My k-8 bombed

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:K-8 parent of an eighth grader here. What is frustrating about the process is that grades/academic strength of the kids seem to matter so little in the admissions process. The admits to the more competitive schools go to the big donors and siblings and the smarter kids get into same set of schools as the kids that didn’t really try.

If you find this frustrating, wait until the annoying rich, entitled kid gets into Harvard, bankrupts several companies and becomes the president of the United States of America.

^^ FTW

Yup. Love it!

[Anonymous]

^^You forgot Good Counsel

[Anonymous]

Norwood Parent here. One thing to keep in mind about a place like Norwood, is although it is quite possible there is some disappointment from those who wanted a big 3 school, not all of us wanted that. I know kids/families who didn't even want to look at those schools. A handful always choose public because they want bigger/cheaper. Some kids live pretty far north and do not want to come down into DC (I know that is the case for certain students from last year's class on that list), so they didn't even apply to the DC schools. Some kids want more balance in life and prefer somewhere like Bullis/St. Andrews. For some it could have been waiting for the right amount of financial aid.

I believe the list posted is all the schools children got into. If it is bolded one child matriculated and if bolded with a number in parenthesis the number in parenthesis went. The posted list is not a list of admissions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:K-8 parent of an eighth grader here. What is frustrating about the process is that grades/academic strength of the kids seem to matter so little in the admissions process. The admits to the more competitive schools go to the big donors and siblings and the smarter kids get into same set of schools as the kids that didn’t really try.

I'd like to chime in that this has not always been the case - it definitely happened in COVID that high schools relied more on siblings in absence of a normal admissions process. Normally, at our k-8 the strong students get strong placement. And yes, some others with connections or athletic ability get strong placement too. But also remember results can fluctuate year to year - so can the strength of each cohort of 8th grade applicants. But - yes - it's never fun to be on the outside or part of "down year".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:K-8 parent of an eighth grader here. What is frustrating about the process is that grades/academic strength of the kids seem to matter so little in the admissions process. The admits to the more competitive schools go to the big donors and siblings and the smarter kids get into same set of schools as the kids that didn’t really try.

I'd like to chime in that this has not always been the case - it definitely happened in COVID that high schools relied more on siblings in absence of a normal admissions process. Normally, at our k-8 the strong students get strong placement. And yes, some others with connections or athletic ability get strong placement too. But also remember results can fluctuate year to year - so can the strength of each cohort of 8th grade applicants. But - yes - it's never fun to be on the outside or part of "down year".

nonsense

[Anonymous]

The Norwood list is where class of 2023 students chose to attend (it is not acceptances - that would be larger).

If multiple students attended a school, the number attending is listed in parentheses.

I don't know what the bold indicates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:K-8 parent of an eighth grader here. What is frustrating about the process is that grades/academic strength of the kids seem to matter so little in the admissions process. The admits to the more competitive schools go to the big donors and siblings and the smarter kids get into same set of schools as the kids that didn’t really try.

I'd like to chime in that this has not always been the case - it definitely happened in COVID that high schools relied more on siblings in absence of a normal admissions process. Normally, at our k-8 the strong students get strong placement. And yes, some others with connections or athletic ability get strong placement too. But also remember results can fluctuate year to year - so can the strength of each cohort of 8th grade applicants. But - yes - it's never fun to be on the outside or part of "down year".

nonsense

???

[Anonymous]

Another K-8 parent here who did admissions this year. We didn’t necessarily want a Big 3 or anything like that as we were looking solely at fit, but we did think our child would be competitive at the more difficult schools given that our child had all As, really strong SSAT scores, lots of extracurricular activities, and likely very strong teacher recommendations. But we got into the same set of schools as the kids who were less academically inclined. The list posted below contains the schools we were admitted to and is a pretty good representation of your likely choices with a kid like the profile above unless you have a money, sibling, sports hook. URM helps but a lot less than they used to.

