Applying for 1st grade

[Anonymous]

Any tips on applying for 1st grade? Which DC/MD schools are most likely to have slots? Is the process as competitive as it is for pre-K/K?

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Maret and GDS add a few more students at 1st (5-10). Other schools will have slots based on attrition (1-2 slots). There aren't as many families applying at 1st compared to pre-K and K. However, there aren't as many slots available for 1st. I really don't know if it's more competitive, but seems like it would be a wash.

[Anonymous]

But presumably no more than 5-10 slots were available for non-priority applicants at K for Maret or GDS, and all the siblings should have been absorbed then?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any tips on applying for 1st grade? Which DC/MD schools are most likely to have slots? Is the process as competitive as it is for pre-K/K?

Thanks!

Weighing in one's favor is: 1) the fact that siblings, legacies, and all others of that ilk have already been admitted; 2) most families who have chosen the private school path applied in Pre-K or K and are in place. So while they may have not gotten into their first choice school, they have already probably settled and are likely very happy at their second or third choice school, and are probably actually thankful that they did not make it to Sidwell or Beauvoir, et al.

Weighing against one who is applying to 1st grade is that fact that there are very few openings. Many of the 1st grade openings at the "elite" private schools are by attrition. My observation has been that the kids who actually gain admittance to first grade at a school like Sidwell or Beauvoir are true standouts in academics, and often also socially. If one's DC is not a standout in one way or another, or a very strong "complete package," I think the odds are very much against you.

My best advice is that if you are already in a private school, unless it is truly an awful fit, stay the course. If one is seeking simply to "trade up" in terms of prestige, I think it is an uphill battle.

If you are new to the area, or are coming from a non-private school, or a school that ends at K, you're probably actually in a better position than those already entrenched in another private school. I would call the AD directly. He or she I'm sure will say you should go ahead and apply, and some will even tell you that they expect to have x number of openings because someone is moving out of town, joining a sibling at another school, etc.

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your comments--and one more question: How does a 5-year-old truly stand out academically? Are you talking about children who are reading, doing math, etc. well ahead of grade level? Or about standardized test scores?

[Anonymous]

Getting into Maret first grade is just as hard if not harder than getting into K.

[Anonymous]

Do you have any sense of how many people apply?

[Anonymous]

We were told that there are between 10-12 applicants for each spot, just as there are in K. Though in first grade the children who apply are children whose families were told to wait another year (siblings, alum, faculty, etc.) during the K process or waitlisted applicants during K who are also very strong.

We decided to stay put and not go through the application process again given the odds. You should call the school to find out specific numbers but that is what the AD told us last year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for your comments--and one more question: How does a 5-year-old truly stand out academically? Are you talking about children who are reading, doing math, etc. well ahead of grade level? Or about standardized test scores?

Test scores.