How hard is it to get in?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How hard is it to get into the most competitive privates, really?

Sometimes I hear it's practically impossible in high school, sometimes I heard that it's more like 50/50. I'm talking about the most competitive ones - STA, NCS, Sidwell, Maret, GDS, Holton.

Does anyone have real data on this?

Maret is very transparent about it, and told me they plan on admitting about 40 kids out of 300+ applications.
GDS told me they plan on admitting only 50-60 out of a predicted 500 applications.
Sidwell and STA are more opaque, but I'd guess it's similar odds.

My recommendation would be to cast a wider net than these schools. If your kid is qualified for these places, they'll easily get into the other DC privates like Landon, Field, Burke, etc. In many cases, families are happier at the less "elite" private schools than the families at the precious "Big 3"

My DC is a current 9th grader at Sidwell, and he was admitted from public school. Sidwell received over 500 applications, and there are 45 new 9th graders. However, I’m not sure how many students were admitted to yield 45 (Sidwell’s target). I also heard (second hand, so…) that Sidwell did not have to go to its waitlist.

Btw, my son’s unscientific observation is that most of the new 9th graders are:
1. Younger siblings of current Sidwell students;
2. Children of Sidwell alums; and/or
3. Recruited athletes.
My son is none of those 3 things.

One more (one more) thing 😊:
My son said that more than any other demographic, most of the new 9th graders came from private schools (mostly K-8th).
He also just counted the new 9th graders from the directory. As far as he can remember, 10 (out of 45) are younger Sidwell siblings and/or children of alums.

Not surprising at all. The k-8's advocate for their students. They start early in the 8th grade year having meetings with the families to discuss the process, the types of schools that would be a good fit, etc. They guide them through the process and meet with the admissions staff at the receiving schools. I'm guessing they help with essay writing. Coming from public, you're on your own. It's definitely possible, but you are at a disadvantage from the start without a k-8 school's support. We got in from public but it was a lot of work. Do your research. Show up at the tours, open hours, etc. Make sure you let the schools know why you think the school is the best fit for your kid and that it's a top choice. Be genuine. Most importantly, let your kid know that the odds are not good and it has nothing to do with them if they don't get in. It's a numbers game most of the time. Have a back up you are comfortable with.

I know of at least one DC private that has families tour high schools starting in 7th grade. The school meets with the families at the end of 7th to compare notes, and start off hard in 8th to get those kids prepped and ready to apply for the best schools for them.

[Anonymous]

Same question but for 6th grade?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How hard is it to get into the most competitive privates, really?

Sometimes I hear it's practically impossible in high school, sometimes I heard that it's more like 50/50. I'm talking about the most competitive ones - STA, NCS, Sidwell, Maret, GDS, Holton.

Does anyone have real data on this?

Maret is very transparent about it, and told me they plan on admitting about 40 kids out of 300+ applications.
GDS told me they plan on admitting only 50-60 out of a predicted 500 applications.
Sidwell and STA are more opaque, but I'd guess it's similar odds.

My recommendation would be to cast a wider net than these schools. If your kid is qualified for these places, they'll easily get into the other DC privates like Landon, Field, Burke, etc. In many cases, families are happier at the less "elite" private schools than the families at the precious "Big 3"

My DC is a current 9th grader at Sidwell, and he was admitted from public school. Sidwell received over 500 applications, and there are 45 new 9th graders. However, I’m not sure how many students were admitted to yield 45 (Sidwell’s target). I also heard (second hand, so…) that Sidwell did not have to go to its waitlist.

Btw, my son’s unscientific observation is that most of the new 9th graders are:
1. Younger siblings of current Sidwell students;
2. Children of Sidwell alums; and/or
3. Recruited athletes.
My son is none of those 3 things.

One more (one more) thing 😊:
My son said that more than any other demographic, most of the new 9th graders came from private schools (mostly K-8th).
He also just counted the new 9th graders from the directory. As far as he can remember, 10 (out of 45) are younger Sidwell siblings and/or children of alums.

Not surprising at all. The k-8's advocate for their students. They start early in the 8th grade year having meetings with the families to discuss the process, the types of schools that would be a good fit, etc. They guide them through the process and meet with the admissions staff at the receiving schools. I'm guessing they help with essay writing. Coming from public, you're on your own. It's definitely possible, but you are at a disadvantage from the start without a k-8 school's support. We got in from public but it was a lot of work. Do your research. Show up at the tours, open hours, etc. Make sure you let the schools know why you think the school is the best fit for your kid and that it's a top choice. Be genuine. Most importantly, let your kid know that the odds are not good and it has nothing to do with them if they don't get in. It's a numbers game most of the time. Have a back up you are comfortable with.

I know of at least one DC private that has families tour high schools starting in 7th grade. The school meets with the families at the end of 7th to compare notes, and start off hard in 8th to get those kids prepped and ready to apply for the best schools for them.

