Private or Walls?

[Anonymous]

DD currently attends a K-8 Catholic school. She is smart, witty, and curious. While she can be reserved at first, she becomes outgoing once she gets to know people. She enjoys the humanities and thrives in scientific subjects. She earns good grades but isn’t the type of student who consistently scores at the very top in every class (English definitely requires more effort on her part than math).
She applied to several all-girls Catholic high schools in the area as well as Walls (she interviewed last week). She was drawn to the Catholic schools for their small class sizes, individualized attention from teachers, extracurricular activities, and strong sense of community. On the other hand, she liked Walls for its less structured environment compared to her current school and the wide range of electives, which she feels would challenge her.
If she gets into both a Catholic school and Walls, we’re trying to determine which would be the best fit for her. If you’ve faced a similar decision, I’d love to hear what factors influenced your choice. TIA

[Anonymous]

Getting into either is a crap shoot. You apply to both and then choose. But if you turned down Walls, you'd be rare in that choice. Many people move from private to Walls if they have the option.

[Anonymous]

Thank you PP. I understand we are waiting to hear back before we make a decision. DD said she would be perfectly happy attending private school but is intrigued with Walls and what it could offer her. With that said it would be helpful to understand from others who had to make this choice what led them to choose one over the other.

[Anonymous]

People decide based on a.) if they gain acceptance to Walls in the first place, and b.) if they can afford tuition while still saving for college and retirement.

If you're lucky enough to answer both of these in the affirmative, then have your daughter follow her heart and instinct on which one is better for her. There's no one right answer, and she'll be able to make the most of either environment.

This decision making exercise is also good experience for an even bigger decision that she will make in four years.

[Anonymous]

Have you spoken with students currently attending the schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have you spoken with students currently attending the schools?

Yes, but not enough which is why posted my question which is more directed to the parents than to the students

[Anonymous]

Honestly, I would just wait and see where she gets accepted. No idea about Catholic schools, but Walls interviews more than twice what they'll offer spots to.

Speaking from personal experience, I would do anything to avoid getting hopes up. And for DCPS decisions you have 30+ days to go before you'll know anything.

[Anonymous]

You will have to pay your deposit at a Catholic school before Walls decisions come out.

[Anonymous]

Ha ha. See if you even get in to have a choice.

[Anonymous]

My child chose Walls over Catholic schools (and publics) due to the academic rigor and student body. Happy with the choice but I would say that your student should be self-motivated to thrive there. I would guess that there’s more of a feedback loop and support at the Catholics. As they often say at the open house events, a Walls student is someone who demands their education. They mean it.

[Anonymous]

The real questions are, what do you value most in education as a family and what are you willing to put up with in a high school? Do you want your kid at a school where most of the students are Catholic, and probably white and UMC? Where the students are far more sheltered overall than in a public school?

We'd rather move to the burbs than go private, though we can afford parochial school and one of us was raised Catholic and attended parochial schools growing up. Every family of means doesn't have the patience to contend with the rough and tumble of a DC public high school. We've always supplemented a good deal in DCPS, mainly via summer enrichment. We do this primarily because, in our experience, STEM and language instruction isn't too hot. Things are pretty clearly better at JR for STEM than at Walls.

In our view, the location, peer group at Walls, and some great teachers, give us enough to run with.