[Anonymous]

I work in a K-12 independent school that many people on this thread want their children to attend. First, admission has gotten much harder, period. It's not necessarily the K-8's fault if fewer students are getting admitted to GDS or Sidwell or wherever. For one, there's less attrition in the independent k-12s. In part, I think people are more wary of their public options these days. Second, the students that I work with who come out of K-8s stand out to me as being quite self-possessed and especially great at advocating for themselves. They're comfortable leading as well, and contribute so much to the community and my classroom. Overall, an impressive group. It's not all about the brand name or hedging your bets for the future. You're trying to raise skilled, caring, good, well-educated human beings. It's not a zero sum game.

[Anonymous]

Most DCUMers in the private school and college forums seem to treat everything like a zero-sum game.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I heard Sheridan did well too. The new head is savvy and she knows results matter.

LOVE the new head. We toured and he is outstanding, enthusiastic and transparent. It's a lovely school.

You probably met the lower school head. He is wonderful. The head of school is a woman.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:WES 8th grade admissions this year also on the weak side from what I’ve heard from parents in that grade. They were also weak last year. It will be interesting to see the sustainability of the model of schools like WES, Norwood, and Langley once it becomes more common knowledge how difficult admissions is for unhooked smarter kids.

WES 8th grade parent here. Your source definitely does not speak for the entire grade. Our DC was accepted at their first-choice school and is very excited. And I am aware of at least a couple of others who feel the same way.

I’m sorry to hear that some are disappointed with their options. But I would not characterize the class’s results as weak.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How did little Langley do? I know they have been having terrible results with since the new head of middle school came in and old HOS school left. People awfully quiet this year

Wrong--Class of 2022 had great results (new HOS first year); class of 2023 had some loud families displeased with their particular results, but that wasn't reflective of the grade; this years class is also having great results. Langley does an excellent job of helping kids get to know themselves and apply to schools where they would be a good fit. Not everyone is a good fit for Sidwell, etc., nor can any one HS take too many kids from the same 8th grade. This year there are at least 4-6 in at each school of Sidwell, Potomac, GDS, Maret, etc. And not everyone wants those schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How did little Langley do? I know they have been having terrible results with since the new head of middle school came in and old HOS school left. People awfully quiet this year

Wrong--Class of 2022 had great results (new HOS first year); class of 2023 had some loud families displeased with their particular results, but that wasn't reflective of the grade; this years class is also having great results. Langley does an excellent job of helping kids get to know themselves and apply to schools where they would be a good fit. Not everyone is a good fit for Sidwell, etc., nor can any one HS take too many kids from the same 8th grade. This year there are at least 4-6 in at each school of Sidwell, Potomac, GDS, Maret, etc. And not everyone wants those schools.

Here's to hoping that some of these are kids with multiple school acceptances so that some of our school's WL kids have a shot!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If it weren't for the reference about distance, I would think Norwood. They did awful last year based on their own web page.

I really don't know what you're talking about. My child was an 8th grader at Norwood last year and they had a very good year. Multiple matriculations at all of the Big 3 (including GDS, which was very difficult last year), Holton, Georgetown Prep, Potomac, and Maret.

Let's be clear to everyone not in the know. There were 2 GDS admits last year of which both were admitted in spite of Langley. They excelled elsewhere. There were no Sidwell's. The Potomac admits were 1) admitted to GDS and attended GDS 2) sibling 3) unclear hook or no hook.

80%+ did not get into their first choice.

Again, I really don't know what you're talking about so yes, let's be clear to everyone not in the know. There are 3 at Sidwell from last year's Norwood class- feel free to check the website that you are citing. re: GDS, what does "in spite of Langley mean"? I'm not sure what your point about being admitted to both Potomac and GDS and choosing GDS means. Most kids are accepted at multiple schools and all of them only chose one to attend. But there are still multiple kids attending Potomac from last year's Norwood class.

It is 100% not true that 80% didn't get into their first choice. I can think of more than 20% off the top of my head that got into their first choice and that doesn't include the kids who matriculated at Bullis and St. Andrews, which were many kids first choice given their location and/or interests.

PP here - the comments were regarding Langley School placement. You seem to be mixing up things between Norwood (https://www.langleyschool.org/academics/high-school-placement) and Langley. Langley school outplacement were atrocious

Your information is just wrong--ie there are 5 Langley grads from 2023 at GDS, the year that supposedly no-one got in. Sorry your child didn't do better, but kids got into great schools from that grade. One strength of the k-8s is getting kids off the wait lists.