Going from upper NW public elementary to private

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you really want to end up in private, just know that there are lots of folks in this area who think they can pull off the "switch from public in 4th/6th/9th" strategy. You'll be up against all of them, plus as PP said those who are apply out of schools that end in 3rd/8th.

Aside from Beauvoir, which privates end in 3rd? Isn't that a small pool?

Beauvoir, Concord Hill, Harbor (as of 9/21) end at 3rd. Primary Day ends at 2nd. There are probably others.

[Anonymous]

I recommend Sheridan if you want to get into a private- lovely place and always accept in older grades.

[Anonymous]

It’s much harder to be admitted from a public vs. another private. I would not bank on getting in in 4th/6th/9th or at any point. If you think you want to be in private school for high school, the sooner you make the switch, the better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s much harder to be admitted from a public vs. another private. I would not bank on getting in in 4th/6th/9th or at any point. If you think you want to be in private school for high school, the sooner you make the switch, the better.

Agree with this. It gets harder with each entry point and you can never predict what type of kid you will have--ie will your kid end up being an academic superstar in 8th grade? Hard to say when they're 4 or 5.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s much harder to be admitted from a public vs. another private. I would not bank on getting in in 4th/6th/9th or at any point. If you think you want to be in private school for high school, the sooner you make the switch, the better.

Agree with this. It gets harder with each entry point and you can never predict what type of kid you will have--ie will your kid end up being an academic superstar in 8th grade? Hard to say when they're 4 or 5.

Also agree. Get in as soon as you can so your child doesn’t have to compete down the road. The lifer’s life!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People are applying to privates in record numbers right now so it’s definitely helpful to apply while you have the help of feeder preschool given how competitive it is.

But there are many benefits to being in public school in elementary years. Publics seem best in lower years. Families are invested. Better socio-economic diversity and less entitlement than in privates. Neighborhood friendships can stay with you if child moves to private and provide a good balance to new school friendships. K-12 is a long time to spend at the same school with the same kids. But be prepared to apply several times before 5th grade including in off years when there might be fewer spots but less competition. Preschool head may be able to informally give input, write a letter of recommendation, or put in the good word, if you apply later from public. Also consider hiring a consultant if you apply from public. Consultants aren’t as helpful as applying out of feeder preschool or feeder private elementary.

People will be leaving those privates.

NP. I don’t think so. People who went only for Covid have already left. And this year there were more applications than ever before across private schools. It was an insane admissions cycle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s much harder to be admitted from a public vs. another private. I would not bank on getting in in 4th/6th/9th or at any point. If you think you want to be in private school for high school, the sooner you make the switch, the better.

Agree with this. It gets harder with each entry point and you can never predict what type of kid you will have--ie will your kid end up being an academic superstar in 8th grade? Hard to say when they're 4 or 5.

Also agree. Get in as soon as you can so your child doesn’t have to compete down the road. The lifer’s life!

My DCs would've been lifers at a Big 3, but we had to move and oldest DC entered another metro private in 6th. DC is now a senior and has been enrolled in the most rigorous STEM classes in HS. FWIW, the top stats kids in DC's classes are nearly all lifers. While the class is unranked, the top four of five students, as estimated by DC, are lifers. DC says that there is then a mix with lifers, kids like them who entered in 6th, and a group who entered in 9th.

DC thinks that there are also questionable admits at every entry level, from PK through 9th: "It is not necessarily a science, sometimes admissions gets it wrong."

[Anonymous]

What would happen if every ninth grade seat at every private k-12 was up for grabs? If lifers had to re-apply for US? Some would get in but what percentage?

Of course, from a business standpoint, this is not how the schools choose to operate but it would be interesting to watch people sweat it out.

[Anonymous]

I think the bottom line is that it gets harder to get in the longer you wait. If you can afford it and you have your heart set on a particular school, enter in K. If saving $500k is something that would make a difference to you and you can handle the risk, wait for the earliest entry year after K, which for a lot of area privates is 4th. Your kid will get into some private then, even if it’s not where you ultimately want to end up and you can apply out, from a private, in a few years. I’m from here and I am now raising my family here and I honestly don’t know anyone who didn’t have any private school choices when they applied out (even though sometimes the private option they had wasn’t better than their public option). If private is your goal you can make it happen coming out of an upper NW public, it may just take a little more work than entering in K.