not publish a matriculation list. In past years the student newspaper did so -- this year that was not the case.


STA certainly toots its college matriculation horn here [http://www.stalbansschool.org/page.aspx?pid=2722] and here [http://www.stalbansschool.org/page.aspx?pid=722]. There may be other places too. Perhaps if STA really wants to stop publishing a matriculation list, it should quit posting the info on its website.


It seems pretty clear that an aggregate 5-year list is a far cry from a yearly list published by the school with names and colleges, and, to my mind, does not justify people discussing the college choices of specific kids (particularly in a dismissive/critical way).



Anonymous
Post 06/30/2013 21:39     Subject: Any Parents Privately Disappointed with College Placement?
I have no ax to grind with St. Albans either way, but I don't think it's fair to attack a general (non-student specific) publication of matriculations. True -- St. Albans and Sidwell need publish it less than anyone b/c they are presumed to have outstanding placements -- whether or not perception matches reality. But for almost all other privates parents at some level often want to know this information as it is part of the equation of paying $35,000 per year for high school It is certainly not the only reason or the primary reason many parents select privates, but it is a relevant data point.
I think student specific lists (I've heard some all girls schools used to do that) are terrible -- contributing to pressure, competitive environment and humiliation for those disappointed with their options.