When to make the leap to private?

[Anonymous]

My kid is in a bilingual dcps school and is happy. She’s going into 3rd grade.

I think we will likely move to private at some point (for smaller classes, an engaged cohort and just a different experience). What’s the best entry year, both in terms of likelihood of admission and socially (feel free to answer those separately). I think my shy kid will do best when a bunch of kids are new.

I was thinking 6th or 9th are the right entry years, but let me know.

[Anonymous]

9th? You’ve got to be joking. That’s the most competitive year for admissions.

6th is also competitive if you’re looking at the top 5-7 privates.

Easiest entry grade is 4th and even that is highly competitive for top privates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:9th? You’ve got to be joking. That’s the most competitive year for admissions.

6th is also competitive if you’re looking at the top 5-7 privates.

Easiest entry grade is 4th and even that is highly competitive for top privates.

Easiest entry is 3rd, for the privates that start at 3rd (a lot of them).

[Anonymous]

Call the schools and learn the entry years. Some have years that don’t overlap with other schools. For example, some have 4th as an entry year. That’s the easiest year for that school.

[Anonymous]

Depends on the school you are into in.

[Anonymous]

Most schools say someone one the admissions pages what their entry years are. For many, 7th is more of an entry year than 6th, for example. If you can’t find it online, call or email to ask.

You can still apply in an off-year if you want to, of course. You’ll be limited to the number of spots open due to attrition rather than class expansion, but many schools have at least some availability.

[Anonymous]

^someWHERE ON the admissions pages, not someONE ONE. Wtf, phone.

[Anonymous]

My advice would be to tour schools now so you have a list of ones you like, where might be the best fit, etc. Then you will know when is best to target the schools you're interested in based on their entry years.

Only caveat is, after touring the schools, you might want to move her ASAP like we did.

FWIW, I went to a bilingual DCPS school and my parents pulled me out to send me to private in 5th.
I have pulled my kid out of MCPS in 3rd.
I don't know if this is a concern for you, but I retained my 2nd language (we also spoke it at home which surely helped).

[Anonymous]

Start as early as you can afford and be ready to reapply.

Early and often?

[Anonymous]

Our school entry year was 7 and 9. I'm glad we picked 7.

Primary reason is that in grade 7 they started to teach our kids "how to study" and "how to take notes" and things like that. The mechanics of academics served them very well in grade 9-12.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My advice would be to tour schools now so you have a list of ones you like, where might be the best fit, etc. Then you will know when is best to target the schools you're interested in based on their entry years.

Only caveat is, after touring the schools, you might want to move her ASAP like we did.

+1 We started looking in 3rd thinking we were getting an early start on which schools we liked for middle school, but we ended up pulling the trigger early because we liked what we saw.

[Anonymous]

I'd echo that 9th is a really tough year for admission, and is becoming even more so each year, a trend that I expect to continue. If you would be looking at a k-12 or something that goes through high school I'd start applying now, then you don't need to worry about it down the line. I also think that admission to competitive high schools favor those coming from private, so that's something to keep in mind as well.

[Anonymous]

If you are aiming for the "Big3" schools then early and often is your answer.

1)9th grade admissions are competitive.
2)If you are coming from public it is very difficult to get up to speed immediately. I know you think "my kid is smart, he's do great!" and that is true for a smart cohort of kids. Many others struggle for a semester or year as they figure out the expectations, especially with regard to writing. Yes, they catch up but every semester counts. I know a half dozen kids (brilliant kids) whose college options were impacted because they took a semester or year to get up to speed following a switch from public.

[Anonymous]

Earlier than you'd think, is probably the answer. We made the switch for 3rd, and am glad we did. 4th is fine, too. I wouldn't wait much longer than that if you have the financial ability. I'd also say that I'm alarmed by the elimination of the Dept. of Education, and the unique vulnerability of DC to federal law/takeover. Both make me grateful to be in a private right now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our school entry year was 7 and 9. I'm glad we picked 7.

Primary reason is that in grade 7 they started to teach our kids "how to study" and "how to take notes" and things like that. The mechanics of academics served them very well in grade 9-12.

Agree! (I had to look at the date. I thought I wrote this). Give your kid time to adjust to the rigors of private before 9th grade when HS grades count for college acceptance.