Applying to NCS (7th grade entry) from public

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:APS middle school English classes demand about 2-3 written assignments per semester. Written assignment is defined as a paragraph made up of 5 sentences. It is a joke. Put you’ll be fine in life either way, it just depends what you are aiming for

My kids private middle school requires a page-long paper weekly in their history class alone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As someone who has been through this process (applying out from public in 7th grade), I would recommend the following:
1. Make sure your kid keeps her grades up. She will need all A’s to get into the top schools, as well as great extracurriculars, stellar teacher recommendations.
2. Start the appl process early next Fall. Schedule tours and shadow days (some schools don’t do these until after admittance)
3. Cast a wide net. I know you have your eyes set on NCS, but privates are extremely competitive in a post-COVID world. Apply to 4-4 schools that may interest you.
4. Maybe ask your question on the private board, you’ll get more feedback from people who have gone through the process at NCS.

Good luck OP!

Thank you! My daughter is in 5th grade right now and I am somewhat apprehensive about starting 6th grade in public and then making the switch for 7th. Honestly, I wish there was a 6th grade entry. Is that common?

I think some schools also have 6th. Potomac does.

Almost all if not all the DC and Maryland schools do 6th as an entry year because those public schools there do K-5 for elementary and 6-8th for middle school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As someone who has been through this process (applying out from public in 7th grade), I would recommend the following:
1. Make sure your kid keeps her grades up. She will need all A’s to get into the top schools, as well as great extracurriculars, stellar teacher recommendations.
2. Start the appl process early next Fall. Schedule tours and shadow days (some schools don’t do these until after admittance)
3. Cast a wide net. I know you have your eyes set on NCS, but privates are extremely competitive in a post-COVID world. Apply to 4-4 schools that may interest you.
4. Maybe ask your question on the private board, you’ll get more feedback from people who have gone through the process at NCS.

Good luck OP!

Thank you! My daughter is in 5th grade right now and I am somewhat apprehensive about starting 6th grade in public and then making the switch for 7th. Honestly, I wish there was a 6th grade entry. Is that common?

I think some schools also have 6th. Potomac does.

Almost all if not all the DC and Maryland schools do 6th as an entry year because those public schools there do K-5 for elementary and 6-8th for middle school.

it’s the same in every school district except for Fairfax

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As someone who has been through this process (applying out from public in 7th grade), I would recommend the following:
1. Make sure your kid keeps her grades up. She will need all A’s to get into the top schools, as well as great extracurriculars, stellar teacher recommendations.
2. Start the appl process early next Fall. Schedule tours and shadow days (some schools don’t do these until after admittance)
3. Cast a wide net. I know you have your eyes set on NCS, but privates are extremely competitive in a post-COVID world. Apply to 4-4 schools that may interest you.
4. Maybe ask your question on the private board, you’ll get more feedback from people who have gone through the process at NCS.

Good luck OP!

Thank you! My daughter is in 5th grade right now and I am somewhat apprehensive about starting 6th grade in public and then making the switch for 7th. Honestly, I wish there was a 6th grade entry. Is that common?

I think some schools also have 6th. Potomac does.

Almost all if not all the DC and Maryland schools do 6th as an entry year because those public schools there do K-5 for elementary and 6-8th for middle school.

it’s the same in every school district except for Fairfax

Actually that varies by school pyramid (often because of overcrowding). Our local Ffx MS, Glasgow, is 6-8.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Several years ago the parents of my daughter’s happy and high performing BFF pulled her out of Arlington schools for NCS (after not getting her into TJ) starting in sixth grade. She did very well at NCS academically and social although she continued to center her social life around her neighborhood friends, who were far more convenient and life long friends, all of whom stayed in the public schools.

In the end she was waitlisted or rejected by every Ivy League school she applied to (no hooks) and ended up at UVA with my daughter - who, I will say, is also smart and accomplished but would be the first to say she’s not really in her BFF’s league.

Had the girl stayed in Arlington, I have no doubt she would have been a true star in her class and would have had better luck with top 10 colleges. I don’t think the parents have any regrets, because money really is not an issue for them, but it appears to be an issue for you.

This seems wrong. You can’t see APS matriculation data, only their acceptance rates. But, the math — even on acceptances — appears to support that you actually do fare better with admissions in Top 1/3 at NCS than you would at YHS/W&L (excluding Wakefield). And, I assume there loads of legacies as well as athletic recruits at those two schools (see Yorktowns recent performance placing athletes, which is better than W&Ls). There are fewer URMs because those schools are less diverse than NCS.

I would never pay for admissions and they’re a million factors that impact that process, mostly the happiness and motivation of your child. But, I don’t think your analysis is correct. And I do think the NCS kid can write significantly better than the APS kid.

[Anonymous]

I do not recommend NCS to anyone. The academics are great but the social situation is more Lord of the Flies-girlstyle. The admins do nothing about bullying, self-harm, suicide attempts, etc…please do not send your daughter to this “school”