2025 Admission Results

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do FA families have a harder time getting in? Wondering why we struck out this year and if needing FA was a factor. Is there a threshold of a certain percentage of aid needed that makes it harder?

I would assume so. Most of these schools don't have a large endowment and the non-super rich full pays don't donate a lot of money because tuition costs $50,000 a year per child.

But when schools advertise the average award, it seems significant. Some around 50% of tuition. I'm just trying to understand, they seem to welcome FA students but then won't accept them?

If you're an FA family getting 50% or more, what kind of student do you have? They can't all be straight A students and world class athletes.

We received this award at four competitive schools and DC is a very impressive child. I would share their qualities, but for privacy reasons I am limited.

Basically, if you are going for FA you need to bring something to the table to elevate the class

So theoretically, this award will go to three other kids on the waitlist when your DC accepts a spot?

Or to already accepted students on their FA waitlist. Some schools accept a student but will put them on a separate waitlist for FA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do FA families have a harder time getting in? Wondering why we struck out this year and if needing FA was a factor. Is there a threshold of a certain percentage of aid needed that makes it harder?

Yes, of course.

And I don't mean to sound sarcastic or mean, but this should make sense to you. However, I know how the schools present the FA situation and I think it can be very misleading and unfair.

If you can't afford to pay for the tuition and other families can, they are going to have the upper hand. No matter what the schools say about how generous they are with FA, requiring it automatically puts you at a disadvantage.

I can't afford a $5,000,000 home. Someone else is going to pay cash. Who do you think the sellers want to work with?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do FA families have a harder time getting in? Wondering why we struck out this year and if needing FA was a factor. Is there a threshold of a certain percentage of aid needed that makes it harder?

I would assume so. Most of these schools don't have a large endowment and the non-super rich full pays don't donate a lot of money because tuition costs $50,000 a year per child.

But when schools advertise the average award, it seems significant. Some around 50% of tuition. I'm just trying to understand, they seem to welcome FA students but then won't accept them?

If you're an FA family getting 50% or more, what kind of student do you have? They can't all be straight A students and world class athletes.

We received this award at four competitive schools and DC is a very impressive child. I would share their qualities, but for privacy reasons I am limited.

Basically, if you are going for FA you need to bring something to the table to elevate the class

So theoretically, this award will go to three other kids on the waitlist when your DC accepts a spot?

I hope so! We are notifying schools on Monday

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do FA families have a harder time getting in? Wondering why we struck out this year and if needing FA was a factor. Is there a threshold of a certain percentage of aid needed that makes it harder?

I would assume so. Most of these schools don't have a large endowment and the non-super rich full pays don't donate a lot of money because tuition costs $50,000 a year per child.

But when schools advertise the average award, it seems significant. Some around 50% of tuition. I'm just trying to understand, they seem to welcome FA students but then won't accept them?

If you're an FA family getting 50% or more, what kind of student do you have? They can't all be straight A students and world class athletes.

We received this award at four competitive schools and DC is a very impressive child. I would share their qualities, but for privacy reasons I am limited.

Basically, if you are going for FA you need to bring something to the table to elevate the class

Would love to know how a kid elevates the class. Please tell.

If you have to ask…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Two siblings, 4th grade and 6th grade
GDS accepted
NCS accepted
Maret wait-listed
Sidwell rejected

I think GDS is a better fit for one and NCS is a better fit for the other, so we need to decide if we want to split them up

As a family with one kid at gds and one kid at another school, if you can at all manage kids in different schools, it's worth it. Gds is wonderful for the right kid, but you need to be able to manage independence.

We have kids at different schools and I totally agree with this. It’s really not that hard logistically. And our kids love their schools and their experiences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do FA families have a harder time getting in? Wondering why we struck out this year and if needing FA was a factor. Is there a threshold of a certain percentage of aid needed that makes it harder?

I would assume so. Most of these schools don't have a large endowment and the non-super rich full pays don't donate a lot of money because tuition costs $50,000 a year per child.

