Sandy Spring Friends School?

[Anonymous]

Can anyone share any impressions or experiences of this private school in suburban Maryland?


This is one private school that I haven't seen any discussion about on this forum. Is that because it's relatively far out in the Maryland suburbs, or because it's just not in the same league as those NW schools everyone seems to obsess about?

[Anonymous]

We went to an open house at this school a few months ago.

Found the campus to be run down (didn't exactly want to spend $$$$ for my kid to go to school in temporary trailers...that didn't look like they were going anywhere this decade), the teachers to be immature and not knowledgable about the schools curriculum and the administrators to be down right nasty.

I wouldn't want my cat to go attend this school, much less my child.

[Anonymous]

Wow, that's quite a post. FWIW, I've heard it's a lovely place with a solid curriculum, excellent faculty, and great students. I was told by an educational consultant that if you like the Quaker schools, then it's very much like Sidwell without the Clinton and other glitzy names. (She also said the same thing about Beauvoir vs. WES.)

[Anonymous]

22:10 and 22:40

Talk about night and day! I hope others will post so this riddle can be solved. So where did your DCs end up?

[Anonymous]

Definitely not in the same league as the other schools discussed in this forum but one of the only Quaker alternatives if you can't get into Sidwell...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We went to an open house at this school a few months ago.

Found the campus to be run down (didn't exactly want to spend $$$$ for my kid to go to school in temporary trailers...that didn't look like they were going anywhere this decade), the teachers to be immature and not knowledgable about the schools curriculum and the administrators to be down right nasty.

I wouldn't want my cat to go attend this school, much less my child.

I'm new to the area and am considering applying my DS to Sandy Spring next year and your post was eye-opening, to say the least. Did you ask about the trailers? How were the teachers immature and unknowledgable? And how could administrators be nasty at an open house?

Any additional feedback would be most welcome, thx.

[Anonymous]

someone probably has an axe to grind with Sandy Springs. Go check it out for yourself.

[Anonymous]

Look at the facts - according to Peterson's guide, SSFS accepted 67% of applicants, compared to 35% acceptance rate at GDS, and 15% acceptance rate at SFS. People on this website probably don't stress over Sandy Spring admissions because it isn't as hard to get in compared to schools like Georgetown Day and Sidwell.

[Anonymous]

Can you share the Peterson's link?

[Anonymous]

PP: Here is the link for SSFS -- http://www.petersons.com/pschools/code/instVC.asp?inunid=2189&sponsor=1

You can select DC, MD, VA and view other private schools from this link -- http://www.petersons.com/pschools/code/psector.asp?path=hs.fas.private

[Anonymous]

Maret has an outrageously high acceptance rate 54% or 61%, forgot already, while Field School has 34%.

These numbers can't possibly be valid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maret has an outrageously high acceptance rate 54% or 61%, forgot already, while Field School has 34%.

These numbers can't possibly be valid.

These acceptance rates are for high school (9-12) not overall. It's also important to factor in how big the expansion years are in grades 9-12. Some schools grow in size by quite a bit in 9th. Others don't.

[Anonymous]

I am the PP who slammed this school. I honestly had no problem with them and had no preconceptions. In fact, I was very disappointed after going for the tour. We were hoping to move a little farther out of DC and use this school (mostly to have a larger home).

I was primarily focused on the lower school facilities and teachers while there. The teachers couldn't adequately answer any basic questions about the curriculum. The trailers were permanent. An administrator acknowledged they have mold issues in some of the buildings, but didn't seem bothered. They are however, very excited about the new gymnasium. It was nice...but I would have preferred for my child to have a better classrooms than a fancy new gym.

Don't take my word for it...go see yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maret has an outrageously high acceptance rate 54% or 61%, forgot already, while Field School has 34%.

These numbers can't possibly be valid.

These acceptance rates are for high school (9-12) not overall. It's also important to factor in how big the expansion years are in grades 9-12. Some schools grow in size by quite a bit in 9th. Others don't.

Still seems like bogus numbers. Maret's acceptance rate at the high school level would have to be like 99% in order to counteract their low acceptance rate in K. I noticed outdated information for other schools as well (listing admissions staff who are no longer at the school, way outdated tuition rates, etc.).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: Still seems like bogus numbers. Maret's acceptance rate at the high school level would have to be like 99% in order to counteract their low acceptance rate in K. I noticed outdated information for other schools as well (listing admissions staff who are no longer at the school, way outdated tuition rates, etc.).

The Peterson information is self-reported and updated (by the individual schools). The bottom of each summary on Peterson's tells you when the school last updated the information. For Maret, it was March 2008. The 59% acceptance rate seems reasonable for Maret. This is the acceptance rate for 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th, and is not averaged with the lower and middle school acceptance rates. Maret may have to admit more students (compared to lower and middle school) to meet its enrollment numbers in high school. Remember, it is competing with Sidwell, GDS, STA, NCS, Groton, Exeter, Andover, Deerfield, etc for the sought after high school students.