Anonymous wrote:Article about Intel Science Competition: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/12/science/intel-science-talent-contest-nurtures-spirit-of-inquiry.html?pagewanted=1&hp&_r=0 Very impressive and show what a top overwhelmingly public education is capable of producing.

I got mildly curious, so I did a quick tally of the schools represented by the Intel Finalists. 25% are from private schools (including private religious schools), and 75% are from public schools (including public magnets). I also checked total US private and public school enrollment: roughly 13% private and 87% public.

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Anonymous wrote:Who the hell care what a bunch of Koreans think? They are not going to be the connections you child needs or wants to get into a great college or law or med school or get a job after college. One of the things you send your child to Sidwell or STA for us the connections and network they will have available to them for the rest of their lives.

I am curious about how "private school connections" help a child get into a great college.

The AD's Rolodex is about it for college connections. And maybe the athletic recruiters from some, not all, sports who take in private school games and tournaments. I'm laughing at the thought of Joe Biden picking up the phone to call Yale to say "take little Johnny, he goes to my grandkids' school and the family are great people." And if he did this, which he wouldn't, the Yale ADs would roll their eyes.

^ sorry, should have said first PP

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Anonymous wrote:Who the hell care what a bunch of Koreans think? They are not going to be the connections you child needs or wants to get into a great college or law or med school or get a job after college. One of the things you send your child to Sidwell or STA for us the connections and network they will have available to them for the rest of their lives.

I am curious about how "private school connections" help a child get into a great college.

Conbections are important for many things, but not as much gor colleges. For 99 percent of private school kids, they don't. For some kids your parents will be a connection that matters, especially if your connection happens to be that your dad is at the top of the USG - but that would work for the Obama kids if he had put them in public school. And it can help if you can get a nationally-recognized person in the arts or sciences to write an actual RECOMMENDATION for you. We think that's a key reason DC got into a coveted ivy. But here's the thing: DC didn't earn this recommendation through school, it was an EC outside of school, also DC earned it, DC didn't get the recommendation because we sucked up to this person. And here's another thing: colleges have so many extremely qualified applicants these days, 30,000 applicants to some colleges, that they're not going to take your kid because you sucked up to a Supreme Court Justice or tech gazillionaire who happens to be a parent at your kid's school. And the SC justice and tech gazillionaire both know better than to use their pull on some random person's kid, even if the 2nd PP doesn't understand this.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who the hell care what a bunch of Koreans think? They are not going to be the connections you child needs or wants to get into a great college or law or med school or get a job after college. One of the things you send your child to Sidwell or STA for us the connections and network they will have available to them for the rest of their lives.

I am curious about how "private school connections" help a child get into a great college.

If you have to ask, you are probably going to remain in the dark.

Anonymous wrote:Who the hell care what a bunch of Koreans think? They are not going to be the connections you child needs or wants to get into a great college or law or med school or get a job after college. One of the things you send your child to Sidwell or STA for us the connections and network they will have available to them for the rest of their lives.

I am curious about how "private school connections" help a child get into a great college.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People do not choose a "big 3" school because they think it will get their kid into an ivy. People choose these schools mostly because they went to a private school when they were young. America, whether we like it or not, is a mosaic. We are not in any way a homogenous culture. A part of that mosaic is a group of families that make up a sub culture that send their kids to private school. It is part of their cultural identity. Many of them are quite wealthy, and don't need to worry about getting into the best school. If you have enough inherited money, it really doesn't matter what school you go to. The parents want them to get a basic education and, more importantly, to be part of their culture, to do the same things they did as kids, and have a similar set of memories. TJ and the "big 3" are not in any way competing for the same kids.

You realize rich people and trust fund babies are just as proud if their kids gets into Harvard, etc. Many of them have a tradition for attending these kinds of schools and you won't fit in as well socially if you did not go even if you went to prep school. There's always the stereotype of the "dumb preppie" who never makes it to the Ivy League and everyone knows who they are. Going to an Ivy or similar gives you immediate acceptance in certain social and professionals circles that only going to a private secondary school does not. To say that people choose a "big 3" school and not expect "Ivy" or similar is simply not true.

