To summarize:

GDS: joy and squalor
Sidwell: organization and Obamas

That was never going to happen. Nothing to do with secret service or Harvard

Anonymous wrote:GDS definitely has a chip on shoulder about Sidwell. For our kid, the schools were quite different. Our kid was quiet and unassuming but hard worker and Sidwell seemed like a better fit.

Sometimes it seems like GDS is still smarting over not "getting" the Obamas!

the GDS HS building is a pigsty...Sidwell looks looks like the kids have been taught to put away their own things.

Is GDS the one that has the chip?

Anonymous wrote:GDS definitely has a chip on shoulder about Sidwell. For our kid, the schools were quite different. Our kid was quiet and unassuming but hard worker and Sidwell seemed like a better fit.

Agreed. While there are tons of kids for whom GDS is their first choice and would never even think to apply to Sidwell, there are kids who do apply to GDS as their back up to Sidwell. I don't think that the reverse is necessarily true (kids looking at Sidwell as a backup to GDS.) I think that reality does create a bit of the soft tension or competitiveness you see at time when GDS kids talk about Sidwell. I for one love GDS and wish that no one there felt the need to ever compare themselves to Sidwell or anyone. They are unique and fantastic all on their own.

the GDS HS building is a pigsty...Sidwell looks looks like the kids have been taught to put away their own things.

i think GDS is more Artsy and Sidwell a little more sporty.

Excactly. My son was "forced" to be organized. It wasn't always pleasant. But at the end of the day, I congratulate Sidwell on getting him organized. We couldn't do it and now it's paying off.

"But you know that there are other routes to the same outcome, right? Why not choose one of those?"

Please read my note more closely, "We couldn't do it." I did not think my son could have ever been organized. Sidwell totally succeed in getting him there (when it comes to academics - not for instance, putting way his clothes). Maybe Sidwell' structure isn't good or needed for everyone but it worked out great for us.

Anonymous wrote:GDS definitely has a chip on shoulder about Sidwell. For our kid, the schools were quite different. Our kid was quiet and unassuming but hard worker and Sidwell seemed like a better fit.

I don't think GDS has a chip on its shoulder re Sidwell. It's just a situation where most GDS parents (and older kids) will have looked closely at Sidwell as an alternative and therefore, when asked, will have reasons why they preferred GDS to Sidwell. By contrast, there will be Sidwell parents who didn't seriously consider GDS and, instead, saw NCS/StA or Maret as their alternatives. Sidwell gets more attention, in part, because it occupies a middle ground among the "elite" DC privates -- clearly prestigious with challenging academics but not too liberal or too conservative or too small or too religious. It's perceived as the safe/wild card/can't go wrong option for people whose preferences are such that they wouldn't apply to schools that they consider more extreme or at the other end of the spectrum from their comfort zone.

IRL, I think Sidwell and GDS kids and parents tend to see themselves as having lots in common. And, in fact, I've known a number of families (past and present) to have kids at both schools simultaneously.

Just hurry up and decide! Pick GDS so we can take your SFS slot....

The pp was referring to how GDS staff would never coach a kid on what to say or how to say it. Nothing against Sidwell.

Anonymous wrote:"Yes, my 2 SFS grads were well prepared for college, but your verb choice -- "forces" rather than "teaches" -- says a lot"

Excactly. My son was "forced" to be organized. It wasn't always pleasant. But at the end of the day, I congratulate Sidwell on getting him organized. We couldn't do it and now it's paying off.

But you know that there are other routes to the same outcome, right? Why not choose one of those?

GDS definitely has a chip on shoulder about Sidwell. For our kid, the schools were quite different. Our kid was quiet and unassuming but hard worker and Sidwell seemed like a better fit.

That's not the GDS way!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:what is the "white elephant?" Why mention Sidwell at all? Not possible to answer the question without naming another school?

Sounds like they were asked why they chose GDS over the other schools. Given that they are in HS, they probably answered with a contrast/comparison response. Perhaps in a few years they would only focus on why GDS as opposed to why not the other. But they are in HS, not prepping for an interview in BigLaw.

One would think that admissions folks would guide students to not mention other schools in their answers. They are just kids, after all. Adults should anticipate and probably think thru the ground rules for them.