Switching from public to private

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here's a parent of a soon to be 5th grader who is seriously thinking of switching to a private school. I just was not that aware of private schools 6 years ago.
Either way, I would just love it if my kid could switch to private for middle school.
We have already started extra math prepping. DD is strugling with some subjects, others she does very well in.
At times I am very discouraged, the schools seem very picky with the personalities of the kids that they are looking for. I have what I would describe as an ordinary child, prone to childishness that comes with being that age, not a super athlete, works when she has to, is not always a pleasure to teach etc.
But I think she would do well in the private school setting that I have my hearts set on.

I just hope I am not doing the wrong thing by having her apply and then be disappointed with the results.
On the other hand, the exorbitant fees make me change my opinion on this frequently as well.

Putting the money issue aside, which I know is difficult for so many of us, applying early also has one added benefit touched on by PP. If DC gets rejected, DC usually doesn't know. If DC gets rejected from middle or high school, it becomes very difficult for DC not to be affected by this rejection.

[Anonymous]

My kids went from public elementary to private middle and got multiple acceptances. So did many of my friends' kids. Most of them applied for 6th or 7th grade, and had no problems getting into at least a couple of schools. In my son's 5th grade class, several kids went to Sidwell, St. A's, Landon, NCS, and GDS.

[Anonymous]

Was the process more or less fraught than the pre-K/K process (at least as described on this forum)? Did you have the sense, often expressed here, that connections/wealth/sibling status/alumni status played a large role in admissions? Or did it seem to be more about the kids themselves?

[Anonymous]

I suppose the process is fraught for some, but we're just not the kind of people to get all caught up in that stuff. We were very low-key about the whole thing, talked to friends whose kids went to the schools we were considering, and just figured that we're nice people with great kids, and if the schools didn't want them, it was their loss! We've lived in DC our whole adult lives, so there's not much "mystique" to these schools for us -- we know lots of people who went to them and/or whose kids did, so we didn't buy into the whole "must get into the right school or their life is doomed" scenario. I did see people on the visits who were a bit tightly wound though, and they weren't doing themselves any favors, if you ask me. Anyway, our kids got into several places, and we didn't talk to them about "getting in", we just discussed finding the right place for them. They're pretty easygoing and didn't really get stressed by the whole thing, although they didn't love getting prepped for the SSAT. And I do agree that the "lifer" kids (the ones who were there from kindergarten) don't seem to do as well as the ones who come in later.