Anonymous
Post 09/05/2017 18:00     Subject: B Students at St Albans and NCS - where end up?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I know this often is hard for folks to wrap their heads around, but it's the bottom half of the class at top high schools that are helped the most by their "HS pedigree" at college application time. A "B student" from STA is prepared to do the work at Tulane -- and Tulane knows it. And the Tulane admissions office wants to maintain its relationship with the STA college guidance office. So that student gets in. Same kid, same grades, same scores from good suburban public doesn't get in (because, as far as Tulane knows, he might or might not be prepared to do the work and because there's no relationship to preserve).

That's why the advice that "average performers" in top private schools should switch to public for college admission purposes almost always is terrible. Average performers at top schools generally don't become "stars" at less competitive schools -- they typically dial back their effort and earn about the same grades. And then Tulane is off the table and they're staring down the barrel of Alabama.


No bottom 1/2 is bottom 1/2. The name of the high school just does not matter.


Keep telling yourself that.

Bottom half kids at Big 3s routinely get into NESCACs, big state schools like UVA and Wisconsin, and excellent midsize schools like Wake, Tulane and Emory. That ain't happening at your kids public....



Because the bottom half kids at Big 3's are full pay legacies. You're not comparing apples to apples


Plus bottom half of publics may not even be going to college, maybe to trade school instead. I know this must be inconceivable to PP.
Anonymous
Post 09/05/2017 16:41     Subject: B Students at St Albans and NCS - where end up?
Anonymous wrote:Big 3 parent here. Whether attending a Big 3 has any impact on my DC's college admissions is not something we consider. The question for us was what kind of education would DC get at DC's private school compared to our public. We know plenty of children who have done well at the local public and went on to great schools (HYPS etc.). But, our child has a particular set of interests that we thought was better served at a private school, since there are no public school humanities/social science equivalents of TJHSST or the MB magnet.

History, English, poli sci/govt. and foreign lit are taught at very high levels in the Big 3. We just don't think the typical public school AP or IB curriculum is comparable to what DC's school offers. I see it in how DC digests current events and in how DC writes and analyzes literature. DC knows the graduate-level academic jargon and controversies well. It is more typical of upperclassmen at my college than the typical 18 year old high schooler even college freshman.


+1 We have a Holton grad and one still there and the quality of education she received is exceptional. Even though she wasn't in the top 10% of her class, she got into a great school. Holton's focus on writing, literary analysis, politics and more was important to us and we were lucky enough to be able to afford it (though we aren't hooked or making huge donations either). Our college student has a poise and confidence that I know she appreciates and the years she had at Holton were critical in building that regardless of what it did for her college placement.
Anonymous
Post 09/05/2017 16:10     Subject: Re:B Students at St Albans and NCS - where end up?
As others have noted, you can't discount the full-pay advantage, especially for a kid on the margins, and especially at non-top 10 SLACs (which have sticker prices very few people can or will pay) and prestigious public universities like Michigan (where the in state/out of state tuition differential is gigantic). It's a no brainer to take 30 kids whose parents have already proven willing to shell out top $$ for a private school that you know has prepared even B students for college.
Anonymous
Post 09/05/2017 13:51     Subject: B Students at St Albans and NCS - where end up?
Big 3 parent here. Whether attending a Big 3 has any impact on my DC's college admissions is not something we consider. The question for us was what kind of education would DC get at DC's private school compared to our public. We know plenty of children who have done well at the local public and went on to great schools (HYPS etc.). But, our child has a particular set of interests that we thought was better served at a private school, since there are no public school humanities/social science equivalents of TJHSST or the MB magnet.

History, English, poli sci/govt. and foreign lit are taught at very high levels in the Big 3. We just don't think the typical public school AP or IB curriculum is comparable to what DC's school offers. I see it in how DC digests current events and in how DC writes and analyzes literature. DC knows the graduate-level academic jargon and controversies well. It is more typical of upperclassmen at my college than the typical 18 year old high schooler even college freshman.
Anonymous
Post 09/05/2017 13:19     Subject: B Students at St Albans and NCS - where end up?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I know this often is hard for folks to wrap their heads around, but it's the bottom half of the class at top high schools that are helped the most by their "HS pedigree" at college application time. A "B student" from STA is prepared to do the work at Tulane -- and Tulane knows it. And the Tulane admissions office wants to maintain its relationship with the STA college guidance office. So that student gets in. Same kid, same grades, same scores from good suburban public doesn't get in (because, as far as Tulane knows, he might or might not be prepared to do the work and because there's no relationship to preserve).

