Getting into St. Albans

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agreed! Sadly, my bet is it is these fake question posers are generally more successful than the quiet ones in gaining admission.

"Fake" and "posers"! Sums up my impression of the other parents at Beauvoir/NCS/STA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agreed! Sadly, my bet is it is these fake question posers are generally more successful than the quiet ones in gaining admission.

"Fake" and "posers"! Sums up my impression of the other parents at Beauvoir/NCS/STA.

Many may be. Many are not. I'm trying to distinguish between a culture at the school and the parents who choose the school. I know many chose the school honestly thinking "hard to get into" meant "best".

[Anonymous]

"It is impossible not to be impressed by the school [STA]."

That's really not at all true. I know a number of Beauvoir families who weren't impressed by St. Albans after their tour and decided that they would only send their boys there if they had to. Most of them went on to send their boys to other schools.

Also, the point a couple of posts made about accountability is hugely important. At STA, and a number of other schools like it, accountability is virtually nonexistent. That, if nothing else, is a huge problem.

[Anonymous]

Do most parents even demand accountability from schools? It seems like many are "impressed" by the schools (curriculum, rhetoric, buildings, etc.) and assume that their kids are getting more because they are paying all that money. Also, how do parents really demand accountability from schools even if they want it? The schools don't really have to respond.

[Anonymous]

It is indeed a mistake to assume that everyone wants to get their boys into STA or the other schools deemed "the biggies." We toured (and toured...and toured) pretty much all the private schools in the DC/MD/VA area. If anything, schools like STA and Sidwell completely turned us OFF. When my husband and I compared notes after, we both laughed as we agreed that some of the schools everyone was so ga-ga over... we HATED! (And we rarely agree on anything, which is why this was so surprising). There is so much that goes into a family's choice. And, boy - we would CERTAINLY not fit in well at a school where the parents are afraid to ask tough questions. It wouldn't even occur to me NOT to ask questions. There are schools that plummeted on our list because of the reaction to our questions or the simply BAD answers we got. We weren't asking anything obnoxious, but they weren't the softball fake questions one of the other posters referred to.

Bottom line, as others have pointed out: "Hard to get into" does not = the best. I loved the country club analogy a PP gave. It is not exactly parallel, but the message gets across splendidly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is indeed a mistake to assume that everyone wants to get their boys into STA or the other schools deemed "the biggies." We toured (and toured...and toured) pretty much all the private schools in the DC/MD/VA area. If anything, schools like STA and Sidwell completely turned us OFF. When my husband and I compared notes after, we both laughed as we agreed that some of the schools everyone was so ga-ga over... we HATED! (And we rarely agree on anything, which is why this was so surprising). There is so much that goes into a family's choice. And, boy - we would CERTAINLY not fit in well at a school where the parents are afraid to ask tough questions. It wouldn't even occur to me NOT to ask questions. There are schools that plummeted on our list because of the reaction to our questions or the simply BAD answers we got. We weren't asking anything obnoxious, but they weren't the softball fake questions one of the other posters referred to.

Bottom line, as others have pointed out: "Hard to get into" does not = the best. I loved the country club analogy a PP gave. It is not exactly parallel, but the message gets across splendidly.

Can I ask what school you ended up choosing for your son?

[Anonymous]

Do STA teachers get admissions and tuition privileges for their children at STA/NCS?

There is information on the so-called "Beauvoir Scandal" thread that suggests that STA teachers are sending their kids to St. Patricks rather than to the Cathedral schools. I would be interested to hear whether that is true, and if so whether it is an admission/tuition issue, or something else.

[Anonymous]

It is true. I was surprised by that as well and so asked the school. Its a question of academic standards, period. Peter Barrett, head of St Patrick's, was a STA teacher. They know what he is doing, and doing well, at St Patricks. They want their kids educated at St Patrick's.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is true. I was surprised by that as well and so asked the school. Its a question of academic standards, period. Peter Barrett, head of St Patrick's, was a STA teacher. They know what he is doing, and doing well, at St Patricks. They want their kids educated at St Patrick's.

I'm sure the school didn't actually say something along the lines of "Its a question of academic standards," now, did they?

Can you or anyone else elaborate on how many "they" are? If it's one or two teachers, that's one thing. Much more on top of that, then I might start thinking the PP has a point.

[Anonymous]

Does it help with admissions if you are Protestant?

[Anonymous]

OP here. I have never heard anything about religion being considered. I hope not anyway.

[Anonymous]

I think it helps if you are Episcopalian. Just a guess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I have never heard anything about religion being considered. I hope not anyway.

Well, they do ask on the application form as I remember.

[Anonymous]

OP here. I am not sure if it's considered in the application, but perhaps.

[Anonymous]

I would be interested to hear about the experiences of any Jewish or other non-Protestant families at St. Albans/NCS.