Dallas Private School Admission - 2023-2024 (Plano, Menard: how much, lawyers, cheap house)

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by snipethebird

Unfortunately, this process has taught me a few things -
1) Diversity - and maintaining that I think is very important at schools like Greenhill, while at SMS they want to keep diverse candidates low.
2) Your position - I think if you are a C level at a significant corporate, Pulmonologist, or Surgeon OR a Big guy/gal at a big company, you have higher chances of getting in at SMS and Hockaday. If you have this I think this scores higher than your kids IQ - because this builds the network for them
3) Parents being in Private schools and legacy money - If you have been in the DFW area and grew up going to a private school here and have legacy $$ your chances are also high

I am not saying there arent any outliers and the kids arent smart. If their genetic make up is smart and the environment is supporting good education they maybe smart
But 80% of the kids have 1 of the above to their advantage VS just good FSIQ's, ISAAD's and good interviews.

My 2 cents, ofcourse many of us know all of this and its a part of the system. SAD yet true

49% of Saint Marks students are non-white. I think that demonstrates a large commitment to diversity. Greenhill is 54% diverse. I don’t think that’s such a large gap that it merits your wrongful accusation that “SMS wants to keep diverse candidates low.”

SMS has a 15% acceptance rate. The reality is that they are rejecting a ton of kids with near perfect CATS and ISEE scores. And yes it sucks but if all application metrics are similar, a legacy would likely get in over an equally qualified non-connected candidate. This is true at ALL private schools. You’re also assuming that legacies have lower credentials/scores which is not a fact. And I know quite a few Legacy kiddos who have not gotten in yet or who had to apply more than once before they did.

Yes, there are always high profile families who get spots when they want them. But they are the exception not the rule. Considering SMS was at most 15% diverse 20-25 years ago when any Legacy fathers were seniors and now the school is more than 3X the diversity, that alone shows that tons of non-connected candidates get in. Also, take a look at the movers & shakers in Dallas….they’re mostly white men. Not 49% non-white which is the SMS demographics.


You applied to the prep school equivalent of Harvard. Everyone applying is hyper competitive and super bright. There’s only room for 15 out of every 100 boys who apply. The odds are stacked against you due to sheer numbers, not because of a lack of commitment to diversity or over-prioritizing connected candidates.

[snipethebird]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

49% of Saint Marks students are non-white. I think that demonstrates a large commitment to diversity. Greenhill is 54% diverse. I don’t think that’s such a large gap that it merits your wrongful accusation that “SMS wants to keep diverse candidates low.”

SMS has a 15% acceptance rate. The reality is that they are rejecting a ton of kids with near perfect CATS and ISEE scores. And yes it sucks but if all application metrics are similar, a legacy would likely get in over an equally qualified non-connected candidate. This is true at ALL private schools. You’re also assuming that legacies have lower credentials/scores which is not a fact. And I know quite a few Legacy kiddos who have not gotten in yet or who had to apply more than once before they did.

Yes, there are always high profile families who get spots when they want them. But they are the exception not the rule. Considering SMS was at most 15% diverse 20-25 years ago when any Legacy fathers were seniors and now the school is more than 3X the diversity, that alone shows that tons of non-connected candidates get in. Also, take a look at the movers & shakers in Dallas….they’re mostly white men. Not 49% non-white which is the SMS demographics.


You applied to the prep school equivalent of Harvard. Everyone applying is hyper competitive and super bright. There’s only room for 15 out of every 100 boys who apply. The odds are stacked against you due to sheer numbers, not because of a lack of commitment to diversity or over-prioritizing connected candidates.

Thank you for that clarification and input, My judgement on diversity was on observation, off the 200 kids that were there for observation, it was predominantly white, with Asians and limited folks from other backgrounds
But just because of how someone looks it doesn't define diversity.

I have another question, if someone has input, would a recommendation for a kid on a waitlist affect negatively in any way? And would you do it?

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by 75214Dad

The 3 most common colleges Hockaday grads attend are SMU, UT, and TAMU. Same as if they went to Flower Mound or Rockwall. I’d recommend attending SEM senior day to be impressed. That’s much closer to Sidwell or Dalton quality for none of the price.

A. You have every right to voice your opinions.....

1. At the undergrad level according to the only two studies examining the importance of prestige name schools Harvard, Princeton, Sara Lawrence, Stanford etc. vs. Arkansas, Kansas, Texas, TAMU etc. among similar quality candidates there is no net positive value to attending the name school. Ergo your years long relativistic denigration of SMU, UT, TAMU etc. is provably a worthless contrivance.

https://www.nber.org/papers/w17159

I'll find the other study if you need to see it.

2. You are majestically out of line to harangue parents who think differently than you per local private K-12 vs. public.......stay in your lane.

2.1. Given your loud mouth years long badgering of others.............have the guts to report back and let us know if your plan for your kid(s) succeeds...................3rd rate local public to ivy works out. It won't and you are the dolt not everyone else.

