I think that elite university admission officers know that GDS has a nationally-recognized community service program, respect its stellar academics and arts programs and are very familiar with the school's unique history in DC.

Last year's national merit semifinalist list:
http://georgetown.patch.com/groups/schools/p/national-merit-scholarship-semifinalists-include-56-dc-students

The "super smart and talented" kids at GDS had fewer than St. Albans although the class at GDS is over 60% bigger and less than 50% of the total number of semifinalists at Sidwell (although the classes are the same size).

Some years GDS does better than this year. This is just to say that whomever keeps asserting that GDS automatically has the best college matriculation isn't tying it to any facts.

Anonymous wrote:The point about GDS is that the kids are super smart and talented and are taught by an amazing faculty. GDS instills incredible self-confidence in the students from an early age -- it may be their secret sauce. Most parents are very accomplished and successful and are great role models also. All of this serves the seniors quite well in applying to Harvard and other Top Ivys.

Okay GDS McTrolly.

1. "super smart and talented" -- naww, doesn't apply to Sidwell, Holton, STA, NCS, St. Anselm's, Maret
2. "taught by an amazing faculty" -- the other schools probably just hire the people GDS fires
3. "instills incredible self-confidence in the students" -- if there's anything private schools produce in box lots, it's confident kids
4. "very accomplished and successful" -- yes, compared to the down-and-outers at Sidwell, Holton, STA, NCS, St. Anselm's, Maret
5. "serves the seniors quite well in applying to Harvard and other top Ivys" -- maybe and maybe not -- no data

The point about GDS is that the kids are super smart and talented and are taught by an amazing faculty. GDS instills incredible self-confidence in the students from an early age -- it may be their secret sauce. Most parents are very accomplished and successful and are great role models also. All of this serves the seniors quite well in applying to Harvard and other Top Ivys.

Anonymous wrote:I went to Harvard and all I got was this lousy DCUM forum.

+1

I went to Harvard and all I got was this lousy DCUM forum.

Interesting topic. I have always wondered how many kids were getting into the ivys because of the alumni status of one or more parents. Does this extend to other family members as well, say an uncle or aunt that went there?
I would love for my daughter to attend a top school, but since we're middle class I only want to make this financial investment if she has a good chance of getting in. She's definitely very bright and would do well in whatever situation. I would just like to know if going to a private would give her any advantage. Thanks!!

Bullis

Anonymous wrote:This is a sad question. OP. Get a life! If your kid is a Harvard type, she may get there from multiple places. In fact, attending an elite school may harm her chances. Witness the number of NoVa students that get rejected from UVa, despite being qualified.

This. Get a life. Let your kid have hers.

The matriculation stats guy most definitely does NOT post links to data sources. The data simply is not available in a reliable and consistent form and anyone who says it is is lying.

baltimoreguy wrote:It seems logical that the most selective private schools will probably have the most students accepted to highly selective colleges and universities. These students are getting into STA, or Sidwell, or wherever, in large part because of their high test scores and strong academic aptitude. These attributes will carry over into the college admissions process.

I wonder about whether there's an edge to be gained by being a bigger fish in a smaller pond. At, for example, Sidwell, there are going to be dozens of kids scoring in the 99th percentile on the SAT (which went down to 2290 in 2013) and fighting to be at the top of the class. But a kid with that kind of ability at a less selective/competitive school is going to stand out more, be at the top of the class, get great recommendations, etc. Schools won't admit it, but at a certain point, they're going to cap the number of students they admit from any one school.

I think there is something to be said for that. The schools definitely look at all applicants from the same school together (and standard practice is to have dedicated admissions officers by region). However, you still have to show as very, very bright, with high scores and fantastic recommendations. A fair amount of good private schools around here don't generally have many (or sometimes any) National Merit Semifinalists in a given year, so maybe if a kid is that kind of top scorer/top student they really will stand out. Or, the local admissions rep will say -- "hmmm, only 1 NMSF at School X -- competition is a lot tougher at [insert school with lots of high scorers]."

