For those lucky children

[Anonymous]

Oh, please, lighten up. There is no shortage of "serious answers" here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"(Second DC was admitted as a sibling at Beauvoir...and waitlisted everywhere else. I think that's probably typical because once ADs know your DC is a sibling somewhere, they assume they're a backup unless you tell them otherwise.) "


That's an interesting piece of information.

Absolutely true, from what I've heard. When we applied DC2, and wanted a different school than DC1, we explicitly told the AD that they were our first choice.

We're in the same boat now. Did your first choice come through for DC2?

Yes, it did, and DC2 is very happy!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, are you this uptight about everything in your life?

Are you always this rude to everyone in your life?

[Anonymous]

I think the question was valid - honestly - OP is not going to do herself (or her kid) any favors with this present mindset.....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the question was valid - honestly - OP is not going to do herself (or her kid) any favors with this present mindset.....

Why not? I've always thought that more info is better, in almost every situation. (I'm not OP, either.) Understanding just what your chances are, and the whole admissions game, is actually more helpful than putting your head in the sand like an ostrich.

I'm so glad that we didn't apply to privates when eldest DC was 3-4, because we were so very naive about everything -- how the family needs to present itself, the importance of connections, the value (or not) of test scores. We would have smiled foolishly through the interview. And then wondered what happened. I pity families who are as naive as we used to be, and then wonder if their DC somehow didn't pass muster. Not that we all need to think our kids are perfect, by any means, but there is just so much more going on in the whole admissions process. OP is just trying to understand it, and as long as she doesn't transmit any resulting anxiety to her kid, good on her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the question was valid - honestly - OP is not going to do herself (or her kid) any favors with this present mindset.....

Why not? I've always thought that more info is better, in almost every situation. (I'm not OP, either.) Understanding just what your chances are, and the whole admissions game, is actually more helpful than putting your head in the sand like an ostrich.

I'm so glad that we didn't apply to privates when eldest DC was 3-4, because we were so very naive about everything -- how the family needs to present itself, the importance of connections, the value (or not) of test scores. We would have smiled foolishly through the interview. And then wondered what happened. I pity families who are as naive as we used to be, and then wonder if their DC somehow didn't pass muster. Not that we all need to think our kids are perfect, by any means, but there is just so much more going on in the whole admissions process. OP is just trying to understand it, and as long as she doesn't transmit any resulting anxiety to her kid, good on her.

OP here: precisely! Not only is this our first time going through this application process (or even thinking about it) but we recently moved to this area 2 years ago and were not aware the depth of the whole process. So I want to thank everyone who was willing to share the information with all of us.

[Anonymous]

How are you supposed to convey your connections in an interview or application? Isn't that considered obnoxious by some? Just asking. We don't know a lot about this process either.

[Anonymous]

You're not. If you have enough connections for it to actually matter to the school, they will already know who you are. Being friendly with someone who is famous is totally common in this area. And, if you try dropping names, it will more likely hurt your chances; after all, the reason the powerful like these schools is that their kids are treated like anyone else (well, mostly).

[Anonymous]

Your connections will write a letter (no, not the dreaded Sidwell "friend of the family" letter, but outside of this process, i.e. unsolicited by the school). Or they will call up Admissions. If they are the right type of connection, they are likely to know admissions staff (besides being, as the right sort of connection, influential within the school by reason of money, PTO president, trustee, or senior school staff). Please, no tacky name-dropping in the interview.

I've seen this work.