NCS contract this year--the deposit is now $5K?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From what I can tell, the $5K deposit is non-refundable if you sign by tomorrow but walk away by June?
This is new this year (?) Used to be $1k?
This is our first renewal.

I just looked. I think it is for 2025-2026 school year? Nonetheless it is a smart approach. There are many on the waitlist and people need to commit or not if they are not returning.

OP here. Yes, I think it's new for 2024-2025 (but applies to all students).
Once you sign the contract you are in for $5K (non-refundable).

It will be interesting to see how this plays out for them.
Anyone waiting to hear from Walls or Thomas Jefferson or Blair or boarding schools will be out the $5K.

I don’t think anyone is deciding between Walls/Thomas Jefferson and NCS.

Huh? Get out of your bubble.

This has totally become the NCS brand for 9th grade in recent years. At least half the class comes from public. We did and my daughter also applied to Walls.
I can think of at least 10 other kids like mine in recent yrs (some who were accepted to NCS and enrolled, some who were accepted but did not enroll (but went to Walls or JR), some who did not get in) and I feel like I don't know that many kids!

Well there you go. That is an even better reason for NCS to require a deposit. If what you say is true they Could turn down many students who apply to NCS for a student such as yourself who you admittedly say may turn and go to walls if they get admitted. That’s not fair to NCS or the other students who applied and have adjusted their school of choice based on being on the waitlist. See it goes both ways.

Interesting logic. Does the same apply to a student who ends up choosing Holton or Sidwell or GDS over NCS for academic reasons?

They can choose any school they want but once they sign a contract they should honor the contract and I guess because some people have not honored the contract in the past NCS got burned they were forced to implement this policy. It seems fair to me. I wouldn’t sign a contract if I didn’t have the intent on fulfilling it and if I had to lose the deposit that would be a chance I guess I would be willing to take. I take a contract seriously.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When the amt goes up for kids not on FA, does it go up for kids on FA?

Same amount due but I think adjusted for financial amount. Yes. Please reach out to finance person. She is helpful.

So kids on FA will be paying a larger deposit than in past years?

If you’re at the school you would know the answer to this question. If you’re not at the school then you really don’t need to know the answer to the question. If at the school You can easily reach out and ask the school directly. They are very happy to answer your question and she’s very good about replying back quickly

Thanks, I will.

You’re a peach, BTW.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From what I can tell, the $5K deposit is non-refundable if you sign by tomorrow but walk away by June?
This is new this year (?) Used to be $1k?
This is our first renewal.

I just looked. I think it is for 2025-2026 school year? Nonetheless it is a smart approach. There are many on the waitlist and people need to commit or not if they are not returning.

OP here. Yes, I think it's new for 2024-2025 (but applies to all students).
Once you sign the contract you are in for $5K (non-refundable).

It will be interesting to see how this plays out for them.
Anyone waiting to hear from Walls or Thomas Jefferson or Blair or boarding schools will be out the $5K.

Not a huge deal for anyone in this NCS "pool".

Assuming NCS doesn’t have families for whom this would be a significant amount to lose.

Or they just dgaf about the few such families they do have.

A good look either way.

You have no idea what you’re talking about. Financial aid recipients’ deposit amount is adjusted accordingly. Why do you insist on trolling on the private school forum if you have no idea about what is being discussed?

NCS gives aid to less than 20% of the student body and the income cut-off is super low.

Most of kids who arrive from public for 9th grade (and who might also be considering magnets) are above the aid cut-off. I know because this is us and it's the niche NCS world that I know best.
We're not getting aid but we're not making enough where we can walk away from $5K without a second thought. Yes, if my kid was "on the fence" about high school options and it cost us $5K to even have the NCS option we'd walk first
and take our chances with Walls or TJ or whatever our other options were.

Please don't tell me I don't know what I'm talking about. Yes, my demographic is small but ironically we are responsible for some of the most academically successful NCS grads. Generally it's not the monied lifers that are at the top of the class and frankly it's not often the aid kids either. It's often the super smart kids who come in from Loudoun or whatnot and arrive in 9th.

If you sign a contract you should honor the contract that is a life lesson that you should teach your children. There’s nothing fair about signing a contract with the intent of not following through with it.

Well, the issue is that families don't even know all their options prior to having to sign this contract.
As such I would not feel badly about walking away--and walking away from a deposit has been something that is common practice for decades in the DMV.
Families hear from charters, publics, magnets, privates, Catholics and boarding schools on different timelines and sometimes have to lose deposits.

