Gilman

[Anonymous]

My investment advisor graduated from Gilman. He is African American. He liked his time there and felt like his education was well rounded. He donates to Gilman now.

He grew up in Baltimore and I think Gilman was his ticket out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our family, very recently started considering private school, Gilman in particular. We did not consider other private schools due to distance & religious affiliation. Having visited Gilman, I'm reconsidering our approach to not look at other schools.

While our student is very gifted, we have concerns about admissions after our visit. See, our student skipped a grade two years ago. Public school was not providing him a challenging enough environment, he was testing out of every subject and performing well above grade level for many years. At the time, private school was only a passing thought due to cost. When we mentioned our students grade elevation during our visit, we received mixed responses from the admissions team. A concern that had not crossed my mind until that conversation. Maturity & social development seemed to be a point of general concern, but I don't believe they were speaking about my child directly.

However, over the past two years our financial situation has changed and we would now be able to pay for tuition in full. While we could swing 35k, it would be a considerable amount of savings that would be sacrificed. We would still like to apply for FA.

For context, our student is very poised and mature, maintains a 3.9, is active in a handful of clubs/sports. Our student also has ADHD and requires medication to maintain focus which is well controlled. Executive functioning skills are very good and do not require any additional accommodations. Grade skipped was 6th grade.

1. What is the general consensus on students who skip a grade/gifted students.
2. Even though the FA application is separate, will it have an impact on admissions?
3. How selective is Gilman? (No stats available online and did not feel comfortable asking directly.)

I suspect they probably were describing your child but most of us don't want to hear the negative.

a few thoughts:

1) never heard of Gilman so looked it up
2) it's not boarding so I'm assuming you live in Baltimore?
3) 58% of teachers don't have advanced degrees. that's a red flag for me. our privates insisted on teachers working or obtaining their Masters degrees.
4) You said he's "very gifted" (the term used is "profoundly gifted") but Gilman doesn't seem to be oriented towards either giftedness or ADHD. Maybe I read too fast.
5) whether or not you think you can swing $35K a year is irrelevant to them. You will have to provide extensive financials to get financial aid. Every school is different. We never received aid.
6) while skipping grades used to be a positive a few decades back it is a practice frowned upon now. In fact, we have the other problem of children being "red-shirted" to give them more years of maturation before they compete for college, so yes, skipping two years is odd and something you will have to explain. That's why we now have 7 year olds in K. My own DD was red-shirted by her private and it was absolutely the best thing in the world for her.
6) If you live in the DC area the perfect school for you would be Commonwealth Academy because it serves both gifted and ADHD. But it's in Alexandria, VA.

best of luck

Agree with your (1st) #6. Also OP’s DS skipped one grade two years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our family, very recently started considering private school, Gilman in particular. We did not consider other private schools due to distance & religious affiliation. Having visited Gilman, I'm reconsidering our approach to not look at other schools.

While our student is very gifted, we have concerns about admissions after our visit. See, our student skipped a grade two years ago. Public school was not providing him a challenging enough environment, he was testing out of every subject and performing well above grade level for many years. At the time, private school was only a passing thought due to cost. When we mentioned our students grade elevation during our visit, we received mixed responses from the admissions team. A concern that had not crossed my mind until that conversation. Maturity & social development seemed to be a point of general concern, but I don't believe they were speaking about my child directly.

However, over the past two years our financial situation has changed and we would now be able to pay for tuition in full. While we could swing 35k, it would be a considerable amount of savings that would be sacrificed. We would still like to apply for FA.

For context, our student is very poised and mature, maintains a 3.9, is active in a handful of clubs/sports. Our student also has ADHD and requires medication to maintain focus which is well controlled. Executive functioning skills are very good and do not require any additional accommodations. Grade skipped was 6th grade.

1. What is the general consensus on students who skip a grade/gifted students.
2. Even though the FA application is separate, will it have an impact on admissions?
3. How selective is Gilman? (No stats available online and did not feel comfortable asking directly.)

