How hard is it to get into 6th grade?

[Anonymous]

Our DC applied for 6th to some of the very competitive schools OP and others mentioned; this was right before the pandemic. I noticed two things going to all the open houses, tours, etc. - you started seeing the same families over and over, and there were a lot of them. Granted, these events were not solely for kids applying to 6th, but the number of families at least interested in applying to the same set of schools for MS was a real surprise. If you were applying from public and did not have some sort of desired connection or exceptional extracurricular talent (and, truly, for 5th graders, few do), my impression is that you needed a really strong academic profile to be competitive. Also, I would take some of the numbers being thrown around with a grain of salt. I know only the specific admit number to one school (the one our DC attends), and it's quite a bit different than what's on this thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our DC applied for 6th to some of the very competitive schools OP and others mentioned; this was right before the pandemic. I noticed two things going to all the open houses, tours, etc. - you started seeing the same families over and over, and there were a lot of them. Granted, these events were not solely for kids applying to 6th, but the number of families at least interested in applying to the same set of schools for MS was a real surprise. If you were applying from public and did not have some sort of desired connection or exceptional extracurricular talent (and, truly, for 5th graders, few do), my impression is that you needed a really strong academic profile to be competitive. Also, I would take some of the numbers being thrown around with a grain of salt. I know only the specific admit number to one school (the one our DC attends), and it's quite a bit different than what's on this thread.

Zoom open houses as well, you see a lot of the same families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fwiw- I know a lot of kids from our WOTP ES who left for private school for 6th. None got into Sidwell or GDS.

Same here. I knew about 6 kids who applied to both from our DCPS and none got in. Figure that there are about 10-12 spots at each school. Half will be each gender. Half of each gender will be URM (so 3 white girls, 3 URM girls). So if you are a white girl there may be 3 spots. Now 1-2 of those will often go to siblings or legacy applicants (who frequently join after elementary). So there may only be actual spot open for a white girl in 6th grade (for example). This is what makes the schools so difficult to get in to.

[Anonymous]

We just decided not to apply to a competitive school for 6th for many of the reasons quoted. We aren't legacy, they cancelled testing, and I don't see how our child was going to distinguish himself otherwise. Every 5th grader will have good grades (whatever that means after the past few years) and good recommendations. Absent the testing, he'd just be another one in a crowd.

[Anonymous]

Sometimes it might be a good strategy to apply to a k-8 for sixth. They receive fewer applications for 6th than the k-12s and sometimes have openings from their own students who decide to move on then or transition to public school. Plus, you can get the benefit of the k-8 helping with outplacement once your child reaches 8th grade. It's not as ideal as going straight into a k-12 but it will provide a nice environment for your child for three years until it's time to apply to high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We just decided not to apply to a competitive school for 6th for many of the reasons quoted. We aren't legacy, they cancelled testing, and I don't see how our child was going to distinguish himself otherwise. Every 5th grader will have good grades (whatever that means after the past few years) and good recommendations. Absent the testing, he'd just be another one in a crowd.

How has your DC scored on standardized tests at their current school? The schools you apply to will get transcripts from your current school that include any statewide/district wide testing results. Your DC could be distinguished by really high test scores on those that other kids with similar grades/all A's may not necessarily have received.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sometimes it might be a good strategy to apply to a k-8 for sixth. They receive fewer applications for 6th than the k-12s and sometimes have openings from their own students who decide to move on then or transition to public school. Plus, you can get the benefit of the k-8 helping with outplacement once your child reaches 8th grade. It's not as ideal as going straight into a k-12 but it will provide a nice environment for your child for three years until it's time to apply to high school.

Agree that the right K-8 can be an excellent option, but if your kid starts in 6th, the process for starting to be ready for HS applications will begin much sooner than you expect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fwiw- I know a lot of kids from our WOTP ES who left for private school for 6th. None got into Sidwell or GDS.

Same here. I knew about 6 kids who applied to both from our DCPS and none got in. Figure that there are about 10-12 spots at each school. Half will be each gender. Half of each gender will be URM (so 3 white girls, 3 URM girls). So if you are a white girl there may be 3 spots. Now 1-2 of those will often go to siblings or legacy applicants (who frequently join after elementary). So there may only be actual spot open for a white girl in 6th grade (for example). This is what makes the schools so difficult to get in to.

This is true for high school too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You won't have trouble at WIS.

Your issue is whether its an entry year or not for GDS and SFS-- its not for SFS but may be for GDS?

6th is an expansion year at both GDS & SFS.

100% the kid will be admitted to SSFS and WIS. Seems odd to apply to both, honestly.

Given you know nothing about how many applications WIS and SSFS have gotten this year or anything about this particular applicant and what the schools in question may be looking for to fill gaps in those current grades (gender, diversity, specific skills like music or sports)I think your prediction is very arrogant.

Sure! Both schools traditionally have high acceptance rates. They are also an hour away from each other and feature very different pedagogies. So I stand by my statement. Thanks again.

Your statement is dated pre-pandemic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My friend applied to Maret 2 years ago and they said they had 125 applications or 6th. They take about 10 kids as well. I would imagine that GDS and Sidwell application numbers are similar but there is some overlap in applicants.

When my kid was applying to schools in 6th from DCPS (3 years ago) his friends (about 5 kids) who applied to GDS and Sidwell did not get in. They were great kids from full-pay families. A few applied again for 7th and got in then.

