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I'm not so sure the "top 3" are actually the top 3....
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Anonymous
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Someone defined the "top 3" as Beauvoir, Sidwell, and GDS or Maret. What are the "top 3" for upper/high schools? Shall I assume Sidwell, STA/NCS and GDA or Maret? What about Holton and Landon? Are they not considered top schools, or do they not qualify because they are not in DC? Also does "Top 3" have any meaning outside of this website?
I find the use of the term "Top 3" silly because there are so many great private schools yet they are all so different. |
Anonymous
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Anonymous
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The term Top Three, or Big Three as it is also often referred to, is a DCUM term, though the rest of the hyper-obssessed-status-conscious greater Washington, DC area parents may not use the term, but they think it when they get into the private school sweepstakes.
No, neither Landon nor Holton would be considered Top 3, partially because they are not in upper NW, which is where most of the private school snobbishness centers, and partially because, well, they're not. |
Anonymous
| And hopefully where it stays! |
Anonymous
| Why is Holton "not" when it purportedly has "better" college placement than NCS? Although I have heard much more positive, and frankly more negative about NCS. It seems as though people on this board really either love NCS or hate it. Whereas everyone is really lukewarm about Holton. |
Anonymous
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Anonymous
Washington International School - the teachers and parents speaking in French should have given you a clue. |
Anonymous
| I don't have a child at Sidwell but I am a multi-generation washingtonian and Sidwell has always had the rep it has now. Nothing nouveau or wanna-be about it. I think all the stereotypes of all these schools have to be taken with a grain of salt. |
Anonymous
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I agree with OP about Sidwell. We chose not to apply.
Agree about River, but ultimately chose not to go there because we heard applying out is verboten. LOVED St. Patricks and the facilities there too. Would have been happy there had our first chioice not worked out. WIS wasn't for us. I can see why people love it, just not right for our child. First choice for us? Beauvoir. The curriculum is amazing, the resources abound, and the staff is very knowledgeable and welcoming. Unlike OP, I liked the 3rd-grade presentations. While we were there the had the toddlers and each 3rd grader was presenting to a toddler, which is pretty difficult. The 3rd graders were being very patient!! I love the "taking care of each other" and life rules aspects. Doesn't really matter if it's top 3 or not, didn't matter to us if the AD is nice or not. We were just looking for a good fit for our child. Obviously college admissions are not terribly relevant for a school that ends in 3rd grade. |
Anonymous
Holton anf T. Jefferson |
Anonymous
| OP, do the math: The big 3 (or 4) get 10 times any many applications than they have spots. Chances are that the same families apply to all. Then fold in the fact that some apply and never follw up. Some do not attend if accepted. Yes, there are families that turn Sidwell down. So chances of admission to one is about 1/3 or better. I would say 1/2. Point: it ain't that competitive. |
Anonymous
| If you have a gifted and talented boy, one should look into St. Anselm's starting in 6th grade. Those boys go to AMAZING schools and their curriculum is one of the most challenging in the city. Again, though, only for boys who truly can test into it....the school is a hidden gem! |
Anonymous
Is this the fabled "new math"? |
Anonymous
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Unfortunately, I think the odds may be a little higher than this. I was told that for a recent middle school year they had something like 115 applicants for 20 or so slots. About 10 of these slots went to siblings. So taking the siblings off the top of both numbers, you get 105 applicants for 10 "real" slots. I don't want to be a downer, but I'm pretty confident about my source on this.
Some applicants clearly aren't qualified and get dismissed straight away. But I'm guessing that the applicant pool is a pretty self-selected group, and many of the kids are equally bright, motivated, engaging, et cetera. There was an interesting thread elsewhere where an admissions person said that when schools make the decision, they need to rely on other factors to distinguish among these remaining kids. So the question in my mind is, why do some schools have such high applicant-to-slot ratios? Is it deserved, when you could get an equal education, or better exmissions, or whatever, somewhere else? So we've come full circle, because this is actually the topic of this thread.... |
Anonymous
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OP, I appreciate your comments as we will be touring schools imminently. However, it would help put them in context if you would say where all you were accepted (other than River).
Thanks. |