GDS vs Maret

[Anonymous]

In what reality are the posters obsessed with comparing these schools living in?

As a GDS parent, I hear lots from my friends and acquaintances with children at the upper NW schools. And my DC has friends across all of them (and at Justice). Some parents would say one school fits better because DC2 is less academically intense than their older sibling or that their DD is more sports-oriented than their DS. Or that their DC enjoys and appreciates the formality and rituals at their school. My DC loves using first names with adults at school. I know lots of parents and students who don't and I don't begrudge their preferences. But I have never encountered anyone who would say any one of the schools is lesser than the others. Or that going to one made their child any better than a student at another.

We are pleased there are great school options for our children and we are happy when they get admitted to their choice .

[Anonymous]

We had the fortunate experience of having the option between GDS and Maret (and my kid is not “hooked” so we were really surprised to say the least). So, it does happen and it’s nice to think about these things beforehand because you don’t have a lot of time to decide after decisions come out. Kid liked both but ultimately chose Maret based on having a slightly better shadow day experience. Kid is happy, but I feel like they would have been at either school to be honest.

[Anonymous]

It appears that Sidwell parents cannot resist responding to threads, any threads. Whether the thread is about SFS or not.

So insecure.

[Anonymous]

Both schools are great. Lots of overlap in term of kids applying to both and sometimes they get into both and will choose one over the other. This is the case for Sidwell also. Definite overlap in admissions applications so they are similar in many ways and clear differences in other ways.

[Anonymous]

We liked GDS better because its larger size allows for a deeper course catalog in high school. At least when we toured, Maret offered more classes online through a consortium, since they didn't have enough students to offer every class themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Both schools are great. Lots of overlap in term of kids applying to both and sometimes they get into both and will choose one over the other. This is the case for Sidwell also. Definite overlap in admissions applications so they are similar in many ways and clear differences in other ways.

Thanks Chat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:GDS is a better school by far and much harder to get into and consistently rated as a top 3 school whereas Maret is 2nd tier but very convenient.

Top 3 what? School that has green as its primary color in NW DC?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It appears that Sidwell parents cannot resist responding to threads, any threads. Whether the thread is about SFS or not.

So insecure.

Lol—I’m one of the people who mentioned Sidwell upthread and my children don’t attend Sidwell, GDS, or Maret. People sometimes mention Sidwell in random private school threads because it’s often seen as the model for elite private schools in this area. I’m secure enough with my school choices to admit that.

You know what happens when you ASSume…

[Anonymous]

I would say the student bodies are similar demographics, and both are on the quirkier/weirder (not necessarily in a bad way), at least much more so than peer schools in Sidwell and Potomac that are typically a lot more buttoned up/preppy/what you would typically expect at a private school. GDS is culturally indistinguishable a small liberal arts school without the dorms - emphasis on everything but athletics, wideranging curriculum, grade deflation, etc. It's pretty similar to Maret except the GDS administrators seem a bit more insistent on competing with the reputations of its peer schools, while Maret is just kind of Maret. If your kids are competitive athletes, neither are a great pick compared to Potomac or Sidwell (which are not good picks compared to the WCACs and the best athletic IACs), but of the two Maret is head and shoulders better. It's also less of a pressure cooker. From what I hear they teach the curriculum really well and aren't as focused on slamming kids with hours upon hours of work. Between the two, I'd say I personally prefer Maret. The "weirdness" at GDS (while not objectively bad) would probably be a bit much for anyone who went to a public school beforehand and liked it at all. It felt like a different world on tours/shadow days/open houses compared to public school and probably wouldn't make for an easy transition unless you fit the mold well. Maret strikes a better balance between traditional education and creative freedom. There's almost too much creative freedom at GDS, but it seems to work for lots of kids. Really, you can't go wrong with any of the private schools in the area that people waste time bickering about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It appears that Sidwell parents cannot resist responding to threads, any threads. Whether the thread is about SFS or not.

So insecure.

Lol—I’m one of the people who mentioned Sidwell upthread and my children don’t attend Sidwell, GDS, or Maret. People sometimes mention Sidwell in random private school threads because it’s often seen as the model for elite private schools in this area. I’m secure enough with my school choices to admit that.

You know what happens when you ASSume…

Sidwell is not seen as a model for elite schools. It is a known school but absolutely not a model.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It appears that Sidwell parents cannot resist responding to threads, any threads. Whether the thread is about SFS or not.

So insecure.

Lol—I’m one of the people who mentioned Sidwell upthread and my children don’t attend Sidwell, GDS, or Maret. People sometimes mention Sidwell in random private school threads because it’s often seen as the model for elite private schools in this area. I’m secure enough with my school choices to admit that.

You know what happens when you ASSume…

Sidwell is not seen as a model for elite schools. It is a known school but absolutely not a model.

You’re like a dog with a bone. Let it go!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It appears that Sidwell parents cannot resist responding to threads, any threads. Whether the thread is about SFS or not.

So insecure.

Lol—I’m one of the people who mentioned Sidwell upthread and my children don’t attend Sidwell, GDS, or Maret. People sometimes mention Sidwell in random private school threads because it’s often seen as the model for elite private schools in this area. I’m secure enough with my school choices to admit that.

You know what happens when you ASSume…

Sidwell is not seen as a model for elite schools. It is a known school but absolutely not a model.

You’re like a dog with a bone. Let it go!

Seems that is you? Woof?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are more sporty kids at Maret. Maret has football. But overall the schools are pretty similar.

There is also non sporty kids and very quirky kids at Maret. Sidwell /GDS are definitely the cool kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It appears that Sidwell parents cannot resist responding to threads, any threads. Whether the thread is about SFS or not.

So insecure.

Lol—I’m one of the people who mentioned Sidwell upthread and my children don’t attend Sidwell, GDS, or Maret. People sometimes mention Sidwell in random private school threads because it’s often seen as the model for elite private schools in this area. I’m secure enough with my school choices to admit that.

You know what happens when you ASSume…

Sidwell is not seen as a model for elite schools. It is a known school but absolutely not a model.

You’re like a dog with a bone. Let it go!

Seems that is you? Woof?

🙄

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would say the student bodies are similar demographics, and both are on the quirkier/weirder (not necessarily in a bad way), at least much more so than peer schools in Sidwell and Potomac that are typically a lot more buttoned up/preppy/what you would typically expect at a private school. GDS is culturally indistinguishable a small liberal arts school without the dorms - emphasis on everything but athletics, wideranging curriculum, grade deflation, etc. It's pretty similar to Maret except the GDS administrators seem a bit more insistent on competing with the reputations of its peer schools, while Maret is just kind of Maret. If your kids are competitive athletes, neither are a great pick compared to Potomac or Sidwell (which are not good picks compared to the WCACs and the best athletic IACs), but of the two Maret is head and shoulders better. It's also less of a pressure cooker. From what I hear they teach the curriculum really well and aren't as focused on slamming kids with hours upon hours of work. Between the two, I'd say I personally prefer Maret. The "weirdness" at GDS (while not objectively bad) would probably be a bit much for anyone who went to a public school beforehand and liked it at all. It felt like a different world on tours/shadow days/open houses compared to public school and probably wouldn't make for an easy transition unless you fit the mold well. Maret strikes a better balance between traditional education and creative freedom. There's almost too much creative freedom at GDS, but it seems to work for lots of kids. Really, you can't go wrong with any of the private schools in the area that people waste time bickering about.

What's amazing about this post is that it was written by somebody who apparently has not had a child at either school.