NCS is forcing their hand of anyone who is not wealthy before they even have all of the choices. Only the wealthy get the time to decide.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From what I can tell, the $5K deposit is non-refundable if you sign by tomorrow but walk away by June?
This is new this year (?) Used to be $1k?
This is our first renewal.

I just looked. I think it is for 2025-2026 school year? Nonetheless it is a smart approach. There are many on the waitlist and people need to commit or not if they are not returning.

OP here. Yes, I think it's new for 2024-2025 (but applies to all students).
Once you sign the contract you are in for $5K (non-refundable).

It will be interesting to see how this plays out for them.
Anyone waiting to hear from Walls or Thomas Jefferson or Blair or boarding schools will be out the $5K.

I don’t think anyone is deciding between Walls/Thomas Jefferson and NCS.

Huh? Get out of your bubble.

This has totally become the NCS brand for 9th grade in recent years. At least half the class comes from public. We did and my daughter also applied to Walls.
I can think of at least 10 other kids like mine in recent yrs (some who were accepted to NCS and enrolled, some who were accepted but did not enroll (but went to Walls or JR), some who did not get in) and I feel like I don't know that many kids!

Well there you go. That is an even better reason for NCS to require a deposit. If what you say is true they Could turn down many students who apply to NCS for a student such as yourself who you admittedly say may turn and go to walls if they get admitted. That’s not fair to NCS or the other students who applied and have adjusted their school of choice based on being on the waitlist. See it goes both ways.

Interesting logic. Does the same apply to a student who ends up choosing Holton or Sidwell or GDS over NCS for academic reasons?

They can choose any school they want but once they sign a contract they should honor the contract and I guess because some people have not honored the contract in the past NCS got burned they were forced to implement this policy. It seems fair to me. I wouldn’t sign a contract if I didn’t have the intent on fulfilling it and if I had to lose the deposit that would be a chance I guess I would be willing to take. I take a contract seriously.

A chance you can afford to take.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From what I can tell, the $5K deposit is non-refundable if you sign by tomorrow but walk away by June?
This is new this year (?) Used to be $1k?
This is our first renewal.

I just looked. I think it is for 2025-2026 school year? Nonetheless it is a smart approach. There are many on the waitlist and people need to commit or not if they are not returning.

OP here. Yes, I think it's new for 2024-2025 (but applies to all students).
Once you sign the contract you are in for $5K (non-refundable).

It will be interesting to see how this plays out for them.
Anyone waiting to hear from Walls or Thomas Jefferson or Blair or boarding schools will be out the $5K.

Not a huge deal for anyone in this NCS "pool".

Assuming NCS doesn’t have families for whom this would be a significant amount to lose.

Or they just dgaf about the few such families they do have.

A good look either way.

You have no idea what you’re talking about. Financial aid recipients’ deposit amount is adjusted accordingly. Why do you insist on trolling on the private school forum if you have no idea about what is being discussed?

NCS gives aid to less than 20% of the student body and the income cut-off is super low.

Most of kids who arrive from public for 9th grade (and who might also be considering magnets) are above the aid cut-off. I know because this is us and it's the niche NCS world that I know best.
We're not getting aid but we're not making enough where we can walk away from $5K without a second thought. Yes, if my kid was "on the fence" about high school options and it cost us $5K to even have the NCS option we'd walk first
and take our chances with Walls or TJ or whatever our other options were.

Please don't tell me I don't know what I'm talking about. Yes, my demographic is small but ironically we are responsible for some of the most academically successful NCS grads. Generally it's not the monied lifers that are at the top of the class and frankly it's not often the aid kids either. It's often the super smart kids who come in from Loudoun or whatnot and arrive in 9th.

If you sign a contract you should honor the contract that is a life lesson that you should teach your children. There’s nothing fair about signing a contract with the intent of not following through with it.

Well, the issue is that families don't even know all their options prior to having to sign this contract.
As such I would not feel badly about walking away--and walking away from a deposit has been something that is common practice for decades in the DMV.
Families hear from charters, publics, magnets, privates, Catholics and boarding schools on different timelines and sometimes have to lose deposits.

NCS is forcing their hand of anyone who is not wealthy before they even have all of the choices. Only the wealthy get the time to decide.

That doesn’t seem … equitable.

