What exactly is Potomac looking for for 9th grade admissions?

[Anonymous]

That may be true. The main thing for OP to understand is that there is no easy way to identify which kids will get admitted in the 9th. It is really totally a crapshoot so it is impoetant to find other schools your child will like.

[Anonymous]

OP, I have heard a lot of mixed things about the happiness of the students who attend Potomac. The recurring complaints are overly heavy workload, academic pressure cooker, and social pressures created by super rich kids.

I have heard them first hand from families I trust, and where there is a lot of smoke on DCUM there is usually at least some fire.

My point is this - give it your best shot, but if your son does not get accepted, pick his next choice, embrace it, and be glad you are not at Potomac.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it’s just really competitive. More applicants who have it all than they have room for. So then it comes down to admissions picking the “have it all” kids they feel best complete the existing rising 9th grade- and that’s not something you can predict and also will vary from year to year based on the attributes, gender-balance, etc of the current 8th grade.

This is 100% the right answer for all highly selective schools around here.

[Anonymous]

We had a handful of kids from our k-8 apply and two were admitted. One is an all star, all around excellent candidate—high schools, great athlete, lovely family. The other kid must be a connections or money admit because it makes no sense otherwise and there’s really no other way to say it. The kids who were waitlisted were very strong students but not as strong athletically. We’ve been following the admissions closely because it’s been on our shortlist for DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We had a handful of kids from our k-8 apply and two were admitted. One is an all star, all around excellent candidate—high schools, great athlete, lovely family. The other kid must be a connections or money admit because it makes no sense otherwise and there’s really no other way to say it. The kids who were waitlisted were very strong students but not as strong athletically. We’ve been following the admissions closely because it’s been on our shortlist for DC.

*high scores

[Anonymous]

The heads of K-8 filter their kids during admissions. They know which donors will be happy at another school or will raise hell if they don’t get into a first choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I have heard a lot of mixed things about the happiness of the students who attend Potomac. The recurring complaints are overly heavy workload, academic pressure cooker, and social pressures created by super rich kids.

I have heard them first hand from families I trust, and where there is a lot of smoke on DCUM there is usually at least some fire.

My point is this - give it your best shot, but if your son does not get accepted, pick his next choice, embrace it, and be glad you are not at Potomac.

Oh please. This sounds like sour grapes. Potomac is a hard school to get into. We get it. But to suggest Potomac kids are less happy than others is just untruthful.

The school is rigorous. It's not a pressure cooker. Students can choose whether to take a rigorous track or not. It's up to them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I have heard a lot of mixed things about the happiness of the students who attend Potomac. The recurring complaints are overly heavy workload, academic pressure cooker, and social pressures created by super rich kids.

I have heard them first hand from families I trust, and where there is a lot of smoke on DCUM there is usually at least some fire.

My point is this - give it your best shot, but if your son does not get accepted, pick his next choice, embrace it, and be glad you are not at Potomac.

Oh please. This sounds like sour grapes. Potomac is a hard school to get into. We get it. But to suggest Potomac kids are less happy than others is just untruthful.

The school is rigorous. It's not a pressure cooker. Students can choose whether to take a rigorous track or not. It's up to them.

There isn’t a rigorous track.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I have heard a lot of mixed things about the happiness of the students who attend Potomac. The recurring complaints are overly heavy workload, academic pressure cooker, and social pressures created by super rich kids.

I have heard them first hand from families I trust, and where there is a lot of smoke on DCUM there is usually at least some fire.

My point is this - give it your best shot, but if your son does not get accepted, pick his next choice, embrace it, and be glad you are not at Potomac.

Oh please. This sounds like sour grapes. Potomac is a hard school to get into. We get it. But to suggest Potomac kids are less happy than others is just untruthful.

The school is rigorous. It's not a pressure cooker. Students can choose whether to take a rigorous track or not. It's up to them.

There isn’t a rigorous track.

And you clearly do not have a child at Potomac.

[Anonymous]

There is a bit of discrepancy in hs between teachers. Curriculum and grading aren’t uniform. Beware.

[Anonymous]

Each of my kids started at Potomac in 9th grade. None were competitive athletes. We are from NOVA. Each kid had unique interests and backgrounds not cookie cutter. I think they are just really looking for interesting kids with intellectual curiosity who show promise in making an impact on their community. We didn’t know anyone at the school before applying and attending. We are full pay but I don’t think that had anything to do with admission as I know a lot of full pay applicants now who didn’t get in, including siblings of current students. So I really think they take a holistic approach. There are a very small number of slots. I think it was around 20 each year and an equal number of girls and boys. My kids didn’t know anyone going there but it is such a fantastic community and they were warmly embraced. I can’t say enough about how much the teachers and faculty support the students. I say all of this to encourage anyone looking to apply to take their shot. I truly don’t believe there is a formula, much like the college admissions process these days. It’s been a wonderful experience for our family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Each of my kids started at Potomac in 9th grade. None were competitive athletes. We are from NOVA. Each kid had unique interests and backgrounds not cookie cutter. I think they are just really looking for interesting kids with intellectual curiosity who show promise in making an impact on their community. We didn’t know anyone at the school before applying and attending. We are full pay but I don’t think that had anything to do with admission as I know a lot of full pay applicants now who didn’t get in, including siblings of current students. So I really think they take a holistic approach. There are a very small number of slots. I think it was around 20 each year and an equal number of girls and boys. My kids didn’t know anyone going there but it is such a fantastic community and they were warmly embraced. I can’t say enough about how much the teachers and faculty support the students. I say all of this to encourage anyone looking to apply to take their shot. I truly don’t believe there is a formula, much like the college admissions process these days. It’s been a wonderful experience for our family.

Well, two kids means siblings so you got in one time with one kid and you haven’t said what their unique interest was—other than not athletics. Let us know what it is and we’ll all be the judge of how they are really just looking for “interesting kids”. Yeah right.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is a bit of discrepancy in hs between teachers. Curriculum and grading aren’t uniform.

I would be shocked if the above were not true at 99% of schools in this area. It was true at every school I ever attended, including college.

[Anonymous]

Please do not feed the trolls.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You have to know someone. If you don’t, try to impress an athletic coach maybe.

This is not true.

OP, I wonder if the individual sport was a negative for your friend. They are a small school and so they don’t want to give waivers for the sports requirements. They need students to participate in the athletics and extracurricular programs at the school, not be a fencing superstar on their own.

A recent Potomac grad was a fencer in last summer’s Olympics, actually.

A fencer who also goes to Princeton and was an academic superstar at Potomac - same grad class as my kid. Many (most) of the athletes at Potomac are also academic heavy hitters too. The suggestion of bitter posters that only athletes get in at the expense of academics is laughable and just comes off as bitter. Lots of kids at Potomac from DC a d MD who chose it over GDS and Sidwell too. Those if you whose kids didn’t get in need to stop pulling down those that did and the school just yo make yourselves feel better. Potomac is absolutely the equal of the top DC privates, anyone with kids at both knows this.