Beauvoir or Key School??
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Anonymous
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PPs have given good advice born of experience in many cases. Here's the distillation:
How lucky do you feel (re: your low, low odds at 4th) VS. How willing are you to go without / make sacrifices (for things like vacation, camps, a VitaMix ...) Our family is in the latter group and so I'm not mocking you -- we're there now. It's OK, and not awesome. |
Anonymous
+1 |
Anonymous
| Paying to send your DS to Beauvoir is like an insurance policy b/c he will likely be accepted to STA. Sending your DS to Key and applying to STA is a great option if you have some connection to STA - b/c you will likely get in and will have saved $$ on a Beauvoir education (which is equivalent to what you would get at Key). So, it depends on your situation. If you are unconnected, you should try for Beauvoir and accept that the $$ they collect is your "pre-STA-tax" -- if you are connected/confident of your legacy with STA, save your $$ b/c you are already part of the club. |
Anonymous
OP, I am a former Beauvoir parent with a son at STA , and have gotten to know many of the familes of non-Beauvoir boys at STA . I have also been through the admissions process at both schools as a , like you, completely unconnected family. I'm only posting this to try to help you not make a huge miscalcualtion. Yes, Saint Albans does admit from DCPS, but in the vast majority of cases, though these boys do come from DCPS, their father, and in many cases their grand father, attended Saint Albans. Yes, STA does take boys from DCPS, but almost all of those boys are not being accepted for their " DCPS roots" , they are being accepted from some NW DC public school , not because they are a "public school charity case", but because their GGF was Secretary of Defense and every member of their family going back 50 years has attended STA or NCS. Not all, but many,many ,many. Who else, would "sit tight" in DCPS, granted at Mann or Eaton, knowing that they did not have to worry about DS ending up at Wilson ?? Who does that ? Think about that. Not to be rude, but if you are "not sure that you can swing the finances" it is likely you are not a family with a very high profile in Washington, correct? Do you really want to be competig against these people in 5 years with a negative outcome being your child is going to Deal , and eventually Wilson ? If you are thinking that you might get into a financial crunch later on, know that STA does give FA and so does Beauvoir to familes that they have made a committment to . If you worry about finances down the road, it may just work in your favor that you will have an opportunity to have another school ( STA FA process is separate from Beauvoir's) evaluate your need for FA in 5 years . Keep in mind awarding FA is a huge investment on the part of a school, and one that a school probably thinks very long and hard about. I would think that if your DS was a Beauvoir child applying to STA, your child would stand a better chance of being granted some FA because STA would be confident that they have a LOT of intel your DS and your family that they would trust: years of glowing reports, a rave from the Hesd of School in your DS's file, for example. Compare that to recs that a teacher at Key might write. They may be great recs, from a fine school, but unlikely that the STA AD is going to feel he has the complete picture of your child and your family as he would if DS were to be coming from Beauvoir. If you need FA, doubly so that STA wants to have a very clear picture of your child to know if he is a good investment. Something to think about. Lastly, many people going through this application and decision process think that the Beauvoir admits( who later attend STA) are the " Washington elite" and that the "other boys" at STA are "regular kids". From my experience, I'd say that though it is not exactly the opposite( there are several Beauvoir families that fall into that alum or high profile family category), Beauvoir actively tries to admit a very diverse group. Saint Albans does also, but many of those "regular boys" found in C form at Saint Albans are actually coming to them from Beauvoir, not DCPS. That is what a lot of people who are trying to make this decison do not realize, especially if you read DCUM's and don't know a lot of actual Beauvoir families. There are lots and lots of "regular families" and kids with very diverse backgrounds at Beauvoir, some of which will not choose STA for 4th grade. So, in a sense, the Beauvoir families are "softer competition" than your DS will face later when he might ( depending on your decision) be competing for admission to STA against the sons of Saint Albans' alums. In fact, some of those boys at Beauvoir wont be choosing Saint Albans, which will make your Ds's chances even better as STA wants as many Beauvoir kids as are a good fit. A Beauvoir 3rd grade boy who is not admitted to STA by choice or by "not a good fit" will be headed to Sidwell, Maret , Potomac or GDS. No need for tears there and this does not pose a "problem" fro STA come decision time. The son of an STA alum, however, who is not admitted to Saint Albans for 4th grade is being relegated to Deal and Wilson. The pressure on STA to not do that would, I think, be immense. Unlikely your DS is admitted over theirs. This is a school that keeps a lifelong committment to its families. STA Alum familes "sit tight" at Mann for a few years, or maybe they send their son to Saint Pats, because they know they have a great chance later. They do. I'm sure that your DS is wonderful and if Beauvoir AD has admitted him, it is because she feels your child will add a lot to the community. It is likely that your child will also one day add a lot to STA community as well. I hope to see you there one day. Good luck. |
