How difficult is it to get into NCS with no connections?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Since no one has actually answered I will give it a shot. Here is some general information.

4th grade class has approx 45 girls


About 28-30 from beauvoir

Some come from NPS

Some come from local publics (dc)

So theoretically there are 15 or so spots for 4th grade.

Last couple of years the crop from Beauvoir has been smaller--closer to 20 than 30, which has meant extra spots for those from elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

We're nobodies whose son got into St Albans, Sidwell, and GDS. My daughter will be applying to NCS this fall. Don't let anyone tell you that nobodies don't get in.

[Anonymous]

The best way (though not sure deal) is to score extremely high on ERBs, superb WISC and great recommendations. It helps in addition if the child is personable That did it for us. We had zero connections with the school and our daughter was coming from a good VA public school not a feeder school. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We're nobodies whose son got into St Albans, Sidwell, and GDS. My daughter will be applying to NCS this fall. Don't let anyone tell you that nobodies don't get in.

Curious - did your son have some other hook?

[Anonymous]

We're 'nobodies' too and our child got into sidwell, maret, potomac, wis. It can be done. Just go for it and don't listen to the naysayers.

[Anonymous]

We also are nobodies and our son got into STA. He is a very strong student and a good athlete. It was all him (not us). He attended Mcps.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're nobodies whose son got into St Albans, Sidwell, and GDS. My daughter will be applying to NCS this fall. Don't let anyone tell you that nobodies don't get in.

Curious - did your son have some other hook?

did you attend ivies? is your kid legacy?

[Anonymous]

I feel like there is some myth to the difficulty of getting kids into private school. Our daughter was accepted and attends NCS. We are "nobodies"... meaning our combined HHI is around 350k and we live in a 700k house in Chevy Chase. Upper class to the rest of the world but dc private school poor. Regardless, we can pay the full tuition and our daughter tested well and had a great interview. I think test scores and the initial first impression are what matter most. FYI she was older and coming from public school. I know the game changes and its based more on academic accomplishments in the older grades. I would try to appear normal, down to earth and interested in the school. Ask genuine questions in the interview, don't be pretentious or disengaged. DO NOT CHECK YOUR PHONE - we crossed paths with another tour and the dad was walking around checking his email, then later sitting in the reception area on his phone - granted it may have been an emergency but REALLY??

[Anonymous]

^^ Also we were not ivy etc. DH is a lawyer, but they are so dime a dozen I do not think that helped.

[Anonymous]

We also got into NCS in an older grade this year and are not "connected." We don't know anyone well who is at the school and it was not the normal school for kids from our private school to move to. I agree with PP that what matters most is test scores/grades and your child's initial impression on the school. (One thing I noticed about NCS is that the process focused more on the child than on the parents, more so than some of the other schools). I think for parents I agree with what PP said. I don't know but based on what I have seen, it is helpful for parents to not be difficult parents at the orginal school and it probably helps to be involved at your school (my DH is on the board of prior school, for example). But I really sensed that the scores/grades and the personality type of the girl made a big difference.

[Anonymous]

Being on the board of your current school is a signal that you are at least covering the gap for annual giving - and while you may not be well known, this does speak volumes to the AD and admissions committee.

On the minority comment earlier, I think this is BS (speaking from experience) unless you can afford the full tuition. This isn't sour grapes either - my DD is fine and excelling at Holton, where their commitment to diversity is real.

[Anonymous]

To the OP- if NCS is truly only able to get 20 rather than 30 beauvoir girls you might want to ask yourself what is going on.

[Anonymous]

probably a combo of "only able to get" and "doesn't want the other 10"... NCS might not be an automatic admit from B anymore... what a child is at 8 is not what they were at 3, diversity reasons, etc. Flip side I think lots of people are trending away from single sex ed which may be another reason for the dip in numbers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:probably a combo of "only able to get" and "doesn't want the other 10"... NCS might not be an automatic admit from B anymore... what a child is at 8 is not what they were at 3, diversity reasons, etc. Flip side I think lots of people are trending away from single sex ed which may be another reason for the dip in numbers.

That is utter bullshit.

[Anonymous]

You're right pp...no one is "trendy away" from single-sex...even some public schools are doing it now.