Pre-K vs K admissions at Sidwell, GDS, Beauvoir

[Anonymous]

I know the answer is "It's always hard to get in. Good luck getting into any of those schools!"

....But for Sidwell, GDS, and Beauvoir, is admissions more competitive for Pre-K or K? I recognize that there are always more qualified applicants than they accept, and a huge part of this process is a numbers game. I'm wondering if there's a meaningful difference between the two application years of Pre-K and K in terms of your chances of getting in. (I'd assume, if so, it would be based on number of total applicants and proportion of legacy or sibling applications, though could be for any reason)

[Anonymous]

I doubt there's an actionable difference. Stop trying to think that you can somehow game the process in a way that others have tried (and almost certainly failed).

[Anonymous]

At BVR siblings preference is for PK only (though I am sure there are exceptions). That said, the school admits 60 kids in PK and 20 in K… my suggestion if you like BVR is to apply in PK and then apply again in K if needed.

[Anonymous]

I think Sidwell and GDS might be harder, but if you can full pay at BVR and your kid is somewhat normal, you'll get in for PK.

[Anonymous]

These two years in particular are the easiest for the “try, and if you don’t get in, try next year” advice. Because PK rejections rarely have much to do with the actual kid. So they’ll be happy to have you try again for K.

[Anonymous]

Sidwell - K has more opportunity to get in than PreK but both are hard. Admissions at that age is based more on family connections, legacy/sibling, and filling demographic slots. They absolutely work to craft a classroom of equal boys and girls that showcase diversity. I know many siblings that didn’t get in for PreK but were accepted for K.

Beauvoir - has a lot more spots to get in at PreK but it’s not guaranteed by any stretch (even if full pay).

GDS - More opportunity at K.

[Anonymous]

We're many years removed now so this information is dated, but our K tier at bvr had roughly 20 new kids. It felt like at least half of the 20 graduated from lfs or ncrc. Things change, but back then I can't imagine the odds for K admission were great if you were applying from outside those two schools

[Anonymous]

at GDS it is almost impossible to get into PK even with sibling preference; more spots in K