GDS admissions

[Anonymous]

Tell me about your experience with the US admissions team. My experience when my DS applied for 9th grade was not good and the person conducted the virtual interview was clearly not interested and not able to establish a rapport. But perhaps that was an exception.

[Anonymous]

Our 9th grade interviewer was lovely and we chatted for 2+ hours.
My kid did not get in.
He was accepted to Sidwell and STA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tell me about your experience with the US admissions team. My experience when my DS applied for 9th grade was not good and the person conducted the virtual interview was clearly not interested and not able to establish a rapport. But perhaps that was an exception.

We had the same experience with the US admission team. Granted, it was a virtual interview, but she clearly knew nothing about my kid and hadn't read his file.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tell me about your experience with the US admissions team. My experience when my DS applied for 9th grade was not good and the person conducted the virtual interview was clearly not interested and not able to establish a rapport. But perhaps that was an exception.

We had a weird experience pre-COVID in person. The interviewer wanted to talk more about themselves or about GDS and didn't seem adept at getting to know our child. She kept making statements about our DC's interests/priorities that were loaded and based on her own assumptions - they were totally off target for our child and we often needed to steer her in the right direction (In that sense, it was good that it was parent/child combined interview).

It's interviewing 101 to let the candidate make defining statements about themselves and for the interviewer not ask questions that don't lean in one direction vs another. I know this person is very experienced so this isn't like she had a "new to the job" issue.

DC was accepted, and yet was left off the invitation lists that went to accepted students for specific areas that were fully relevant to our DC.

In the end, DC chose to go elsewhere. It was such an odd experience. Same person is still in that same job.

[Anonymous]

We were unimpressed with the whole admissions process, including the interview. It was part of the decision to enroll at a different school (were lucky to have a choice).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tell me about your experience with the US admissions team. My experience when my DS applied for 9th grade was not good and the person conducted the virtual interview was clearly not interested and not able to establish a rapport. But perhaps that was an exception.

We had the same experience with the US admission team. Granted, it was a virtual interview, but she clearly knew nothing about my kid and hadn't read his file.

I know you asked about US but this feels exactly like our LS interview. She was really impersonal and acted like we were wasting her time, hadn’t even looked at the initial application etc. it really changed my mind in terms of how we see GDS. we’ll finish the application process but on the whole, GDS seems to be riding high on the number of apps they get and that’s coming across in these interviews.

[Anonymous]

Similar experience pre covid. Applied for 9th grade. Interviewer did not ask my dd any questions- spoke the whole time about gds. i Dd ended up getting accepted but chose to go to our local public school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tell me about your experience with the US admissions team. My experience when my DS applied for 9th grade was not good and the person conducted the virtual interview was clearly not interested and not able to establish a rapport. But perhaps that was an exception.

We had the same experience with the US admission team. Granted, it was a virtual interview, but she clearly knew nothing about my kid and hadn't read his file.

I know you asked about US but this feels exactly like our LS interview. She was really impersonal and acted like we were wasting her time, hadn’t even looked at the initial application etc. it really changed my mind in terms of how we see GDS. we’ll finish the application process but on the whole, GDS seems to be riding high on the number of apps they get and that’s coming across in these interviews.

Exact same experience last year. Went from our top choice down to our 4th choice.

[Anonymous]

Applied pre-Covid. DC is a quiet kid so we were somewhat worried about the interview, but the admissions person was patient and kind. DC really hit it off with the student tour guide and ended up choosing GDS over Sidwell and Potomac for 9th grade, and has had a great HS experience.

[Anonymous]

We were unimpressed with our interview/interviewer and ended up not even submitting an application. This was last admissions season, so it was virtual.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tell me about your experience with the US admissions team. My experience when my DS applied for 9th grade was not good and the person conducted the virtual interview was clearly not interested and not able to establish a rapport. But perhaps that was an exception.

We had the same experience with the US admission team. Granted, it was a virtual interview, but she clearly knew nothing about my kid and hadn't read his file.

I know you asked about US but this feels exactly like our LS interview. She was really impersonal and acted like we were wasting her time, hadn’t even looked at the initial application etc. it really changed my mind in terms of how we see GDS. we’ll finish the application process but on the whole, GDS seems to be riding high on the number of apps they get and that’s coming across in these interviews.

Dame. LS admissions person had zero knowledge of our child and asked what grade are you applying for?

[Anonymous]

We had a wonderful chat with our interviewer last year, and a horrible experience with the Maret interviewer. DD's good friend had the opposite experience. You just never know how it's going to go. Try not to focus too much on it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tell me about your experience with the US admissions team. My experience when my DS applied for 9th grade was not good and the person conducted the virtual interview was clearly not interested and not able to establish a rapport. But perhaps that was an exception.

We had the same experience with the US admission team. Granted, it was a virtual interview, but she clearly knew nothing about my kid and hadn't read his file.

I know you asked about US but this feels exactly like our LS interview. She was really impersonal and acted like we were wasting her time, hadn’t even looked at the initial application etc. it really changed my mind in terms of how we see GDS. we’ll finish the application process but on the whole, GDS seems to be riding high on the number of apps they get and that’s coming across in these interviews.

Dame. LS admissions person had zero knowledge of our child and asked what grade are you applying for?

Same for our MS interview as well! Talked about herself the whole time, knew nothing about my kid. It was by video and we (parents) only had literally less than 60 seconds to talk with her at the end, since she had run over by talking about herself so much. Didn't get in, now at another Big 3.

[Anonymous]

Terrrible experience with last years interviewer. No warmth. Showed no interest in our kid. We figured she was signaling that our kid wasn’t the right fit. We didn’t apply.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tell me about your experience with the US admissions team. My experience when my DS applied for 9th grade was not good and the person conducted the virtual interview was clearly not interested and not able to establish a rapport. But perhaps that was an exception.

We had the same experience with the US admission team. Granted, it was a virtual interview, but she clearly knew nothing about my kid and hadn't read his file.

I know you asked about US but this feels exactly like our LS interview. She was really impersonal and acted like we were wasting her time, hadn’t even looked at the initial application etc. it really changed my mind in terms of how we see GDS. we’ll finish the application process but on the whole, GDS seems to be riding high on the number of apps they get and that’s coming across in these interviews.

Dame. LS admissions person had zero knowledge of our child and asked what grade are you applying for?

Our interview for LS didn't go well when DH started referencing our application and mentioned a few times that we had written this information in the application. She looked annoyed but the questions she was asking were on the application. You would think they would really want to get to know the applicant.