Our Pk-8 does this. They encourage families to start researching schools in 7th. They start working with families during the summer between 7th-8th to prepare their list and identify good fits. It seemed pretty reasonable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Same question but for 6th grade?

If you are coming from public, are applying to one of the most selective MS/HSs, and don’t have a hook, your kid very likely needs to be truly exceptional in some regard. Have seen a lot of strong kids coming out of MCPS not get admitted at any of the top schools. Consider a K-8 for MS; you have to go through the process again in 3 years, but at least you are in the private school pipeline. No guarantees, however.

[Anonymous]

It’s important to note that siblings can take up a significant percentage of the acceptance pool. Not to discourage you but just to be transparent. Our kid estimates that a good 40% of 9th grade incoming class at competitive school were siblings or recruited athletes. Agree that having something to contribute to school matters with applications.

[Anonymous]

STA admits about 25 kids in 9th. I heard they had almost 600 applicants one year. That was during Covid when public schools shut down and STA was doing hybrid in-person & virtual. Maybe that was an exceptional year. Still, odds are pretty stiff for STA. More so since GDS & Sidwell have gone off the deep end with wokeness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:STA admits about 25 kids in 9th. I heard they had almost 600 applicants one year. That was during Covid when public schools shut down and STA was doing hybrid in-person & virtual. Maybe that was an exceptional year. Still, odds are pretty stiff for STA. More so since GDS & Sidwell have gone off the deep end with wokeness.

🙄

[Anonymous]

Agree about the difficulty of coming from public. My DC (who had excellent grades, nearly perfect SSAT scores, two club sports, and played an instrument at a high level) was waitlisted from 2 of the Big 3s. As public school parents, we had no clue how the private school process worked. For instance, we didn't understand the value of a "first choice" letter. We also didn't realize that the applicants coming from K-8 privates would have someone advocating for them. It all worked out; DC got into top choice after writing a heartfelt letter, but I wish we had understood the process better at the outset.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree about the difficulty of coming from public. My DC (who had excellent grades, nearly perfect SSAT scores, two club sports, and played an instrument at a high level) was waitlisted from 2 of the Big 3s. As public school parents, we had no clue how the private school process worked. For instance, we didn't understand the value of a "first choice" letter. We also didn't realize that the applicants coming from K-8 privates would have someone advocating for them. It all worked out; DC got into top choice after writing a heartfelt letter, but I wish we had understood the process better at the outset.

What is a first choice letter?

also a public school parent very new to all of this

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree about the difficulty of coming from public. My DC (who had excellent grades, nearly perfect SSAT scores, two club sports, and played an instrument at a high level) was waitlisted from 2 of the Big 3s. As public school parents, we had no clue how the private school process worked. For instance, we didn't understand the value of a "first choice" letter. We also didn't realize that the applicants coming from K-8 privates would have someone advocating for them. It all worked out; DC got into top choice after writing a heartfelt letter, but I wish we had understood the process better at the outset.

What is a first choice letter?

also a public school parent very new to all of this

If your child has a clear first choice you should let that school know via an emailed note.
You can go further and say that your child will attend if admitted (if that is the case).
Ultimately schools want to extend offers to qualified kids who as close to a sure thing as possible. They don't like to move to the waitlist.

Only do this with one school---the DC independent school community is weirdly tight. You never know who is close friends with who.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree about the difficulty of coming from public. My DC (who had excellent grades, nearly perfect SSAT scores, two club sports, and played an instrument at a high level) was waitlisted from 2 of the Big 3s. As public school parents, we had no clue how the private school process worked. For instance, we didn't understand the value of a "first choice" letter. We also didn't realize that the applicants coming from K-8 privates would have someone advocating for them. It all worked out; DC got into top choice after writing a heartfelt letter, but I wish we had understood the process better at the outset.

What is a first choice letter?

also a public school parent very new to all of this

If your child has a clear first choice you should let that school know via an emailed note.
You can go further and say that your child will attend if admitted (if that is the case).
Ultimately schools want to extend offers to qualified kids who as close to a sure thing as possible. They don't like to move to the waitlist.

Only do this with one school---the DC independent school community is weirdly tight. You never know who is close friends with who.

Has anyone else done this? We are down to applying to two schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree about the difficulty of coming from public. My DC (who had excellent grades, nearly perfect SSAT scores, two club sports, and played an instrument at a high level) was waitlisted from 2 of the Big 3s. As public school parents, we had no clue how the private school process worked. For instance, we didn't understand the value of a "first choice" letter. We also didn't realize that the applicants coming from K-8 privates would have someone advocating for them. It all worked out; DC got into top choice after writing a heartfelt letter, but I wish we had understood the process better at the outset.

What is a first choice letter?

also a public school parent very new to all of this

If your child has a clear first choice you should let that school know via an emailed note.
You can go further and say that your child will attend if admitted (if that is the case).
Ultimately schools want to extend offers to qualified kids who as close to a sure thing as possible. They don't like to move to the waitlist.