Anonymous
OP, for all you kmow this poster is a WL family. |
Anonymous
| You probably need to post on the public school thread too. This thread is dominated by those who have chosen to have their kids attend private and thus the responses will tend to favor that - in ways many of the erudite posters won't directly recognize in their comments. Same problem on the other thread, but just recognize the hazard. |
Anonymous
| Hi 12:37 - isn't your post a less concise version of 12:05? |
Anonymous
| Beauvoir - especially if you want STA. STA had an amazing college placement year and it will become even more difficult to get into than it was before (it was already difficult). Just being honest. That being said, Beauvoir is not an automatic in to STA. |
Anonymous
Yes, but OP gave more info after that ( that her family had no ties to STA), but that she was still deliberating her DS's later chances given that. Not having a connection to the school , or currently having a child at Beauvoir yet where she would certainly pick up a lot of info on the Beauvoir to STA process later, my post was meant to spell that out for her. Just being honest. |
Anonymous
My child attends Saint Albans, but it is not because we are elitists, as you insinuate in bolded comment above. DS attended Beauvoir and now attends STA because he got in, his DCPS school has more kids failing to meet grade level in reading and math than meeting it, and at the time we applied our employers were a mile from our DC home. Work/life balance and a great education are our values. If we lived in another part of the country with great public schools , DS would be in public school. I would not even have looked at Private. We do not. There are hindreds of familes just like hours applying every year to Private school , hoping their kid gets in. None of us are elitists, PP. We're just parents who are "going for it" for the kids we love. There are many familes like ours at Saint Albans and Beauvoir. |
Anonymous
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Calling yourself a parent who is "going for it for the kids we love" might not make you an elitist, but it does make you an ass. Your comment suggests that others - those who didn't apply/get into STA didn't love their kids. Come to think of it, it makes you an elitist too b/c it pre-supposes that STA is better.
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Anonymous
Res ipsa loquiter |
Anonymous
| OP here: A special thank you to PP 12:37. I really appreciate your post. I think you nailed exactly what my fears are with waiting. Do you know how many DCPS boys tend to come in 4th and where they come from- anyone out there?? |
Anonymous
| Call St. Alban's and ask. Seriously. You don't have to explain all of the details of your situation, but you can ask about admissions from DCPS. I had a very candid discussion with one (recently) former AD and one former head of school -- one from a top 3 school and one from a competitive school, but not top three -- when we were deciding between public and private. We ended up in private, but because of the class size and a few other things not related to later admissions. My concern was that my kids would not be prepared/on par with Beauvoir kids, but I was assured that was not the case (as long as we left by 4th grade). Admittedly, I knew both of these ADs through friends/family, so perhaps the candor that I got would not be the same if you didn't know them through someone, but I was pretty reassured that my kids would do just fine if they went to public school and would have good options if they left 3rd/4th grade. |
Anonymous
PP, your reaction is pretty twisted. Did you not see " Waiting for Superman" ? Perhaps you don't live in Washington ? One wonders why you are lurking on the DCUM Private School forum as you seem so totally out of touch with what every parent of a 4 year old in this city goes through whether they are going for the " out of bounds" DCPS lottery, hoping they get lucky with the Charter school lottery or are throwing a hope and a prayer at their DC maybe getting accepted into Private School. No parent in DC wants their kid in a poorly performing DCPS, and many , many schools are just that. They don't serve our children, and yes, ALL try to get out. ALL. I don't believe a single parent in this city wants to send their kid to ( insert name of the worst DCPS you know) . No parent. We all love our kids. Not every parent will find an altternative solution. Many of my friends have sold or rented out their house and moved to Bethesda or Arlington. Some people don't own a home, and can't afford to move because they can't afford to rent in Bethesda. Yes, there are people in this city who, horrors do live on like $300/week and , no they can't afford to "just find an apartment somewhere else" . Does not mean they aren't looking at voucher program, Charter schools , and yes, Private schools. Why not ? Do you not have any friends with children about 3 or 4 years old ? Why are you lurking on this thread when you are so obviously out of touch with the concerns of DC parents ? What is your dog in the fight of whether the OP sends her child to Beauvoir or not ? OP wants Saint Albans, that is her end game. What is your purpose here ? To try to convince her that ," all DC Privates schools are filled with elitists" and she should not bother ? " If she were a decent human being she'd stick with the "real people" in DCPS. Really ? Would you say this to a Mom who lives in Ward 7 and who's son was just offered almost a full FA package to STA ? Its a great opportunity, nothing more, nothing less. |