In the end, as trite as it is, much of it is about the fit and feel. Some kids will love being pushed intellectually by lots of hard charging peers; others will blossom and thrive better if they do not perceive their environment as quite so competitive. I continue to believe that the faculty is comparable at the well-established schools, even outside of the "Big X," and think kids will get a great education.

It seems logical that the most selective private schools will probably have the most students accepted to highly selective colleges and universities. These students are getting into STA, or Sidwell, or wherever, in large part because of their high test scores and strong academic aptitude. These attributes will carry over into the college admissions process.

I wonder about whether there's an edge to be gained by being a bigger fish in a smaller pond. At, for example, Sidwell, there are going to be dozens of kids scoring in the 99th percentile on the SAT (which went down to 2290 in 2013) and fighting to be at the top of the class. But a kid with that kind of ability at a less selective/competitive school is going to stand out more, be at the top of the class, get great recommendations, etc. Schools won't admit it, but at a certain point, they're going to cap the number of students they admit from any one school.

Anonymous wrote:
GDS is a great school, and definitely is "top tier" in DC (for what it's worth) in this generation, but it still generally does not match Sidwell and St. Albans for the percentage of National Merit Semifinalists (although a couple of years ago they had a bonanza crop at GDS and topped the list). This seems to be the same GDS person trying to get people riled up and I wouldn't worry about it.

This is a pretty fruitless argument because there is less than full information, but I'll say that (1) the matriculationstats.org website is quite well done in my opinion, and the creator always explains where he got his data so you can judge the relative reliability of the source (school website vs. anonymous post of matriculation list on College Confidential or DCUM, for example); and (2) as an active alum of one school who sees the numbers from the various schools, I think that maybe STA pips Sidwell at the post more years than not based on (i) comparable percentages of top-scoring NMSF students (usually Sidwell is ahead by a small factor); (ii) comparable legacy advantage in the student body; and (iii) a little bit of an advantage in the Ivy athletics pipeine, mainly from one sport: boys' rowing.

+1 on the merits of matriculationstats.org. I do quantitative research for a living, and reputatable researchers post their data sources and methods so that everybody can see and evaluate for themselves.

Much research is based on incomplete data or survey results, that's just the way it is. But it doesn't prevent us from using the data that is available to form some conclusions, with caveats as necessary. He puts his sources and methods out there, and that's the very best he can do.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To return to the question on the table, I am sure that the answer is GDS does.

If they did they'd publish their matriculation list, me thinks.

Actually, the only report available shows that STA and NCS were tops, followed by Sidwell and Maret. That report is, however, suspect since most of the schools don't release the type of matriculation data you'd need.

The students at GDS are truly amazing and a lot of the parents have very high-powered jobs and Ivy degrees themselves, It doesn't surprise me that GDS does superbly well at the Top Ivies.

GDS is a great school, and definitely is "top tier" in DC (for what it's worth) in this generation, but it still generally does not match Sidwell and St. Albans for the percentage of National Merit Semifinalists (although a couple of years ago they had a bonanza crop at GDS and topped the list). This seems to be the same GDS person trying to get people riled up and I wouldn't worry about it.

This is a pretty fruitless argument because there is less than full information, but I'll say that (1) the matriculationstats.org website is quite well done in my opinion, and the creator always explains where he got his data so you can judge the relative reliability of the source (school website vs. anonymous post of matriculation list on College Confidential or DCUM, for example); and (2) as an active alum of one school who sees the numbers from the various schools, I think that maybe STA pips Sidwell at the post more years than not based on (i) comparable percentages of top-scoring NMSF students (usually Sidwell is ahead by a small factor); (ii) comparable legacy advantage in the student body; and (iii) a little bit of an advantage in the Ivy athletics pipeine, mainly from one sport: boys' rowing.

Anonymous wrote:OK GDS mom. You have no stats to back up your claim.

Not to mention a really unimpressive alum list, but hey all our buttercups are special.