Record Applications at local Private Schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP having second thoughts about not even applying. Last fall we were thinking public would be fine, but now realizing that it's been a year that DC has cruised through while public teachers focused on bringing up the bottom. Does this imply there's really no point in calling around to see if anyone has openings? Both independent schools and parochial?

It’s always worth calling around. This area is very transient. Our kids go to a parochial school and I know the waitlist shuffles around all the way up to the first day of school.

At this point in the year, wouldn’t they be working off their current waitlist?

No, they will often go to new applications over the waitlist. This may not sound fair but in my experience from watching the process over 5 years it's what often happens.

+1

A school can have a big waitlist for 5th grade (or what-have-you), but if they're trying to gender-balance the class and the waitlist is all boys – you may well be considered first if your student is a girl. At this point, even schools with huge applicant pools may still be trying to balance out their classes. Calling around is a pain, but your best bet.

[Anonymous]

SJC has always had a record number of applications year over year even before the pandemic. I wonder if they ever go to the wait list. My DD graduated last year.

[Anonymous]

My kids have been in privates (three different schools) since early 2000s and the only years I haven’t heard of as a “record year” was back in the recession/housing bubble over a decade ago.

[Anonymous]

Living in Bethesda it seems like most of the "upper 10%" is already in private around here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I heard Gonzaga received over 50,000 applications.

Twice as many as Georgetown University? Not likely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I heard that in regards to Gonzaga

Interesting as I heard Gonzaga had a “light year” in terms of applications, as apparently many current 8th grade classes are “girl heavy”.

[Anonymous]

I don't think it is true anymore. Am at a private and the school actually told us that public school interest is waning now that public school is back in person. We are returning to our private as well. I don't think the urgency is there anymore. For privates that weren't full pre-pandemic, this will be a problem but for the others, I'm not sure it'll make much of a difference.

[Anonymous]

*meant we are returning to public as well.

[Anonymous]

How much of an impact will public school departures make? Were there that many refugees in the first place?

[Anonymous]

It’s because the Whittle School is closing that many schools got more applicants. That’s what we were told by admissions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s because the Whittle School is closing that many schools got more applicants. That’s what we were told by admissions.

Whittle didn’t have that many kids did they?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Of course. Wealthy parents leaving the publics in droves for the past two years. COVID!

It’s not just Covid. It’s the sharp veer in public schools towards centering equity and the de-emphasis on testing by selective colleges and universities. No one really knows what it means in the long run but many are assuming kids at privates will have a leg up as the metrics for demonstrating merit at public schools are de-emphasized. Relatedly, I can report that the college admissions at some of the DC-area top publics this year are less impressive than in the past.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course. Wealthy parents leaving the publics in droves for the past two years. COVID!

It’s not just Covid. It’s the sharp veer in public schools towards centering equity and the de-emphasis on testing by selective colleges and universities. No one really knows what it means in the long run but many are assuming kids at privates will have a leg up as the metrics for demonstrating merit at public schools are de-emphasized. Relatedly, I can report that the college admissions at some of the DC-area top publics this year are less impressive than in the past.

Really? Can you share your research-based findings from your report?