[Anonymous]

Not sure I get it - you can't afford to walk away from $5k when you are saving more than ten times that per year by going to Walls or whatever?

[Anonymous]

NCS is sending a loud and clear message by this: they only want the wealthy.

Which is stupid because their strongest graduates are almost always from public school, middle class to upper middle class families. Not the country club, private school lifers.

If they want to change their brand to encourage "wealthy but mediocre" then this is a great move.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NCS is sending a loud and clear message by this: they only want the wealthy.

Which is stupid because their strongest graduates are almost always from public school, middle class to upper middle class families. Not the country club, private school lifers.

If they want to change their brand to encourage "wealthy but mediocre" then this is a great move.

You should not sign the contract if you don’t plan on honoring it. Plain and simple.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NCS is sending a loud and clear message by this: they only want the wealthy.

Which is stupid because their strongest graduates are almost always from public school, middle class to upper middle class families. Not the country club, private school lifers.

If they want to change their brand to encourage "wealthy but mediocre" then this is a great move.

It’s not fair for you to hold a spot and have them turn down girls. They will be sending out admissions offers next year based on how many people currently are planning on staying. If everyone who signed the contract was able to just leave with no penalty for whatever reason they wouldn’t be able to plan and predict how many kids they should admit. That’s not fair.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not sure I get it - you can't afford to walk away from $5k when you are saving more than ten times that per year by going to Walls or whatever?

It's the psychology of it. You (the parent) are likely starting from a place where you're not sure which high school option is best for your kid. You see the positives and negative in all of them.

Then the thought that you have to lose $5K to even have all your options is
enough to just make you say "screw it" and walk from option A (NCS) and take your chance with option B (chance at a magnet) or option C (known public which you already know/believe isn't that bad and most if not all of your kid's friends will be using).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NCS is sending a loud and clear message by this: they only want the wealthy.

Which is stupid because their strongest graduates are almost always from public school, middle class to upper middle class families. Not the country club, private school lifers.

If they want to change their brand to encourage "wealthy but mediocre" then this is a great move.

It’s not fair for you to hold a spot and have them turn down girls. They will be sending out admissions offers next year based on how many people currently are planning on staying. If everyone who signed the contract was able to just leave with no penalty for whatever reason they wouldn’t be able to plan and predict how many kids they should admit. That’s not fair.

i

I mean they will be sending out the offers in a few weeks and they won’t be able to determine how many girls The can admit until they know how many are returning that makes sense to me.

[Anonymous]

I am sure this is all tied into the college picture.

Outcomes are looking quite grim at NCS this year and I'm sure are predicted to be even worse for next year's class--many of whom have a high school worth of pretty crummy grades. So NCS can stem the tide of impulsive movement by locking people in. Hopefully they are also remediating the grading but this can't be done overnight.

[Anonymous]

It feels like just one poster who is dropping all of the “don’t sign a contract if you’re not going to honor it” crap. That logic is faulty in a system where schools have all of the power to set and move deadlines and try to jump ahead of other schools, forcing families to make early decisions and be stuck with them when they don’t yet know all of their options.

From my perspective, this makes it look like NCS was losing good candidates to other schools over the spring and is trying to use the money to force people to stay rather than just give them more to want to stay for. It seems pathetic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From what I can tell, the $5K deposit is non-refundable if you sign by tomorrow but walk away by June?
This is new this year (?) Used to be $1k?
This is our first renewal.

I just looked. I think it is for 2025-2026 school year? Nonetheless it is a smart approach. There are many on the waitlist and people need to commit or not if they are not returning.

OP here. Yes, I think it's new for 2024-2025 (but applies to all students).
Once you sign the contract you are in for $5K (non-refundable).

It will be interesting to see how this plays out for them.
Anyone waiting to hear from Walls or Thomas Jefferson or Blair or boarding schools will be out the $5K.

I don’t think anyone is deciding between Walls/Thomas Jefferson and NCS.

Why not? TJ is our backup and NCS is our top choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am sure this is all tied into the college picture.

Outcomes are looking quite grim at NCS this year and I'm sure are predicted to be even worse for next year's class--many of whom have a high school worth of pretty crummy grades. So NCS can stem the tide of impulsive movement by locking people in. Hopefully they are also remediating the grading but this can't be done overnight.

I suspect the college picture is looking great NCS.

Could they require a minor increase in cash on hand to cover unexpected operating expenses?

They seem confident that people will pay ; that’s a nice position to be in!