I suspect they probably were describing your child but most of us don't want to hear the negative.

a few thoughts:

1) never heard of Gilman so looked it up
2) it's not boarding so I'm assuming you live in Baltimore?
3) 58% of teachers don't have advanced degrees. that's a red flag for me. our privates insisted on teachers working or obtaining their Masters degrees.
4) You said he's "very gifted" (the term used is "profoundly gifted") but Gilman doesn't seem to be oriented towards either giftedness or ADHD. Maybe I read too fast.
5) whether or not you think you can swing $35K a year is irrelevant to them. You will have to provide extensive financials to get financial aid. Every school is different. We never received aid.
6) while skipping grades used to be a positive a few decades back it is a practice frowned upon now. In fact, we have the other problem of children being "red-shirted" to give them more years of maturation before they compete for college, so yes, skipping two years is odd and something you will have to explain. That's why we now have 7 year olds in K. My own DD was red-shirted by her private and it was absolutely the best thing in the world for her.
6) If you live in the DC area the perfect school for you would be Commonwealth Academy because it serves both gifted and ADHD. But it's in Alexandria, VA.

best of luck

Agree with your (1st) #6. Also OP’s DS skipped one grade two years ago.[/quote]


Thanks. misread it to be two years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is no consensus on grade skipping and gifted students!

Are you concerned about whether Gilman is a good fit for your kid? Or concerned that your kid may not be accepted? I don’t see that it focuses on gifted education. You are looking for high school??

Concerned that skipping a grade will reflect negatively and he will be granted conditional acceptance if he repeats a grade.

I think he would be bored skipping a grade & 5 years of tuition would be more of a stretch for us.

Without knowing more, a conditional acceptance does seem like a possibility, so you will just have to figure out whether that would be acceptable to your family. I would definitely cast a wider net and look at McDonough and other privates in the area.

Has your kid qualified for CTY classes? Assume you have WISC scores or similar. If so, you can always use those data points when discussing the academic situation with the school.

[Anonymous]

One other thing about skipping 6th — of all grades, that is often the one where a lot of executive functioning and organizational skills that are foundational to middle and high school are introduced. It is possible a school would be more concerned about a 6th grade skip than, say, a 1st grade skip.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many/most kids at Gilman do a "pre-1st" year after kindergarten and before 1st grade. This is extremely common for all but the oldest kids in the grade.

This means that a solid number of the boys (more than half?) turn 15 in their 8th grade year or the summer. They will turn 16 as freshmen.

If I were you, I'd think long and hard about what that would mean for my super young 9th grader. (I have a kid who will start 9th as a 13-year-old. I get it.)

This is true at nearly all the independent schools that are k-12 in Baltimore. The exception might be the catholic schools like Loyola and Calvert Hall, since they don’t have lower schools. Op may also find their pricing more palatable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our family, very recently started considering private school, Gilman in particular. We did not consider other private schools due to distance & religious affiliation. Having visited Gilman, I'm reconsidering our approach to not look at other schools.

While our student is very gifted, we have concerns about admissions after our visit. See, our student skipped a grade two years ago. Public school was not providing him a challenging enough environment, he was testing out of every subject and performing well above grade level for many years. At the time, private school was only a passing thought due to cost. When we mentioned our students grade elevation during our visit, we received mixed responses from the admissions team. A concern that had not crossed my mind until that conversation. Maturity & social development seemed to be a point of general concern, but I don't believe they were speaking about my child directly.

However, over the past two years our financial situation has changed and we would now be able to pay for tuition in full. While we could swing 35k, it would be a considerable amount of savings that would be sacrificed. We would still like to apply for FA.

For context, our student is very poised and mature, maintains a 3.9, is active in a handful of clubs/sports. Our student also has ADHD and requires medication to maintain focus which is well controlled. Executive functioning skills are very good and do not require any additional accommodations. Grade skipped was 6th grade.

1. What is the general consensus on students who skip a grade/gifted students.
2. Even though the FA application is separate, will it have an impact on admissions?
3. How selective is Gilman? (No stats available online and did not feel comfortable asking directly.)

