Admission at St. Andrew’s

[Anonymous]

Is the school as difficult to get into as the “Top 5” in the DMV? Is it more similar to schools like Bullis, St. John’s, Burke & Field?

[Anonymous]

more similar to Bullis etc. but they do have space restrictions. We know of strong students who didn't get in and of not so strong students who were admitted

[Anonymous]

Curious thing that stronger students were not accepted.
What is SAES looking for in an applicant?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:more similar to Bullis etc. but they do have space restrictions. We know of strong students who didn't get in and of not so strong students who were admitted

You could say that about every school in the DMV.

[Anonymous]

This is a relatively young school that continues to evolve in intriguing ways.

It's not a top 5 school or a place to go for prestige for prestige sake.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:more similar to Bullis etc. but they do have space restrictions. We know of strong students who didn't get in and of not so strong students who were admitted

You could say that about every school in the DMV.

So true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:more similar to Bullis etc. but they do have space restrictions. We know of strong students who didn't get in and of not so strong students who were admitted

I think admission is really dependent on the current composition of any grade and how they want to balance it out -- like any school. If there's a class that's heavy on boys, girls will have the upper hand. If there's a grade full of artsy kids, they may be looking for athletes or kids strong in STEM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Curious thing that stronger students were not accepted.
What is SAES looking for in an applicant?

DS applied to SAES 2 years ago and was WL, but accepted at “higher ranked” (FWIW) schools (including Potomac and Maret).

[Anonymous]

SAES is fine. They have a lot of support for different learners, as opposed to the other schools referenced here in this discussion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:SAES is fine. They have a lot of support for different learners, as opposed to the other schools referenced here in this discussion.

That's a misconception. SAES does not provide "a lot of support" for learning differences. As the mother of a SAES student, I can tell you that it barely provides the basic support in the form of its education center. The school does accept a broader range of academic ability than, perhaps, Sidwell. But, all the DC area privates accept kids with mild to moderate learning differences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SAES is fine. They have a lot of support for different learners, as opposed to the other schools referenced here in this discussion.

That's a misconception. SAES does not provide "a lot of support" for learning differences. As the mother of a SAES student, I can tell you that it barely provides the basic support in the form of its education center. The school does accept a broader range of academic ability than, perhaps, Sidwell. But, all the DC area privates accept kids with mild to moderate learning differences.

+1

[Anonymous]

Make a list of what you want in a school, research the schools, make a short list, and apply.

You can't really know what will be easiest to get into for your child and you can't truly predict where your family will be happiest.

However, that being said, some of last year's virtual open houses online if you want to learn more. SAES has a wide geographical pull and several bus routes so I wouldn't discount it on location alone.

[Anonymous]

There is a broader range of students than other DC private schools, and it works for them.

We had DC at SAES during the middle school, and the school did wonders helping with executive functioning skills, giving us leads on outside resources.
By upper school, DC transferred to a DC private and was fine.
We did not get support at the DC private like SAES and not sure if it is a function of middle school vs upper school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is a broader range of students than other DC private schools, and it works for them.

We had DC at SAES during the middle school, and the school did wonders helping with executive functioning skills, giving us leads on outside resources.
By upper school, DC transferred to a DC private and was fine.
We did not get support at the DC private like SAES and not sure if it is a function of middle school vs upper school?

This is interesting. One of my kids could hardly get the accommodations listed in his learning plan in SAES middle school. It took a lot of self-advocacy and reminders to the teachers. He had to be a pest about extra time on tests, and frankly gave up on a lot of it. For example, he would never ask for preferential seating. I think a lot of this is teacher-dependent, though, especially given that there is only full-time one learning specialist for the school.

On the original question, SAES takes kids from a huge range of schools, even some special needs schools. Two things seem to help: Having an applying family member who excels in something (a sport, an instrument, academics, etc.) and clearly having deep pockets. It's not dissimilar from most area private schools in that regard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a broader range of students than other DC private schools, and it works for them.

We had DC at SAES during the middle school, and the school did wonders helping with executive functioning skills, giving us leads on outside resources.
By upper school, DC transferred to a DC private and was fine.
We did not get support at the DC private like SAES and not sure if it is a function of middle school vs upper school?

This is interesting. One of my kids could hardly get the accommodations listed in his learning plan in SAES middle school. It took a lot of self-advocacy and reminders to the teachers. He had to be a pest about extra time on tests, and frankly gave up on a lot of it. For example, he would never ask for preferential seating. I think a lot of this is teacher-dependent, though, especially given that there is only full-time one learning specialist for the school.

On the original question, SAES takes kids from a huge range of schools, even some special needs schools. Two things seem to help: Having an applying family member who excels in something (a sport, an instrument, academics, etc.) and clearly having deep pockets. It's not dissimilar from most area private schools in that regard.

My child in MS had an experience very similar to the immediate PP. He once was told to finish a test on the floor in the hallway while the rest of the class went over the answers (that was how his extra time was administered which isn't great for a kid who has dysgraphia and visual processing challenges). They'll do the right thing, but you have to self-advocate. I don't think they are particularly good or bad at providing accommodations. That said, they do a wonderful time building a warm, accepting community and my kid has really connected with some teachers. My kid is very happy there, but don't be misled that the accommodations are just easily in place for all students that qualify for them