I admittedly don’t know maret’s precise numbers, but I really want to address what are perpetual myths on this board about admissions. They will never tell you this, but at the most selective privates in the country (not dc, the country), the admit rate is never much lower than 25-30%. Ever. I have read so much speculation on this board that frequently suggests or explicitly states that admission rates to top privates is 7%. 10%. And other completely incorrect numbers that freak people out. Those numbers are not right. They never have been.

I wish I could post this on every thread when parents are asking about admissions and getting bad information here. To be fair, the schools do not tell you this. They occasionally tell select board members for planning, but only some, and never in writing.

Anyway. Sidwell and gds are not guaranteed, but they are not nearly as competitive as dcum mythology strokes its collective ego with.

[Anonymous]

Did you consider Norwood or St Pats for 6th? If coming from public, might be easier to get into a great middle school program and then go on to Sidwell or GDS for HS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sometimes it might be a good strategy to apply to a k-8 for sixth. They receive fewer applications for 6th than the k-12s and sometimes have openings from their own students who decide to move on then or transition to public school. Plus, you can get the benefit of the k-8 helping with outplacement once your child reaches 8th grade. It's not as ideal as going straight into a k-12 but it will provide a nice environment for your child for three years until it's time to apply to high school.

Agree that the right K-8 can be an excellent option, but if your kid starts in 6th, the process for starting to be ready for HS applications will begin much sooner than you expect.

Yes we did this as a “safety” option, but ultimately chose a different school. It seemed like 8th grade was all about “exmissions” and really stressful. If we started at a K-8 or if we didn’t have any other choices, I think it would be fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sometimes it might be a good strategy to apply to a k-8 for sixth. They receive fewer applications for 6th than the k-12s and sometimes have openings from their own students who decide to move on then or transition to public school. Plus, you can get the benefit of the k-8 helping with outplacement once your child reaches 8th grade. It's not as ideal as going straight into a k-12 but it will provide a nice environment for your child for three years until it's time to apply to high school.

Agree that the right K-8 can be an excellent option, but if your kid starts in 6th, the process for starting to be ready for HS applications will begin much sooner than you expect.

I doubt that. They may be disappointed that the next round comes so quickly but I sincerely doubt that it will come sooner than they expect.

This is a strategy for snagging a spot if the applicant doesn't have a good back up for middle. We considered doing this when we moved some years ago. Ended up not doing it. Admissions were competitive then (though def way before pandemic), we were confident that one of the seven would work out, even if it wasn't our first choice. TBH, if we were applying now, I might go with that strategy for a few schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My friend applied to Maret 2 years ago and they said they had 125 applications or 6th. They take about 10 kids as well. I would imagine that GDS and Sidwell application numbers are similar but there is some overlap in applicants.

When my kid was applying to schools in 6th from DCPS (3 years ago) his friends (about 5 kids) who applied to GDS and Sidwell did not get in. They were great kids from full-pay families. A few applied again for 7th and got in then.

I admittedly don’t know maret’s precise numbers, but I really want to address what are perpetual myths on this board about admissions. They will never tell you this, but at the most selective privates in the country (not dc, the country), the admit rate is never much lower than 25-30%. Ever. I have read so much speculation on this board that frequently suggests or explicitly states that admission rates to top privates is 7%. 10%. And other completely incorrect numbers that freak people out. Those numbers are not right. They never have been.

I wish I could post this on every thread when parents are asking about admissions and getting bad information here. To be fair, the schools do not tell you this. They occasionally tell select board members for planning, but only some, and never in writing.

Anyway. Sidwell and gds are not guaranteed, but they are not nearly as competitive as dcum mythology strokes its collective ego with.

Who are you that you have this information about every school in DC?

It's just not true. I'm the poster whose friend applied to Maret several years ago. She and her husband were told that there were 100+ applicants for 6th grade. There was no reason for the school to lie to these parents.

My own kid applied out from Janney (DCPS) for 6th grade. The year my kid applied (1-3 years ago) there were ZERO kids admitted to Sidwell, GDS, or the Cathedral schools for 6th from our school. I know at least 5-7 who applied to Sidwell/GDS among my small circle of friends (none got in). About 4 to STA (none got in). A few to NCS (none got in) This is from one elementary school. How many elementary schools are there in the DC area? Also, these were all lovely, smart, athletic, well-spoken, well-behaved kids from great families. (just putting this in in there in case you next ask if they all had behavioral issues). It's just not that easy to get in. We all thought it would be but it wasn't. At all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fwiw- I know a lot of kids from our WOTP ES who left for private school for 6th. None got into Sidwell or GDS.

Same here. I knew about 6 kids who applied to both from our DCPS and none got in. Figure that there are about 10-12 spots at each school. Half will be each gender. Half of each gender will be URM (so 3 white girls, 3 URM girls). So if you are a white girl there may be 3 spots. Now 1-2 of those will often go to siblings or legacy applicants (who frequently join after elementary). So there may only be actual spot open for a white girl in 6th grade (for example). This is what makes the schools so difficult to get in to.

This is true for high school too.

As someone who has been close to the Admissions process at a DC private, it's remarkable to me that this post doesn't seem to educate posters on here about how things work. Instead, the conversation drones on about overall Admissions rates.

It seems that few can see the world as the school's see it. And it's their perspective that counts.

Your DC's admissions chances are highly dependent on what attributes the school is looking for, especially in non-expansion years. The question is what categories of students are they short on?

Average Admissions rates are meaningless. And where do these numbers even come from?