I suspect they probably were describing your child but most of us don't want to hear the negative.

a few thoughts:

1) never heard of Gilman so looked it up
2) it's not boarding so I'm assuming you live in Baltimore?
3) 58% of teachers don't have advanced degrees. that's a red flag for me. our privates insisted on teachers working or obtaining their Masters degrees.
4) You said he's "very gifted" (the term used is "profoundly gifted") but Gilman doesn't seem to be oriented towards either giftedness or ADHD. Maybe I read too fast.
5) whether or not you think you can swing $35K a year is irrelevant to them. You will have to provide extensive financials to get financial aid. Every school is different. We never received aid.
6) while skipping grades used to be a positive a few decades back it is a practice frowned upon now. In fact, we have the other problem of children being "red-shirted" to give them more years of maturation before they compete for college, so yes, skipping two years is odd and something you will have to explain. That's why we now have 7 year olds in K. My own DD was red-shirted by her private and it was absolutely the best thing in the world for her.
6) If you live in the DC area the perfect school for you would be Commonwealth Academy because it serves both gifted and ADHD. But it's in Alexandria, VA.

best of luck

If you aren’t familiar with Gilman, maybe you just not respond. Never change DCUM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our family, very recently started considering private school, Gilman in particular. We did not consider other private schools due to distance & religious affiliation. Having visited Gilman, I'm reconsidering our approach to not look at other schools.

While our student is very gifted, we have concerns about admissions after our visit. See, our student skipped a grade two years ago. Public school was not providing him a challenging enough environment, he was testing out of every subject and performing well above grade level for many years. At the time, private school was only a passing thought due to cost. When we mentioned our students grade elevation during our visit, we received mixed responses from the admissions team. A concern that had not crossed my mind until that conversation. Maturity & social development seemed to be a point of general concern, but I don't believe they were speaking about my child directly.

However, over the past two years our financial situation has changed and we would now be able to pay for tuition in full. While we could swing 35k, it would be a considerable amount of savings that would be sacrificed. We would still like to apply for FA.

For context, our student is very poised and mature, maintains a 3.9, is active in a handful of clubs/sports. Our student also has ADHD and requires medication to maintain focus which is well controlled. Executive functioning skills are very good and do not require any additional accommodations. Grade skipped was 6th grade.

1. What is the general consensus on students who skip a grade/gifted students.
2. Even though the FA application is separate, will it have an impact on admissions?
3. How selective is Gilman? (No stats available online and did not feel comfortable asking directly.)

I suspect they probably were describing your child but most of us don't want to hear the negative.

a few thoughts:

1) never heard of Gilman so looked it up
2) it's not boarding so I'm assuming you live in Baltimore?
3) 58% of teachers don't have advanced degrees. that's a red flag for me. our privates insisted on teachers working or obtaining their Masters degrees.
4) You said he's "very gifted" (the term used is "profoundly gifted") but Gilman doesn't seem to be oriented towards either giftedness or ADHD. Maybe I read too fast.
5) whether or not you think you can swing $35K a year is irrelevant to them. You will have to provide extensive financials to get financial aid. Every school is different. We never received aid.
6) while skipping grades used to be a positive a few decades back it is a practice frowned upon now. In fact, we have the other problem of children being "red-shirted" to give them more years of maturation before they compete for college, so yes, skipping two years is odd and something you will have to explain. That's why we now have 7 year olds in K. My own DD was red-shirted by her private and it was absolutely the best thing in the world for her.
6) If you live in the DC area the perfect school for you would be Commonwealth Academy because it serves both gifted and ADHD. But it's in Alexandria, VA.

best of luck

Agree with your (1st) #6. Also OP’s DS skipped one grade two years ago.

+1.

[Anonymous]

Op, I have a son in the upper school that started in the lower school. A few thoughts:

In the lower school, maybe a third of the kids will have done pre-first. But by upper school, half of the class will not have gone to the lower school so it is less of a factor.

