Odds of getting into Sidwell

[Anonymous]

You are just leaving out all the horrible Sidwell stories. Glass houses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell is a great investment into your child's education. Take a look at their alumni social media accounts. Active group that's racially diverse. Is it worth the 44k tag? Well, that's up to you and what your expecting. At the end of the day this is one of the best schools in DC and in the Nation.

Finally, someone willing to say what really drives most decisions to attend SFS and similar schools: connections. Especially for k-12s, connections get a kid in and connections are what families pay for. Also a big consideration for schools which is why legacies and knowing Board members, etc. are hooks.

DD was admitted with no connections or hooks other than excellent grades, test scores, and evidence of talent in creative writing and dance. We did not choose it for connections.

PP sounds like someone whose child did not get in looking for a reason to slam the school.

[Anonymous]

Not at all. Sidwell is great but to suggest other schools are inferior because of brushes with scandal and ignore Sidwell's own issues is ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not at all. Sidwell is great but to suggest other schools are inferior because of brushes with scandal and ignore Sidwell's own issues is ridiculous.

Agreed. In the recent past Sidwell fired 2 teachers for having inappropriate relationships with students, a student who was accused of raping another student, and although I don't know if it's a legitimate claim, there's still a lawsuit out there claiming that a student was discriminated against because she was black. And the school hired Rick Singer to testify in this case on their behalf. Additionally, there are 3 former Sidwell families that used Rick Singer to help their kids get into college. Their cases went to a grand jury hearing this summer, but charges have not yet been filed. So yes, they too have had their own issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not at all. Sidwell is great but to suggest other schools are inferior because of brushes with scandal and ignore Sidwell's own issues is ridiculous.

Agreed. In the recent past Sidwell fired 2 teachers for having inappropriate relationships with students, a student who was accused of raping another student, and although I don't know if it's a legitimate claim, there's still a lawsuit out there claiming that a student was discriminated against because she was black. And the school hired Rick Singer to testify in this case on their behalf. Additionally, there are 3 former Sidwell families that used Rick Singer to help their kids get into college. Their cases went to a grand jury hearing this summer, but charges have not yet been filed. So yes, they too have had their own issues.

And you state this as if no other prominent school in Dc doesn’t have scandals too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not at all. Sidwell is great but to suggest other schools are inferior because of brushes with scandal and ignore Sidwell's own issues is ridiculous.

Agreed. In the recent past Sidwell fired 2 teachers for having inappropriate relationships with students, a student who was accused of raping another student, and although I don't know if it's a legitimate claim, there's still a lawsuit out there claiming that a student was discriminated against because she was black. And the school hired Rick Singer to testify in this case on their behalf. Additionally, there are 3 former Sidwell families that used Rick Singer to help their kids get into college. Their cases went to a grand jury hearing this summer, but charges have not yet been filed. So yes, they too have had their own issues.

Actually, the way you cast these were in the most negative light possible.

One teacher had been removed over 20 years ago.
The second teacher had an allegation in their past and had been removed when Sidwell found out about it. That teacher never had any allegations of inproprieties at Sidwell and was beloved.
The rape allegation turned out to be false.
The lawsuit was taken to the supreme court and lost at every there and before.
Yes, apparently the school hired Rick Singer, most likely not knowing of his improprieties.
I don't know about any parents using Mr. Singer, but if they did, that wasn't a school action but rather a parent action.

The school has issues, and parents raise them with the Administration, so it isn't all rainbows and unicorns, but let's have some honesty on these forums.

[Anonymous]

Yes, that was precisely the point. The earlier poster said Sidwell was great because the other schools had scandals. That was just stupid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD really wants to go to Sidwell for 9th grade. I did my research and see that for 9th they typically only have 40-50 slots open and receive 300 plus applicants. I would assume only kids with high GPAs and etc apply. How can your child stand out? I was told Sidwell doesn’t care if your child is an athlete. How true is this?

My children are students at Sidwell and personally I found it very easy to get them in.

XOXO

[Anonymous]

Odds are probably easier now than odds of GDS admissions.

[Anonymous]

No one cares about GDS. And it is a cakewalk to get into compared to the Big 3.

[Anonymous]

What's the admission rate at GDS relative to your so-called "Big 3"? You don't know, do you? I thought so.

[Anonymous]

No one in their right mind would think GDS and/or Aidwell are easy to get into, regardless of grade level. If your child got in, congrats, you were lucky.

[Anonymous]

Again, the original topic was the odds of getting into Sidwell.

However, this conversation has devolved into a discussion of Sidwell's Quaker values. I am a Sidwell parent and a Quaker. The previous poster who estimated that there are 1-2 Quaker students per grade is probably correct. In my DD's grade, there are definitely two active Quaker families, and there could be more.

My experience as a Quaker and a Sidwell parent is that the school consistently has a tension around how closely it is ascribing to Quaker values. I expect that this is the same for other private schools affiliated with religions. And, like everywhere, there are non-Quaker families who live their lives commensurate with Quaker values, and other families who are neutral about Sidwell's Quakerism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No one cares about GDS. And it is a cakewalk to get into compared to the Big 3.

True

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No one cares about GDS. And it is a cakewalk to get into compared to the Big 3.

True

What??!