Big 5 Parent Interview

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is no definitive list, you’re all twats, and this is why no one takes anything seriously when the question includes “big 3/5”.

Exactly. Though by using Big X in her title, OP shows she has little to worry about. She will fit right in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does five mean Sidwell, GDS, and the three Cathedral schools? ( 2 + 3 = 5?)

There’s 2 Cathedral schools. BVR doesn’t count since it’s so limited in early grades. Definitive list is Sidwell, GDS, BIM, STA and NCS.

Definitive list is actually Sidwell, GDS, Bullis, STA and NCS. (Never heard of "BIM")

lol @ Bullis being anyone's Big 5.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ignore these posts, clearly the trolls are out.

We just had ours before Thanksgiving break. They asked us what we were most proud of in our daughter; why we liked the school; and if we had any questions. It was straight forward and easy. We are applying from another well known school. No top hats, monocle, or envelopes of cash required. I'm fairly confident our kid will get in.

OK, but is the school a Big 5?

Yes

[Anonymous]

Prepare like you would for a job interview. Research the school thoroughly and have an answer when they ask why you think it would be a good fit for your child. Instead of getting blinded by the reputation of the school, like many do, really consider if it would be the place for your child. Also think about how you'd respond when asked what type of community you want for your child and what things are important to you when it comes to education. They are likely looking to learn about your child, your family, and want to understand how thoughtful you've been about this process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ignore these posts, clearly the trolls are out.

We just had ours before Thanksgiving break. They asked us what we were most proud of in our daughter; why we liked the school; and if we had any questions. It was straight forward and easy. We are applying from another well known school. No top hats, monocle, or envelopes of cash required. I'm fairly confident our kid will get in.

OK, but is the school a Big 5?

Yes

Then your confidence is misplaced.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ignore these posts, clearly the trolls are out.

We just had ours before Thanksgiving break. They asked us what we were most proud of in our daughter; why we liked the school; and if we had any questions. It was straight forward and easy. We are applying from another well known school. No top hats, monocle, or envelopes of cash required. I'm fairly confident our kid will get in.

OK, but is the school a Big 5?

Yes

Then your confidence is misplaced.

Nah, I’m not insecure. We are transferring from another Big Whatever school that everyone is trying to get in. DD is straight A student who just wants a change having been there since she was in pre-K. No worries at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:About halfway through the interview, take out an envelope filled with cash and slide it across the table. Then continue as if nothing happened.

Ha!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does five mean Sidwell, GDS, and the three Cathedral schools? ( 2 + 3 = 5?)

There’s 2 Cathedral schools. BVR doesn’t count since it’s so limited in early grades. Definitive list is Sidwell, GDS, BIM, STA and NCS.

Ummm no. Basis is on no one’s list except for the ridiculous basis boosters who care about some pay to play niche list.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ignore these posts, clearly the trolls are out.

We just had ours before Thanksgiving break. They asked us what we were most proud of in our daughter; why we liked the school; and if we had any questions. It was straight forward and easy. We are applying from another well known school. No top hats, monocle, or envelopes of cash required. I'm fairly confident our kid will get in.

Did you make it to the second round of interviews?

Is there really a second round?

No. The trolls are out in force for this question.

+1 For the three Big 5 schools our DC applied to - Sidwell, Basis Independent McLean and GDS - there was only 1 round.

Another troll

[Anonymous]

Sometimes the person interviewing you is a teacher or department head. Ask questions about their subject or department even if it doesn't really interest your kid--you are trying to make a connection and leave a favorable impression of your family and people like talking about their own area of interest.

[Anonymous]

Call me an overachiever, but I treated it like a job interview: I wanted a sense of what they might ask and to use the questions as a chance to highlight the things I wanted the admissions dept to know about my kid and our family. So I Googled "questions parents get asked at a private school interview," or something like that. Then I drafted answers to a bunch of them and discussed with my spouse to make sure we generally agreed. We also looked over the school's website and talked about aspects of the program we liked that weren't generic. We went through our answers on the drive to the school so we remembered what we'd wanted to say.

No one likes to interview someone who hems and haws and presents a disjointed story. I don't like being interviewed and feeling like I'm grasping all around for the right answer; I want to know what I'm saying ahead of time. Seems like it worked here, since my kid got in for 4th grade.

Again, you can say I'm ridiculous, and maybe I am, but it was the least stressful way for me to go about it, didn't take too much time, and got the result that I wanted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Call me an overachiever, but I treated it like a job interview: I wanted a sense of what they might ask and to use the questions as a chance to highlight the things I wanted the admissions dept to know about my kid and our family. So I Googled "questions parents get asked at a private school interview," or something like that. Then I drafted answers to a bunch of them and discussed with my spouse to make sure we generally agreed. We also looked over the school's website and talked about aspects of the program we liked that weren't generic. We went through our answers on the drive to the school so we remembered what we'd wanted to say.

No one likes to interview someone who hems and haws and presents a disjointed story. I don't like being interviewed and feeling like I'm grasping all around for the right answer; I want to know what I'm saying ahead of time. Seems like it worked here, since my kid got in for 4th grade.

Again, you can say I'm ridiculous, and maybe I am, but it was the least stressful way for me to go about it, didn't take too much time, and got the result that I wanted.

Why did you wear?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does five mean Sidwell, GDS, and the three Cathedral schools? ( 2 + 3 = 5?)

There’s 2 Cathedral schools. BVR doesn’t count since it’s so limited in early grades. Definitive list is Sidwell, GDS, BIM, STA and NCS.

Definitive list is actually Sidwell, GDS, Bullis, STA and NCS. (Never heard of "BIM")

What is Bullis? Sounds like a whiskey.