High school is the hardest entry point at any of the privates. Of the slots available at Gilman, about half will go to kids from feeder schools, i.e. Calvert, Saint James and Cathedral. The remaining 20 or so spots will go to kids from other privates, Catholic schools and public schools in Baltimore City, Baltimore County, and Howard County. It is very competitive and I expect that Mcdonogh is just as competitive for 9th grade entry. If they offer an 8 th grade spot, it may be for the simple reason that they don’t have a spot for your child in 9th.

You mention your kid’s grades which seem strong, but Gilman will also put a lot of weight on ISEE scores, teacher recommendations, and extracurriculars.

It’s always good to look around and I would encourage you to consider schools outside Gilman and Mcdonogh as well where admissions odds will be better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op, I have a son in the upper school that started in the lower school. A few thoughts:

In the lower school, maybe a third of the kids will have done pre-first. But by upper school, half of the class will not have gone to the lower school so it is less of a factor.

High school is the hardest entry point at any of the privates. Of the slots available at Gilman, about half will go to kids from feeder schools, i.e. Calvert, Saint James and Cathedral. The remaining 20 or so spots will go to kids from other privates, Catholic schools and public schools in Baltimore City, Baltimore County, and Howard County. It is very competitive and I expect that Mcdonogh is just as competitive for 9th grade entry. If they offer an 8 th grade spot, it may be for the simple reason that they don’t have a spot for your child in 9th.

You mention your kid’s grades which seem strong, but Gilman will also put a lot of weight on ISEE scores, teacher recommendations, and extracurriculars.

It’s always good to look around and I would encourage you to consider schools outside Gilman and Mcdonogh as well where admissions odds will be better.

Adding none of the Baltimore private schools are need blind, so your admissions odds at any of them is higher if you do not seek financial aid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My investment advisor graduated from Gilman. He is African American. He liked his time there and felt like his education was well rounded. He donates to Gilman now.

He grew up in Baltimore and I think Gilman was his ticket out.

Thanks for sharing this totally relevant piece of information

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our family, very recently started considering private school, Gilman in particular. We did not consider other private schools due to distance & religious affiliation. Having visited Gilman, I'm reconsidering our approach to not look at other schools.

While our student is very gifted, we have concerns about admissions after our visit. See, our student skipped a grade two years ago. Public school was not providing him a challenging enough environment, he was testing out of every subject and performing well above grade level for many years. At the time, private school was only a passing thought due to cost. When we mentioned our students grade elevation during our visit, we received mixed responses from the admissions team. A concern that had not crossed my mind until that conversation. Maturity & social development seemed to be a point of general concern, but I don't believe they were speaking about my child directly.

However, over the past two years our financial situation has changed and we would now be able to pay for tuition in full. While we could swing 35k, it would be a considerable amount of savings that would be sacrificed. We would still like to apply for FA.

For context, our student is very poised and mature, maintains a 3.9, is active in a handful of clubs/sports. Our student also has ADHD and requires medication to maintain focus which is well controlled. Executive functioning skills are very good and do not require any additional accommodations. Grade skipped was 6th grade.

1. What is the general consensus on students who skip a grade/gifted students.
2. Even though the FA application is separate, will it have an impact on admissions?
3. How selective is Gilman? (No stats available online and did not feel comfortable asking directly.)

I suspect they probably were describing your child but most of us don't want to hear the negative.

a few thoughts:

1) never heard of Gilman so looked it up
2) it's not boarding so I'm assuming you live in Baltimore?
3) 58% of teachers don't have advanced degrees. that's a red flag for me. our privates insisted on teachers working or obtaining their Masters degrees.
4) You said he's "very gifted" (the term used is "profoundly gifted") but Gilman doesn't seem to be oriented towards either giftedness or ADHD. Maybe I read too fast.
5) whether or not you think you can swing $35K a year is irrelevant to them. You will have to provide extensive financials to get financial aid. Every school is different. We never received aid.
6) while skipping grades used to be a positive a few decades back it is a practice frowned upon now. In fact, we have the other problem of children being "red-shirted" to give them more years of maturation before they compete for college, so yes, skipping two years is odd and something you will have to explain. That's why we now have 7 year olds in K. My own DD was red-shirted by her private and it was absolutely the best thing in the world for her.
6) If you live in the DC area the perfect school for you would be Commonwealth Academy because it serves both gifted and ADHD. But it's in Alexandria, VA.

best of luck

If you aren’t familiar with Gilman, maybe you just not respond. Never change DCUM.