Only do this with one school---the DC independent school community is weirdly tight. You never know who is close friends with who.

Has anyone else done this? We are down to applying to two schools.

yes, people do this all the time.
The schools want to have their choices nailed down as much as possible prior to sending acceptance letters out.
Let's say STA (random example) has 20 spots or 9th grade. When they compose this group of admits they want to have 80-90% of them in the "Will definitely say yes" category.
They can do this with a combination of siblings, legacy (yes--many still apply for 9th because they know they'll get the boost), recruited athletes, repeat applicants (kids who also applied in 6th or 7th or both), private school applicants who have a HOS telling them "John's first choice is STA" and parents who just make it very clear that they will accept if given a spot. Trust me. I've seen this work out at several privates over multiple years. The schools wield the power of choosing families but they also REALLY don't want to be going to the waitlist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How hard is it to get into the most competitive privates, really?

Sometimes I hear it's practically impossible in high school, sometimes I heard that it's more like 50/50. I'm talking about the most competitive ones - STA, NCS, Sidwell, Maret, GDS, Holton.

Does anyone have real data on this?

Maret is very transparent about it, and told me they plan on admitting about 40 kids out of 300+ applications.
GDS told me they plan on admitting only 50-60 out of a predicted 500 applications.
Sidwell and STA are more opaque, but I'd guess it's similar odds.

My recommendation would be to cast a wider net than these schools. If your kid is qualified for these places, they'll easily get into the other DC privates like Landon, Field, Burke, etc. In many cases, families are happier at the less "elite" private schools than the families at the precious "Big 3"

My DC is a current 9th grader at Sidwell, and he was admitted from public school. Sidwell received over 500 applications, and there are 45 new 9th graders. However, I’m not sure how many students were admitted to yield 45 (Sidwell’s target). I also heard (second hand, so…) that Sidwell did not have to go to its waitlist.

Btw, my son’s unscientific observation is that most of the new 9th graders are:
1. Younger siblings of current Sidwell students;
2. Children of Sidwell alums; and/or
3. Recruited athletes.
My son is none of those 3 things.

Wow. Then your son must be a genius?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How hard is it to get into the most competitive privates, really?

Sometimes I hear it's practically impossible in high school, sometimes I heard that it's more like 50/50. I'm talking about the most competitive ones - STA, NCS, Sidwell, Maret, GDS, Holton.

Does anyone have real data on this?

Maret is very transparent about it, and told me they plan on admitting about 40 kids out of 300+ applications.
GDS told me they plan on admitting only 50-60 out of a predicted 500 applications.
Sidwell and STA are more opaque, but I'd guess it's similar odds.

My recommendation would be to cast a wider net than these schools. If your kid is qualified for these places, they'll easily get into the other DC privates like Landon, Field, Burke, etc. In many cases, families are happier at the less "elite" private schools than the families at the precious "Big 3"

My DC is a current 9th grader at Sidwell, and he was admitted from public school. Sidwell received over 500 applications, and there are 45 new 9th graders. However, I’m not sure how many students were admitted to yield 45 (Sidwell’s target). I also heard (second hand, so…) that Sidwell did not have to go to its waitlist.

Btw, my son’s unscientific observation is that most of the new 9th graders are:
1. Younger siblings of current Sidwell students;
2. Children of Sidwell alums; and/or
3. Recruited athletes.
My son is none of those 3 things.

Wow. Then your son must be a genius?

Different poster here. Not necessarily a genius, but probably a highly articulate likable kid with great academic numbers & test scores plus impressive extracurriculars.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How hard is it to get into the most competitive privates, really?

Sometimes I hear it's practically impossible in high school, sometimes I heard that it's more like 50/50. I'm talking about the most competitive ones - STA, NCS, Sidwell, Maret, GDS, Holton.

Does anyone have real data on this?

Maret is very transparent about it, and told me they plan on admitting about 40 kids out of 300+ applications.
GDS told me they plan on admitting only 50-60 out of a predicted 500 applications.
Sidwell and STA are more opaque, but I'd guess it's similar odds.

My recommendation would be to cast a wider net than these schools. If your kid is qualified for these places, they'll easily get into the other DC privates like Landon, Field, Burke, etc. In many cases, families are happier at the less "elite" private schools than the families at the precious "Big 3"

My DC is a current 9th grader at Sidwell, and he was admitted from public school. Sidwell received over 500 applications, and there are 45 new 9th graders. However, I’m not sure how many students were admitted to yield 45 (Sidwell’s target). I also heard (second hand, so…) that Sidwell did not have to go to its waitlist.

Btw, my son’s unscientific observation is that most of the new 9th graders are:
1. Younger siblings of current Sidwell students;
2. Children of Sidwell alums; and/or
3. Recruited athletes.
My son is none of those 3 things.

Wow. Then your son must be a genius?

Different poster here. Not necessarily a genius, but probably a highly articulate likable kid with great academic numbers & test scores plus impressive extracurriculars.

Or URM.