Seeking advice for applying to 9th grade this winter

[Anonymous]

I hope I can get the advice of this group on how to prioritize for my DD who is in 7th. She's a conscientious student with high percentile CAPE and MAP testing, plays a sport but not at a recruit level, does theater, and is generally a well-rounded and well-behaved kid. We're looking for a co-ed school with strong academics that is accessible by bus, metro, or shuttle from central DC, and is mid-size or large, not super small. She's not at any kind of feeder school and we have no hooks whatsoever.

St. John's and Burke seem like a fit, and with a reasonable prospect of admission, but what other schools do folks think my DD stands enough of a chance to make it worth going through the process? Sidwell, Maret, and GDS seem to have great locations and are great schools, but maybe don't take a lot of new 9th graders. And is Sidwell really as high-pressure as people say? Any other suggestions for schools that might be a fit?

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't bother with Sidwell but the rest sound good. Maybe also add Field to the list. Though I don't know how accessible it is - would have to check.

[Anonymous]

You may also want to look at Field. The school runs buses from central DC.

I’ll also add that Burke and St John’s feel very different so make sure you and DD get to the tours, shadow days, etc so you can see where she feels best.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You may also want to look at Field. The school runs buses from central DC.

I’ll also add that Burke and St John’s feel very different so make sure you and DD get to the tours, shadow days, etc so you can see where she feels best.

+1
Those seemed odd to be on someone's top list - so different from each other.

[Anonymous]

OP, You said your prefer "mid-size or large, not super small." but Burke IS super small, about 60 kids per grade in HS. Very similar to Field. (Whereas St. John is about 320 per grade)

[Anonymous]

What is central DC? Lots of schools offer transportation from Captiol Hill. SSSAS in Alexandria has transportation. So does St. Andrews in Potomac. Potomac also has a lot of bus routes. Not sure exactly what size you want but I would put Burke is on the small side.

[Anonymous]

If shes currently in 7th why are you worried about this winter?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If shes currently in 7th why are you worried about this winter?

What??? This question is crazy! We are 5 months away from applications opening up, of course they are doing research now if they haven't already...

[Anonymous]

OP here, thanks everyone. By central DC I mean the Shaw/U St area, so a bus from the Hill would not be that convenient for us. I'm just trying to get my head around this now, and to be honest I was a little spooked by seeing some of my friends' 8th graders not get the results they hoped for at Walls and certain privates. So I'm trying to just casually see what schools are realistic options for us logistically and in terms of admissions.

Burke seems an okay size to me, I just meant not like alternative-model small like Templeton. St. John's is definitely one of the bigger schools I'm looking at, but that's okay too. It's still smaller than some of the suburban publics, which I guess would be our plan if we moved.

[Anonymous]

GDS takes about 50 new students in 9th grade. Don't reject it merely because you don't think there are spots.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If shes currently in 7th why are you worried about this winter?

It’s very helpful to start casting a broad net in the second semester of 7th to help narrow things down by the fall of 8th. It gets busy fast in the fall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:GDS takes about 50 new students in 9th grade. Don't reject it merely because you don't think there are spots.

Thanks, that's good to know. I think I miscalculated by not realizing that 5th grade is considered middle school so I was dividing by 3.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't bother with Sidwell but the rest sound good. Maybe also add Field to the list. Though I don't know how accessible it is - would have to check.

Not Sidwell because it's too hard to get in unhooked? Or because it's too high-pressure?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:GDS takes about 50 new students in 9th grade. Don't reject it merely because you don't think there are spots.

Especially since Burke is on her list and they take way fewer than 50 since the majority of eighth graders stay on board for high school. Same with the Field school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, thanks everyone. By central DC I mean the Shaw/U St area, so a bus from the Hill would not be that convenient for us. I'm just trying to get my head around this now, and to be honest I was a little spooked by seeing some of my friends' 8th graders not get the results they hoped for at Walls and certain privates. So I'm trying to just casually see what schools are realistic options for us logistically and in terms of admissions.

Burke seems an okay size to me, I just meant not like alternative-model small like Templeton. St. John's is definitely one of the bigger schools I'm looking at, but that's okay too. It's still smaller than some of the suburban publics, which I guess would be our plan if we moved.

There have to be at least 25 kids we know who got into St John’s this year - B/C students, so you could always use that as a safety school as it doesn’t seem difficult to get into. Walls is a total crapshoot and has zero transparency. A lot of kids we know who didn’t get in were well rounded and 4.0’s and kids we know who did get in were around 3.7 GPA’s and just regular kids- we had thought walls was supposed to be a school that only selected top students that excel in every way but that doesn’t seem to be the case- I would avoid applying there unless you really just want to spin the lottery wheel.