That's why the advice that "average performers" in top private schools should switch to public for college admission purposes almost always is terrible. Average performers at top schools generally don't become "stars" at less competitive schools -- they typically dial back their effort and earn about the same grades. And then Tulane is off the table and they're staring down the barrel of Alabama.


No bottom 1/2 is bottom 1/2. The name of the high school just does not matter.


Keep telling yourself that.

Bottom half kids at Big 3s routinely get into NESCACs, big state schools like UVA and Wisconsin, and excellent midsize schools like Wake, Tulane and Emory. That ain't happening at your kids public....



Because the bottom half kids at Big 3's are full pay legacies. You're not comparing apples to apples



ETA. Another reason you can't compare bottom half Big 3's to bottom half publics, is that your bottom half big 3 kids are basically B students. Not too many of these kids have transcripts peppered with C's, And certainly not D's or F's. For the most part, bottom half kids at Publics aren't going to college at all, or possibly attending Community College. To really determine how much (if any) advantage attending a Big 3 gives in admissions, you would have to compare similar students, such as two kids who both have a 3.5, similar test scores, and extracurriculars. To further complicate matters the public school kid is much less likely to be a legacy or full pay thereby lowering their chances. My hunch is that taking all these factors into consideration, there really is no boost for attending a Big 3.
Anonymous
Post 09/05/2017 13:13     Subject: B Students at St Albans and NCS - where end up?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I know this often is hard for folks to wrap their heads around, but it's the bottom half of the class at top high schools that are helped the most by their "HS pedigree" at college application time. A "B student" from STA is prepared to do the work at Tulane -- and Tulane knows it. And the Tulane admissions office wants to maintain its relationship with the STA college guidance office. So that student gets in. Same kid, same grades, same scores from good suburban public doesn't get in (because, as far as Tulane knows, he might or might not be prepared to do the work and because there's no relationship to preserve).

That's why the advice that "average performers" in top private schools should switch to public for college admission purposes almost always is terrible. Average performers at top schools generally don't become "stars" at less competitive schools -- they typically dial back their effort and earn about the same grades. And then Tulane is off the table and they're staring down the barrel of Alabama.


No bottom 1/2 is bottom 1/2. The name of the high school just does not matter.


Keep telling yourself that.

Bottom half kids at Big 3s routinely get into NESCACs, big state schools like UVA and Wisconsin, and excellent midsize schools like Wake, Tulane and Emory. That ain't happening at your kids public....



Because the bottom half kids at Big 3's are full pay legacies. You're not comparing apples to apples


That is not necessarily true. But the bottom half of kids at Big 3s, like the bottom half of kids at TJ, are still often very strong, very involved students even if they don't get the best grades in their graduating class.
Anonymous
Post 09/05/2017 13:04     Subject: B Students at St Albans and NCS - where end up?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I know this often is hard for folks to wrap their heads around, but it's the bottom half of the class at top high schools that are helped the most by their "HS pedigree" at college application time. A "B student" from STA is prepared to do the work at Tulane -- and Tulane knows it. And the Tulane admissions office wants to maintain its relationship with the STA college guidance office. So that student gets in. Same kid, same grades, same scores from good suburban public doesn't get in (because, as far as Tulane knows, he might or might not be prepared to do the work and because there's no relationship to preserve).

That's why the advice that "average performers" in top private schools should switch to public for college admission purposes almost always is terrible. Average performers at top schools generally don't become "stars" at less competitive schools -- they typically dial back their effort and earn about the same grades. And then Tulane is off the table and they're staring down the barrel of Alabama.


No bottom 1/2 is bottom 1/2. The name of the high school just does not matter.


Keep telling yourself that.

Bottom half kids at Big 3s routinely get into NESCACs, big state schools like UVA and Wisconsin, and excellent midsize schools like Wake, Tulane and Emory. That ain't happening at your kids public....



Because the bottom half kids at Big 3's are full pay legacies. You're not comparing apples to apples
Anonymous
Post 09/05/2017 12:58     Subject: Re:B Students at St Albans and NCS - where end up?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:DC had a 3.7 at a comparable school, and the college counselor made it clear that Rice was a reach school. DC expressed serious interest, applied early, and got in. DC is having a fabulous time there. It's a terrific place, and definitely becoming less and less of a hidden gem in this area.


Every selective school is a reach in the sense that there is considerable randomness in the process. With a 3.7 from a school like Sidwell or NCS/STA Rice should be attainable, providing that the student expresses strong interest and applies early. Really, such a student should have a reasonable chance of getting into most schools apart from HYPS. A 3.25 or a 3.00 is an entirely different matter.