Look, I will identify myself as old money with a family name that would impress you. You are out of touch, if you were ever in touch. Times have changed. It's no longer the case that the old boys can automatically send their kids to alma mater, excerpt for that legacy bump, and even with legacy status you still need something else to make you stand out. There's more of a meritocracy these days, and a big 3 is no longer a guaranteed fast track to an ivy, this is a fact that most realistic patents understand. Plus you make it sound like success is when your DD marries a Saltonstall, but in fact an ivy degree carries the most weight on Wall Street and certain law firms these days, and much less weight in other professions. I know a thing or two about finance, and I'd say the majority of my aquaintances from top, ivy business schools are from working class, not upper class, backgrounds. So while a Big 3 degree will certainly buy social cachet here in Washington, and among people outside Washington who are familiar with the names, it's no longer a guaranteed entree, compared to another good private or even a top public, to the Ivy League and social standing.

Send your kid to private school if the education is better than your public option.

I'm the 2nd pp you quoted and I agree with you 100%. Parents who put so much emphasis on the "Big 3" are fooling themselves if they think going to private school means anything nowadays. It's where you go to college that counts especially if your progeny goes into fields like finance or law. We're from NYC and it's true everyone knows where everyone else attended college and grad schools even if you're old enough to be beyond caring, and it'll follow you to your grave and obituary.

I hope DC goes to TJ while DH wants to send DS to the same elite prep school (not big 3) that he and most forbears and relatives attended. It'll be nice to have to choose but like another pp said, TJ like Stuy and Bronx Science chooses not the other way around. My DH likes to point out to me that while those science magnets in NYC may have a slew of intel semi finalists, the highest combined SATs in NYC is usually Collegiate's, an all boy's private school on the UWS. However, I don't think any DC private beats TJ's combined scores on the SATs even with similar demographics as Collegiate's, which considering the SES of the students (and tuition at Collegiate) should be the highest. For me, TJ and similar public magnets beat private schools by a mile; admittance is all by merit and free! About as perfect as education can get...

Article about Intel Science Competition:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/12/science/intel-science-talent-contest-nurtures-spirit-of-inquiry.html?pagewanted=1&hp&_r=0

Very impressive and show what a top overwhelmingly public education is capable of producing.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I'm talking about a nation of people where it's not considered "strange" to be able to recite the top 10 US World and News rankings of schools in another country and where people are willing to move their kids to another country whose language they don't speak and separate families for the sake of your child's education. Not college but high school and earlier. Crazy. .

Actually, international childhood is the new norm.

It is not.

Yes it is, google third culture kids

Interesting.....

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Anonymous wrote:We were told at orientation that most private school students decline TJ. Lots of different reasons.

I'm sure you were. Do you seriously believe that many private school students have even applied and been accepted? Isnt it less than 100 per year total?

With only 380 accepted it would be pretty unfair if 100 of them were from privates. Not happening. maybe 8-10? Less?

http://www.fcps.edu/cco/pr/tj/tjadmissions0412.pdf

The percentage of private school kids applied and accepted is very close.

Thanks for the chart. Wow, not that diverse in some ways (although "Asian" is really an overbroad category by lumping in SE Asian with Pacific Rim countries). Like UC Berkeley after CA banned consideration of diversity. But, impressive inference to be gleaned (although really nothing new here) about the continued importance of education among Asians in the USA.

I'd love my kids to go to TJ over a private school for the reasons exposed above. Unfortunately, they have zero chances to get accepted because we live in DC.
I wish they had a similar program in DC and I bet it would be very competitive.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I'm talking about a nation of people where it's not considered "strange" to be able to recite the top 10 US World and News rankings of schools in another country and where people are willing to move their kids to another country whose language they don't speak and separate families for the sake of your child's education. Not college but high school and earlier. Crazy. .

Actually, international childhood is the new norm.

It is not.

Yes it is, google third culture kids

Oh, okay, I'll google it because that certainly settles it (NOT)...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We were told at orientation that most private school students decline TJ. Lots of different reasons.

I'm sure you were. Do you seriously believe that many private school students have even applied and been accepted? Isnt it less than 100 per year total?

With only 380 accepted it would be pretty unfair if 100 of them were from privates. Not happening. maybe 8-10? Less?

http://www.fcps.edu/cco/pr/tj/tjadmissions0412.pdf

The percentage of private school kids applied and accepted is very close.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I'm talking about a nation of people where it's not considered "strange" to be able to recite the top 10 US World and News rankings of schools in another country and where people are willing to move their kids to another country whose language they don't speak and separate families for the sake of your child's education. Not college but high school and earlier. Crazy. .

Actually, international childhood is the new norm.

It is not.

Yes it is, google third culture kids

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We were told at orientation that most private school students decline TJ. Lots of different reasons.

I'm sure you were. Do you seriously believe that many private school students have even applied and been accepted? Isnt it less than 100 per year total?

With only 380 accepted it would be pretty unfair if 100 of them were from privates. Not happening. maybe 8-10? Less?