[MenardMQ]

Originally Posted by 75214Dad

Yes, exactly. I don’t know why you people stress yourself out for years chasing something you can’t have. It’s not a meritocracy, and if it were your kids still likely wouldn’t win. SMS and Hockaday are pipelines to good sororities and fraternities, not to good colleges. Going forward try harder to measure outputs, not inputs.

This is really so true. It's all about what happens at home, not at school. Most public schools are prepared to cater to high achieving students who have excellent support systems at home. That means you paying for tutoring, closely monitoring progress, etc.

It turns out that when you drop 30K/year at a top private school, every set of parents there provides excellent support systems at home. The school already weeded out the weak parents.

It also turns out that when you drop 30K/year at a "top" private school you will expend enormous amounts of energy to justify that expense (cue the yeah buts.... and NMSF lists etc), just to realize 20 years later that it was really your efforts as an involved and dedicated parent that made your child successful.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by MenardMQ

This is really so true. It's all about what happens at home, not at school. Most public schools are prepared to cater to high achieving students who have excellent support systems at home. That means you paying for tutoring, closely monitoring progress, etc.

It turns out that when you drop 30K/year at a top private school, every set of parents there provides excellent support systems at home. The school already weeded out the weak parents.

It also turns out that when you drop 30K/year at a "top" private school you will expend enormous amounts of energy to justify that expense (cue the yeah buts.... and NMSF lists etc), just to realize 20 years later that it was really your efforts as an involved and dedicated parent that made your child successful.

NMSF status isn't a but it's quantified, high confidence proof of unusual accomplishment.


Further, do you really believe that first part? Our son was an over achiever worse than abandoned by a well thought of elementary in Plano - accused of cheating because he was able to work math problems in his head beyond a level his teacher thought possible per his age. We have second tier friends from Frisco who were flat out told to remove their daughter from Frisco schools as they simply could not deal with her.

IMO weeding out most weak and disinterested parents and kids who don't care is worth paying for in and of itself.

_____________

Truth is we'll never know if paying for 25 years of private schooling for our kids had a huge bearing on their respective longer term academic successes or not - my very strong suspicion is that it did. Fact is I'd pay for the hedge again and we have in fact made allocations to pay for our grandchildren's private K-12 if needed, although it appears unlikely we'll need to pay.

I do believe prostrating family financial well being in order to pay for private K-12 is a big mistake.

___________

And some people will expend enormous amounts of energy attacking something they profess to have no interest in - that's just odd.

ETA - really fine private schooling does not always cost $30K/yr.

[75214Dad]

If you’d stayed in Plano kid would have still gotten into Baylor. You could have just asked for a new teacher. IJS- it’s your money, I don’t care how you spend it- but you will have always wasted it in my eyes. You don’t care what I think- but this is so others know you are defending your questionable decisions to the death.

[FarNorDFW]

Originally Posted by 75214Dad

If you’d stayed in Plano kid would have still gotten into Baylor. You could have just asked for a new teacher. IJS- it’s your money, I don’t care how you spend it- but you will have always wasted it in my eyes. You don’t care what I think- but this is so others know you are defending your questionable decisions to the death.

So you don’t care about how IJS spends money … but you still have an opinion about how the money is spent and how others may spend their money? That’s literally caring about it. At least have a coherent argument.

[75214Dad]

Originally Posted by FarNorDFW

So you don’t care about how IJS spends money … but you still have an opinion about how the money is spent and how others may spend their money? That’s literally caring about it. At least have a coherent argument.

Good argument!

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by 75214Dad

If you’d stayed in Plano kid would have still gotten into Baylor. You could have just asked for a new teacher. IJS- it’s your money, I don’t care how you spend it- but you will have always wasted it in my eyes. You don’t care what I think- but this is so others know you are defending your questionable decisions to the death.

1. We did ask for a new teacher and were immediately denied.

2. Getting into Baylor wasn't the issue. Getting in and doing well enough to get into medical school was.

3. I'll take my/our schooling decisions being questionable to you. It was my money not yours.


I just hope you'll have guts to come back here and announce where your kid(s?) ends up. So we can then go back and enjoy your impossibly silly rants about about college, average Ivy undergrad degrees being more economically valuable than top allopathic medical degrees etc.


From another perspective what we all wanted for our kids - they made reality. And speaking of questionable decisions....unless your position has softened what you professed to want for kids is exceptionally unlikely to happen.


Frankly, I enjoy your oddball arguments and goofy commentary. It's bothersome that you feel the need to berate younger parents who are trying their best for their kids just because they don't buy your thinking.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by FarNorDFW

So you don’t care about how IJS spends money … but you still have an opinion about how the money is spent and how others may spend their money? That’s literally caring about it. At least have a coherent argument.

That's been his gag for years............"I don't care what you do but let me tell you why you are an idiot for doing it."