+1. That post was beyond worthless, even more so than mine really.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is no consensus on grade skipping and gifted students!

Are you concerned about whether Gilman is a good fit for your kid? Or concerned that your kid may not be accepted? I don’t see that it focuses on gifted education. You are looking for high school??

Concerned that skipping a grade will reflect negatively and he will be granted conditional acceptance if he repeats a grade.

I think he would be bored skipping a grade & 5 years of tuition would be more of a stretch for us.

Without knowing more, a conditional acceptance does seem like a possibility, so you will just have to figure out whether that would be acceptable to your family. I would definitely cast a wider net and look at McDonough and other privates in the area.

Has your kid qualified for CTY classes? Assume you have WISC scores or similar. If so, you can always use those data points when discussing the academic situation with the school.

We would love to cast a wider net, but transportation is an issue given our location.
We have taken CTY classes over the summer & do have IOWA scores.
Stanine for ISEE were 7s

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op, I have a son in the upper school that started in the lower school. A few thoughts:

In the lower school, maybe a third of the kids will have done pre-first. But by upper school, half of the class will not have gone to the lower school so it is less of a factor.

High school is the hardest entry point at any of the privates. Of the slots available at Gilman, about half will go to kids from feeder schools, i.e. Calvert, Saint James and Cathedral. The remaining 20 or so spots will go to kids from other privates, Catholic schools and public schools in Baltimore City, Baltimore County, and Howard County. It is very competitive and I expect that Mcdonogh is just as competitive for 9th grade entry. If they offer an 8 th grade spot, it may be for the simple reason that they don’t have a spot for your child in 9th.

You mention your kid’s grades which seem strong, but Gilman will also put a lot of weight on ISEE scores, teacher recommendations, and extracurriculars.

It’s always good to look around and I would encourage you to consider schools outside Gilman and Mcdonogh as well where admissions odds will be better.

Thank you, this was very helpful!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our family, very recently started considering private school, Gilman in particular. We did not consider other private schools due to distance & religious affiliation. Having visited Gilman, I'm reconsidering our approach to not look at other schools.

While our student is very gifted, we have concerns about admissions after our visit. See, our student skipped a grade two years ago. Public school was not providing him a challenging enough environment, he was testing out of every subject and performing well above grade level for many years. At the time, private school was only a passing thought due to cost. When we mentioned our students grade elevation during our visit, we received mixed responses from the admissions team. A concern that had not crossed my mind until that conversation. Maturity & social development seemed to be a point of general concern, but I don't believe they were speaking about my child directly.

However, over the past two years our financial situation has changed and we would now be able to pay for tuition in full. While we could swing 35k, it would be a considerable amount of savings that would be sacrificed. We would still like to apply for FA.

For context, our student is very poised and mature, maintains a 3.9, is active in a handful of clubs/sports. Our student also has ADHD and requires medication to maintain focus which is well controlled. Executive functioning skills are very good and do not require any additional accommodations. Grade skipped was 6th grade.

1. What is the general consensus on students who skip a grade/gifted students.
2. Even though the FA application is separate, will it have an impact on admissions?
3. How selective is Gilman? (No stats available online and did not feel comfortable asking directly.)

I think you need to disabuse yourself of the mindset that private school is for gifted students. I would argue there are proportionally more gifted students in public schools. Private simply offers a more enjoyable educational experience and *sometimes* you may find more challenging classes than you would in private but that is rare. You have to decide which of these two things matters to you more. Unless your kid is going to one of the tippy top private schools, him skipping a grade is not going to be too impressive. The administration will worry about you bugging them consistently about him “not being challenged enough” (as I am sure you were part of the impetus which caused him to skip 6th). So the potential headache may not be worth it. Maybe at a Sidwell or GDS where they want the smartest kids.