How does one express strong interest in wanting to attend?
Anonymous
Post 09/05/2017 12:52     Subject: B Students at St Albans and NCS - where end up?
Anonymous wrote:UVA, Michigan, Middlebury, Wake Forest,


This seems like a stretch.
Anonymous
Post 09/05/2017 12:35     Subject: Re:B Students at St Albans and NCS - where end up?
What does "hooked" mean?
Anonymous
Post 09/05/2017 11:48     Subject: B Students at St Albans and NCS - where end up?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My son who has since graduated from college was wait listed at Michigan and Wake Forest, got into both eventually and graduated from Wake Forest. A solid B student who is well rounded at a highly rigorous school stands a decent change to attend a top school, don't let anyone tell you otherwise (no hooks here either).


This really highlights why paying boatloads of money for private school is a worthy investment. I know for a fact that STA has strong relationships with Michigan and Wake. Those relationships count, and can help tip the scales in especially close calls.


42 kids from Whitman got in to Michigan & 10 to Wake in most recent posted #s http://www.bethesdamagazine.com/Bethesda-Magazine/September-October-2016/The-College-Chart/index.php?cparticle=7&siarticle=6#artanc


Impressive. But I pretty much guarantee you that unless hooked, these kids were not B students.


Yeah, they could be. There are a few schools like Wake & Michigan which will take kids with slightly lower stats if they're full pay.
Anonymous
Post 09/05/2017 11:11     Subject: B Students at St Albans and NCS - where end up?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My son who has since graduated from college was wait listed at Michigan and Wake Forest, got into both eventually and graduated from Wake Forest. A solid B student who is well rounded at a highly rigorous school stands a decent change to attend a top school, don't let anyone tell you otherwise (no hooks here either).


This really highlights why paying boatloads of money for private school is a worthy investment. I know for a fact that STA has strong relationships with Michigan and Wake. Those relationships count, and can help tip the scales in especially close calls.


42 kids from Whitman got in to Michigan & 10 to Wake in most recent posted #s http://www.bethesdamagazine.com/Bethesda-Magazine/September-October-2016/The-College-Chart/index.php?cparticle=7&siarticle=6#artanc


Impressive. But I pretty much guarantee you that unless hooked, these kids were not B students.
Anonymous
Post 09/05/2017 10:58     Subject: B Students at St Albans and NCS - where end up?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My son who has since graduated from college was wait listed at Michigan and Wake Forest, got into both eventually and graduated from Wake Forest. A solid B student who is well rounded at a highly rigorous school stands a decent change to attend a top school, don't let anyone tell you otherwise (no hooks here either).


This really highlights why paying boatloads of money for private school is a worthy investment. I know for a fact that STA has strong relationships with Michigan and Wake. Those relationships count, and can help tip the scales in especially close calls.


42 kids from Whitman got in to Michigan & 10 to Wake in most recent posted #s http://www.bethesdamagazine.com/Bethesda-Magazine/September-October-2016/The-College-Chart/index.php?cparticle=7&siarticle=6#artanc


And 21 into Cornell according to that same link. It is worth looking at links like that and at Naviance to see if there is a pattern for which colleges seem to particularly like kids from one's high school.
Anonymous
Post 09/05/2017 09:58     Subject: B Students at St Albans and NCS - where end up?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My son who has since graduated from college was wait listed at Michigan and Wake Forest, got into both eventually and graduated from Wake Forest. A solid B student who is well rounded at a highly rigorous school stands a decent change to attend a top school, don't let anyone tell you otherwise (no hooks here either).


This really highlights why paying boatloads of money for private school is a worthy investment. I know for a fact that STA has strong relationships with Michigan and Wake. Those relationships count, and can help tip the scales in especially close calls.


42 kids from Whitman got in to Michigan & 10 to Wake in most recent posted #s http://www.bethesdamagazine.com/Bethesda-Magazine/September-October-2016/The-College-Chart/index.php?cparticle=7&siarticle=6#artanc
Anonymous
Post 09/04/2017 17:05     Subject: B Students at St Albans and NCS - where end up?
Anonymous wrote:My son who has since graduated from college was wait listed at Michigan and Wake Forest, got into both eventually and graduated from Wake Forest. A solid B student who is well rounded at a highly rigorous school stands a decent change to attend a top school, don't let anyone tell you otherwise (no hooks here either).


This really highlights why paying boatloads of money for private school is a worthy investment. I know for a fact that STA has strong relationships with Michigan and Wake. Those relationships count, and can help tip the scales in especially close calls.