But when schools advertise the average award, it seems significant. Some around 50% of tuition. I'm just trying to understand, they seem to welcome FA students but then won't accept them?

If you're an FA family getting 50% or more, what kind of student do you have? They can't all be straight A students and world class athletes.

Many schools have published that their “average” FA award is 50% of tuition. But that doesn’t mean that there are many FA packages of 50% of tuition. The mean average number doesn’t give you any idea of the shape of the distribution.

Large awards would have to be offset by small ones.

And relatively few families get FA at most of these schools. Yay, the average aid award is 50%........but less than 25% of families receive aid isn't unusual.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do FA families have a harder time getting in? Wondering why we struck out this year and if needing FA was a factor. Is there a threshold of a certain percentage of aid needed that makes it harder?

Yes, of course.

And I don't mean to sound sarcastic or mean, but this should make sense to you. However, I know how the schools present the FA situation and I think it can be very misleading and unfair.

If you can't afford to pay for the tuition and other families can, they are going to have the upper hand. No matter what the schools say about how generous they are with FA, requiring it automatically puts you at a disadvantage.

I can't afford a $5,000,000 home. Someone else is going to pay cash. Who do you think the sellers want to work with?

This only matters if the two kids are neck and neck. It isn't that simple because these schools often have funds allocated for financial aid. This allows them to accept kids whose parents cannot pay full. Sure, all the kids who need financial aid are vying for that pool, but just because you can pay doesn't mean your kid will automatically get accepted. A lot of families in this area can pay full price and some. 50k-ish a year is a lot for many people, but you'd be surprised at how many in the DMV won't feel a thing paying full boat for several kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Basis Mclean: Admitted
GDS: Admitted
Potomac School: Waitlisted
HA: Admitted.

Potomac School was her first choice!

Over Basis?

Oh the Basis troll. Pathetic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do FA families have a harder time getting in? Wondering why we struck out this year and if needing FA was a factor. Is there a threshold of a certain percentage of aid needed that makes it harder?

I would assume so. Most of these schools don't have a large endowment and the non-super rich full pays don't donate a lot of money because tuition costs $50,000 a year per child.

But when schools advertise the average award, it seems significant. Some around 50% of tuition. I'm just trying to understand, they seem to welcome FA students but then won't accept them?

If you're an FA family getting 50% or more, what kind of student do you have? They can't all be straight A students and world class athletes.

We received this award at four competitive schools and DC is a very impressive child. I would share their qualities, but for privacy reasons I am limited.

Basically, if you are going for FA you need to bring something to the table to elevate the class

Would love to know how a kid elevates the class. Please tell.

If you have to ask…

Sounds bogus. Not getting a reply confirms that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do FA families have a harder time getting in? Wondering why we struck out this year and if needing FA was a factor. Is there a threshold of a certain percentage of aid needed that makes it harder?

I would assume so. Most of these schools don't have a large endowment and the non-super rich full pays don't donate a lot of money because tuition costs $50,000 a year per child.

But when schools advertise the average award, it seems significant. Some around 50% of tuition. I'm just trying to understand, they seem to welcome FA students but then won't accept them?

If you're an FA family getting 50% or more, what kind of student do you have? They can't all be straight A students and world class athletes.

We received this award at four competitive schools and DC is a very impressive child. I would share their qualities, but for privacy reasons I am limited.

Basically, if you are going for FA you need to bring something to the table to elevate the class

Would love to know how a kid elevates the class. Please tell.

If you have to ask…

Sounds bogus. Not getting a reply confirms that.

It was their parents’ incredible self-awareness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do FA families have a harder time getting in? Wondering why we struck out this year and if needing FA was a factor. Is there a threshold of a certain percentage of aid needed that makes it harder?

I would assume so. Most of these schools don't have a large endowment and the non-super rich full pays don't donate a lot of money because tuition costs $50,000 a year per child.

But when schools advertise the average award, it seems significant. Some around 50% of tuition. I'm just trying to understand, they seem to welcome FA students but then won't accept them?

