Now that it's over, tell me about the good and bad experiences you had with admissions offices

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Potomac (HS) was amazing. Too good, really, because they made it seem like they really wanted our kid (well, and every other kid) - then waitlisted her! They were too nice!!

I also thought Potomac did a very good job and were welcoming and organized. I always leave there with positive feelings.

But there are subtle things going on that you may not have noticed - that made it pretty clear to us that our child wasn't likely to make the cut (also knowing the number they typically take from our school and knowing about classmates applying; siblings/athletes) There is a high emphasis on recruitment of athletes and if you know about it, it is obvious on a tour or on a visit day that one of the admissions staff (who is a coach) is having some different/extra interactions with the prospective athletes. It was also the case that 4/5 of our student tour guides was a committed D1 level athlete and the 5th was very heavy into performing arts (likely major roles in multiple performances a year). They were all impressive kids - nice and well spoken. Potomac (or that admissions person) has gotten better and nuancing this over time - when our older child applied - the athletic vibe was poured on very thick.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Potomac (HS) was amazing. Too good, really, because they made it seem like they really wanted our kid (well, and every other kid) - then waitlisted her! They were too nice!!

My kids are there, and I would bet they honestly did want her. They had a record number of 9th grade applicants and very few 8th graders are not returning. If you’re still interested, let them know. We have friends who got off the wl for 9th in Aug one year. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Brief impressions: (9th grade)
Sidwell, the assistant always answered the phone and emails, the interviewer had clearly pre-read the application and was very helpful in connecting our kid with a teacher and a coach.
STA: lovely, always answered phone and emails. Also knew our kid's application at the interview.
Maret: Did not answer the one email question we sent. Interviewer was lovely.
GDS: Impossible to get in touch with anyone by phone. Did respond to email. Interviewer was lovely and super chatty.

(Genuine question - not snark) I'm curious why so many phone calls and emails to these schools? I didn't call a single school in the admissions applications process (and we applied to all of the above except STA). I emailed one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I found SAES to be involved, responsive, and helpful during all parts of the process. They had read our application before the interview, were warm and open in conversations, presented a great virtual open house, and gave multiple opportunities for parents and kids to come onto campus.

I agree but they dropped the ball after admissions decisions came out. Communication was horrible and it really scared us away. Such a weird time for the wheels to come off the bus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I found SAES to be involved, responsive, and helpful during all parts of the process. They had read our application before the interview, were warm and open in conversations, presented a great virtual open house, and gave multiple opportunities for parents and kids to come onto campus.

I agree but they dropped the ball after admissions decisions came out. Communication was horrible and it really scared us away. Such a weird time for the wheels to come off the bus.

We had a weird communication situation with them too after decisions came out. Interesting. We were looking for lower school and did not go with them even though they were initially our top choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell HS learning specialist seemed irritated she had to meet with families. Had a rude tone and making a face the entire time. I wondered if it was because we are not white. Gave a very bad impression of the school.

NCS, Holton, GDS admissions people and interviewers all very nice in comparison.

LOL - This is because Sidwell teachers/faculty are used to having a wall up to buffer them from parents. Other than a couple of coffees with a strict agenda each year, they lock you out and take a "talk to the hand" stance. We never needed much, so whatever, but it is very off-putting to be treated like you must be a pain-in-the-neck just because you are a parent. I'm sure there are some parents there that fit the bill, but to treat everyone does not make for a nice warm Quaker community.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We never even applied to GDS because when we showed up for the tour (that we booked, online, well in advance) it was as if the admissions office had forgotten there was a tour at all--they were super late, we were waiting around the lobby area. Then finally they grabbed a parent volunteer to lead the tour who seemed to know very little about the school (she couldn't answer basic questions). Very off-putting and disorganized.

This was our experience as well at GDS. The tour guide didn’t even show us the whole school, was done in 15 mins, and didn’t show us the art floor - which is DCs interest and something we asked about. The AO was surprised we were done so early and we had to wait in the lobby for 45 mins. Every kid was buried in their cell phone and barely looked up.

We decided to not finish the application and actually thought that this could not possible be the same GDS that had such high reviews. We were googling on the way home to make sure we went to the right school. Now that I think about it… no one even followed up to see how our tour was, if we had any questions, if we were going to finish the application. We have a very high performing DC that was accepted everywhere else we applied. It was weird.

Other than automatic email pushes in Ravenna (or other platforms) to remind us of application deadlines - I have never had a school follow up after a tour or ask if we were going to finish an applications. We've gone through the process twice for HS.

We got a personalized email and a call from the Holton Admission Director a couple of hours after the interview asking how our DD felt and if we had any questions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I found SAES to be involved, responsive, and helpful during all parts of the process. They had read our application before the interview, were warm and open in conversations, presented a great virtual open house, and gave multiple opportunities for parents and kids to come onto campus.

I agree but they dropped the ball after admissions decisions came out. Communication was horrible and it really scared us away. Such a weird time for the wheels to come off the bus.

Saes is an average school, not a great school. If your child got into a higher performing school, go there and don't concern yourself any further with St. Andrew's shortcomings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One of my DC's classmate's family had an unprofessional experience with admissions at Flint Hill. The admissions department acted as if they were just a number. They were so disorganized that the admissions person forgot about their scheduled interview. Their child attends a highly regarded private school and is an athlete and an excellent student. The child was accepted to every school they applied to: FH, Potomac, and GDS. They had originally thought their DC would attend FH, but after such an unimpressive showing by the admissions department at FH, their child is going to attend GDS.

That's strange. Admin's pretty decent at Flint Hill. That said, Flint Hill really isn't competitive with Potomac and GDS academically, so not sure why those were the three schools. Girls Volleyball player?

[Anonymous]

NCS and Potomac both did a great job with the process and with our family. Visits, student tours, attending practices, interview, and calls/emails post acceptance. All top notch. Professional, tailored to our family, and welcoming.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One of my DC's classmate's family had an unprofessional experience with admissions at Flint Hill. The admissions department acted as if they were just a number. They were so disorganized that the admissions person forgot about their scheduled interview. Their child attends a highly regarded private school and is an athlete and an excellent student. The child was accepted to every school they applied to: FH, Potomac, and GDS. They had originally thought their DC would attend FH, but after such an unimpressive showing by the admissions department at FH, their child is going to attend GDS.

That's strange. Admin's pretty decent at Flint Hill. That said, Flint Hill really isn't competitive with Potomac and GDS academically, so not sure why those were the three schools. Girls Volleyball player?

That seems the likely explanation -- particularly with FH being the initial leader among the three acceptances (unless their original thought was motivated by an expectation that FH would be their only acceptance). I am surprised, as well, with the experience the first poster had with FH admissions. We are a couple cycles out and also selected a different school for our DD; however, we found the admissions department at FH to be warm and well organized.

[Anonymous]

What were people’s impressions of Admissions at K-8 schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What were people’s impressions of Admissions at K-8 schools?

We liked WES, who were responsive and made their division head and a specials teacher we expressed curiosity about available to speak with us.

[Anonymous]

Sidwell college counseling was excellent

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What were people’s impressions of Admissions at K-8 schools?

WES was really good. I talked to their learning specialist too who seemed fantastic.

Norwood we had one of the more awkward interviews and tours. But the head of admissions was really responsive and good.