Admissions Process Sidwell vs. GDS vs. Maret
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Anonymous
| Can anyone speak to their experience with the admissions process for these three schools? If you applied to more than one, what were the differences? How do you think your child did on their personal interview? Was your child accepted/not accepted? Were you surprised either way? |
Anonymous
WHAT GRADE - I mean please..... |
Anonymous
| Middle and High School. Thank you. |
Anonymous
Lots of this has been covered. To purport sterotypes - sure why not... thats what this Board is for... GDS - Loosy goosy - informal and non-structured. Great for hipsters and artists. Not the Dr, lawyer, investment bankers types.... Knock is the progressive style may get you into an exceptional college....unclear if they produce driven graduates. Not athletic. Like the school - the admissions office is frenetic and disorganized. Maret - Hard one to figure. Seems to just be a nice average DC private that gets a lot of press because it is hard to get into given a wonderful campus and location near other top schools. Seems to be a range of learners. Not a top academic school. Between alums, sibs, connected, just not a lot of spots. Lots of buzz for an average student to be in a spectacular NW setting. Top students/athletes - not their first choice. Very warm and friendly admissions office - no clue why people get in or dont.... Sidwell - lots of buzz since its got the Obamas. Structured with some progressive. Not especially warm. Professional and a bit cold. |
Anonymous
| I would add that Maret also not known for producing driven graduates. |
Anonymous
| OP Here. I was inquiring more specifically about each school's admissions process. Are they very different in their approaches? |
Anonymous
| I have never heard that Maret is not a top academic school...I don't know where that's coming from. |
Anonymous
|
The maret assessment is bs.
The sfs process has been a very uptight one made worse by a boring arrogant admission head. He is thankfully leaving and many expect the process to improve bit should be more "here's what we have to offer" rather "than " good luck getting in, but there are other good schools too". |
Anonymous
|
HATED the Sidwell admissions process. On our visit no one from admissions met us or explained to us the schedule. A student took us on a tour and then left us in the library where students had all the seats so we stood for half an hour. No one said anything to us and we thought we had been forgotten so I asked the librarian if she could call the admissions office and ask if we were in the right place. She sneered in a "not my job" way but did make the call, then telling us someone would come for us, as if we should have known this. Finally a teacher came to interview our DC and my DH and I stood in the library for the duration. Finally the teacher called us in and acted like we were imposing on her time.
We left thinking they expected us to come to them on our knees and put up with whatever they threw at us. There's really no excuse for that kind of treatment. I left really hating the school and there's no way I wold have sent DC there (who didn't get in, but this is in no way sour grapes. I considered withdrawing the application but didn't see the point.) Maret couldn't be a bigger contrast. Everyone in admissions was friendly and they made us feel at home. |
Anonymous
OP - youll hear this a lot. Sour grapes. Visit the school. Its just not true. More formal and less touchy feely than Maret yes - but you will hear this a lot from people whose DC didnt get in. For those whose DC was admitted, it is a professional admissions enviroment and not a hand holding process. Oh by the way - its called the real world, so maybe being salesy about a place of higher learning isnt appropraite anyway.... |
Anonymous
| We have 2 kids at sfs. The admissions process sucked but we looked past it and recognized the positives of the school. Don't the let process dissuade you, although it will hopefully improve now. |
Anonymous
| The SFS admission process left me cold - GDS was better but we were kept waiting a long time with no explanation and didn't feel any particular connection with the admissions person. Maret had the best tour and admission interview and left us with the best impression of the school. That's just us - take your own tours and see how you feel. It's definitely about fit. |
Anonymous
This was written by someone with a poor grasp of the English language (please look up "purport") and an even poorer understanding of these three schools. |
Anonymous
This was similar to our experience. The Sidwell process was perfunctory and impersonal. GDS felt chaotic, and our DD felt like she was barely welcomed and left to fend for herself during a half-day visit. Maret process was friendly, welcoming, informative and professional. Like a lot of people, DD fell in love with it and then didn't get in. |
Anonymous
As a parent who went through this two years ago....Id have to say pretty spot on. You must have been rejected from SFS. |