If you're an FA family getting 50% or more, what kind of student do you have? They can't all be straight A students and world class athletes.

We received this award at four competitive schools and DC is a very impressive child. I would share their qualities, but for privacy reasons I am limited.

Basically, if you are going for FA you need to bring something to the table to elevate the class

Would love to know how a kid elevates the class. Please tell.

If you have to ask…

Sounds bogus. Not getting a reply confirms that.

It was their parents’ incredible self-awareness.

More like delusions of grandeur

[Anonymous]

Hi! Congratulations/empathy to everyone. Admissions is hard!

Seeking advice on Field. DD got into Field and Bryn Mawr (Baltimore). She’s highly creative but also highly academic (bored at current charter, a year ahead in math.)

How is the academic rigor at Field for a kid who likes to be challenged academically? (Consciously didn’t apply to Sidwell because looking for rigger without so much pressure.)

Thanks in advance for any thoughts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi! Congratulations/empathy to everyone. Admissions is hard!

Seeking advice on Field. DD got into Field and Bryn Mawr (Baltimore). She’s highly creative but also highly academic (bored at current charter, a year ahead in math.)

How is the academic rigor at Field for a kid who likes to be challenged academically? (Consciously didn’t apply to Sidwell because looking for rigger without so much pressure.)

Thanks in advance for any thoughts.

We will be accepting at Field for my artsy DD who excels at math and science. Look at their upper school curriculum, there's a lot of options for advanced math courses. Also did not apply to Sidwell because we were not interested in pressure cooker.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do FA families have a harder time getting in? Wondering why we struck out this year and if needing FA was a factor. Is there a threshold of a certain percentage of aid needed that makes it harder?

I would assume so. Most of these schools don't have a large endowment and the non-super rich full pays don't donate a lot of money because tuition costs $50,000 a year per child.

But when schools advertise the average award, it seems significant. Some around 50% of tuition. I'm just trying to understand, they seem to welcome FA students but then won't accept them?

If you're an FA family getting 50% or more, what kind of student do you have? They can't all be straight A students and world class athletes.

We received this award at four competitive schools and DC is a very impressive child. I would share their qualities, but for privacy reasons I am limited.

Basically, if you are going for FA you need to bring something to the table to elevate the class

Would love to know how a kid elevates the class. Please tell.

If you have to ask…

Sounds bogus. Not getting a reply confirms that.

Our packages speak for themselves. I was just giving hope to the poster who asked because if I was in their shoes I would want to know. On the other hand, I am not entertaining snarky like yours. Enjoy squabbling among each other, trolls! We’ve got exciting decisions to make.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do FA families have a harder time getting in? Wondering why we struck out this year and if needing FA was a factor. Is there a threshold of a certain percentage of aid needed that makes it harder?

I would assume so. Most of these schools don't have a large endowment and the non-super rich full pays don't donate a lot of money because tuition costs $50,000 a year per child.

But when schools advertise the average award, it seems significant. Some around 50% of tuition. I'm just trying to understand, they seem to welcome FA students but then won't accept them?

If you're an FA family getting 50% or more, what kind of student do you have? They can't all be straight A students and world class athletes.

We received this award at four competitive schools and DC is a very impressive child. I would share their qualities, but for privacy reasons I am limited.

Basically, if you are going for FA you need to bring something to the table to elevate the class

Would love to know how a kid elevates the class. Please tell.

If you have to ask…

Sounds bogus. Not getting a reply confirms that.

Our packages speak for themselves. I was just giving hope to the poster who asked because if I was in their shoes I would want to know. On the other hand, I am not entertaining snarky like yours. Enjoy squabbling among each other, trolls! We’ve got exciting decisions to make.

Getting financial aid doesn’t mean your kid is elevating the class.

It means you are the recipient of charity that was donated to the school to help less fortunate families.

You are lucky enough to be getting a bailout from the parents at that school who donate towards financial aid.

Show some gratitude and lose the entitlement. You are just getting financial aid.