School Without Walls from an IB school (DCI)

[Anonymous]

Hi, last night my 8th grader asked to apply to School Without Walls "just in case," I think because they found out that a couple of their friends from a sport are applying. We missed the open houses.

Does anyone know the IB-equivalent GPA needed from an IB school to qualify to get into SWW?

Would anyone with experience transferring to or from DCI or knowledge of both willing to comment on how the schools differ in culture and rigor?

[Anonymous]

Hi. I have a sophomore at Walls, who was at DCI from 6th-8th grade.

I don't know if I ever fully understood the grade conversion, but I think about 7-8 people from DCI were offered spots at Walls her graduating year, and 5 or so accepted.

A few insights on the transition: My child LOVES that the student body as a whole is more engaged (no more having to carry a group project on their own). They find the classes more challenging, but not overwhelming. Although the school building is cramped, they love the freedom of being able to roam the GW campus and go where ever they want for lunch. I was worried there would be cliques of kids from Deal and Hardy, but that hasn't been the case. The kids seem very friendly and open, and they're from lots of different middle schools, public (mostly) and private. ECs are strong, but there aren't sports facilities on site, so kids have to travel to practices. Although we're not at the college application stage yet, placement seems amazing, with lots of students getting into top schools, many with merit aid or full rides. (https://www.instagram.com/sww2023decisions/)

Students can place into higher-level language courses (4 or AP as freshman) and they're taking advantage of trips to foreign countries sponsored by the school to keep up language, but the main drawback is fewer opportunities for advanced language learning.

[Anonymous]

I'm glad you're kid is thriving at Walls.

Agree about the group project vibe in middle school, my DCI kids carried a few groups in the past. I looked at it as a learning experience as it's going to happen often throughout your professional life, so good to get used to it early and learn how to navigate it.

I will say this to others reading this, DCI High School is very different than middle school. Especially the IB diploma years in 11th and 12th, which seem to be very challenging so far. We were offered a spot at Walls, but are glad we stayed at DCI.

Hope everyone finds the right fit for their kid.

[Anonymous]

I'm glad you're kid is thriving at Walls.

I mean your kid

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm glad you're kid is thriving at Walls.

Agree about the group project vibe in middle school, my DCI kids carried a few groups in the past. I looked at it as a learning experience as it's going to happen often throughout your professional life, so good to get used to it early and learn how to navigate it.

I will say this to others reading this, DCI High School is very different than middle school. Especially the IB diploma years in 11th and 12th, which seem to be very challenging so far. We were offered a spot at Walls, but are glad we stayed at DCI.

Hope everyone finds the right fit for their kid.

This is OP. I've heard this from several DCI HS families. Do you think the work gets more interesting as well as more challenging?

I think my kid might not even get into Walls with a mix of mostly 6s with some 5s and just one or two 7s, so it's good to hear that people stay and are happy. I'm also glad for this recent interest in a competitive school because I think my kid can do much better than those 5s if they work harder. A rejection might be good for them. In some ways I think if they were pushed more they would do better. And I thumbs down the group work because that's one reason mine won't work really hard after trying to carry a few projects but then getting a lower grade because the group as a whole didn't complete everything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi. I have a sophomore at Walls, who was at DCI from 6th-8th grade.

I don't know if I ever fully understood the grade conversion, but I think about 7-8 people from DCI were offered spots at Walls her graduating year, and 5 or so accepted.

A few insights on the transition: My child LOVES that the student body as a whole is more engaged (no more having to carry a group project on their own). They find the classes more challenging, but not overwhelming. Although the school building is cramped, they love the freedom of being able to roam the GW campus and go where ever they want for lunch. I was worried there would be cliques of kids from Deal and Hardy, but that hasn't been the case. The kids seem very friendly and open, and they're from lots of different middle schools, public (mostly) and private. ECs are strong, but there aren't sports facilities on site, so kids have to travel to practices. Although we're not at the college application stage yet, placement seems amazing, with lots of students getting into top schools, many with merit aid or full rides. (https://www.instagram.com/sww2023decisions/)

Students can place into higher-level language courses (4 or AP as freshman) and they're taking advantage of trips to foreign countries sponsored by the school to keep up language, but the main drawback is fewer opportunities for advanced language learning.

Can they take higher language at GW? I'm trying to understand how the "without walls" part works.