Is Sidwell's approximately 11% NMSF rate in the very top of the country among private schools? I understand some public schools, like TJ, perform even better.

Anonymous wrote:Lots of trolling today. Is one of the local schools out of session?

What has been trolling about this thread? I have learned a lot from it.

Lots of trolling today. Is one of the local schools out of session?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:CA qualifying score was 223, one point lowers than DC's, one point higher than VA's, and tied with MD.

I thought that CA had so-so schools. How is their cutoff that high?

Large Asian population skewing skewing the top of the curve.

Anonymous wrote:CA qualifying score was 223, one point lowers than DC's, one point higher than VA's, and tied with MD.

I thought that CA had so-so schools. How is their cutoff that high?

CA qualifying score was 223, one point lowers than DC's, one point higher than VA's, and tied with MD.

Thomas Jefferson High School (public FFX Co) had 132 semifinalists in a class of 480, or an impressive 27% of their senior class.

I recall only two facts about Chelsea Clinton's high school experience from media reports (I lived in DC at the time as a young adult): 1) she attended Sidwell; and 2) she was a NMSF. Look it's a test. It isn't dispositive of a kid's future success in life or in school. But usually people don't do that well on such a test unless they can read quckly and carefully, process information quickly, etc., and kids who do those things well have a definite asset for use in the classroom. As a society, we make all sorts of awards on the basis of a single test or contest -- in sports, debating, music performances, a final exam, etc. We don't need to denigrate strong or weak performances on the PSAT. Celebrate success, but keep perspective.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anybody else remember how many NMS there were in their HS class? Maybe I am old. I only remember family members that were.

Yes, I was one of two so not hard to remember. Public highschool in Atlanta GA.

But it is safe to say nobody remembers you were NMS excet the other pwrson, well they know there was one more, maybe not yur name.

No, you can't say that. At my 20th reunion, people I have no memory of came up and said they remembered me, one of 5 NMSSFs in our public HS in Pennsylvania. So maybe my memory isn't great, despite being NMSSF. But you get my point.

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know how to find out how many kids qualified at Virginia private schools?

By the way, there were 5 semi-finalists at Gonzaga.

There are lists you can find online. If you want all private schools in the entire state, you need a full list rather than just a newspaper article. If you want just some local private schools, check the spreadsheet linked in the FAQ. For example, Potomac had 5.

Does anyone know how to find out how many kids qualified at Virginia private schools?

By the way, there were 5 semi-finalists at Gonzaga.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anybody else remember how many NMS there were in their HS class? Maybe I am old. I only remember family members that were.

Yes, I was one of two so not hard to remember. Public highschool in Atlanta GA.

But it is safe to say nobody remembers you were NMS excet the other pwrson, well they know there was one more, maybe not yur name.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why does this matter at all? I've never seen ANY correlation of national merit scholar status to career success. College placement is plainly a better indicator of student success.

It matters if you want a shot at the $35M in National Merit scholarships. Also, if you are applying to any private school during early high school years, as we may be, the PSAT is the first thing that say, Groton, looks at because it is the great equalizer. Straight As at one school is not straight As at another school.

There was a time when a $2,500 scholarship made a big dent in the tuition - now?

But it is a credential that follows you for life, like Phi Beta Kappa.

Hardly. If I were to see that on a resume, I would wonder why the applicant had nothing more substantive to list. Doing well on a bubble test is indicative of little more than an ability to suss out multiple choice guesses well. It's certainly not an indication of an ability to think well or creatively.

Although very nice for the kids who do well, it loses whatever relevance it may have after one matriculates.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many of the STA semifinalists came from Beauvoir?

No more than two.

I guess the WPPSI testers goofed. How could virtually every child score in the 99th percentile, such BS.

Because the WPPSI wasn't developed for determining IQ of normal kids. It's meaningless in this regard and IQ and ability are not accurately predictive for 3 & 4 year olds. It's rare that the top graduates are lifers at a top school in DC.

Anonymous wrote:Does anybody else remember how many NMS there were in their HS class? Maybe I am old. I only remember family members that were.

Yes, I was one of two so not hard to remember. Public highschool in Atlanta GA.