For those lucky children

[Anonymous]

For those children who were accepted to Sidwell, GDS, Maret, Beauvoir and others:

1. What grade did they enter?
2. What was their WPPSI score?
3. What are the parent (s) occupation?
4. Did they have any connections or special considerations? (sibling, almuni, Quaker, political family, etc)
5. What pre-school did your Dc attend?
6. How would you describe your child?
7. What school do they attend?
8. Were they accepted on first application, from waitlist or re-application?
9. Are they happy with the school (is it a good fit for Dc)?

[Anonymous]

Shouldn't this wait until, oh march or April?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Shouldn't this wait until, oh march or April?

OP here, asking those parents with children who are already in these schools, so that those of us wondering what it takes to be accepted. Another thread asked about High WPPSI & getting in and yet another ask about high WPPSI scores &NOT getting in. So I wanted to see what some of the data was on those who were accepted in the past.

[Anonymous]

Good luck. Almost the entirety of this forum is focused on ferreting out "what it takes to be accepted." If there were a formula, I think we'd have found it by now.

P.S. Your subject line captures an important question that you left out: 10. Are they lucky?

[Anonymous]

Pre k
Sidwell
Lawyer Lawyer (private companies)
No special friends or connections
Great school fun/perfect fit for dd
Kid is busy and pationate about a hands on experience
Regular application
Nursery program in Silver Spring

[Anonymous]

Accepted at Sidwell, Beauvoir and Maret

1. What grade did they enter?
K
2. What was their WPPSI score?
99%
3. What are the parent (s) occupation?
World Bank/IMF
4. Did they have any connections or special considerations? (sibling, almuni, Quaker, political family, etc)
None
5. What pre-school did your Dc attend?
A DC Montessori
6. How would you describe your child?
Happy and pleasant disposition but shy and relatively quiet, extremely well behaved
7. What school do they attend?
Beauvoir
8. Were they accepted on first application, from waitlist or re-application?
First Application
9. Are they happy with the school (is it a good fit for Dc)?
Extremely happy and excited about school - amazes me

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Accepted at Sidwell, Beauvoir and Maret

1. What grade did they enter?
K
2. What was their WPPSI score?
99%
3. What are the parent (s) occupation?
World Bank/IMF
4. Did they have any connections or special considerations? (sibling, almuni, Quaker, political family, etc)
None
5. What pre-school did your Dc attend?
A DC Montessori
6. How would you describe your child?
Happy and pleasant disposition but shy and relatively quiet, extremely well behaved
7. What school do they attend?
Beauvoir
8. Were they accepted on first application, from waitlist or re-application?
First Application
9. Are they happy with the school (is it a good fit for Dc)?
Extremely happy and excited about school - amazes me

OP here, thank you for helpful response. There are so many threads where parents assume things about the application process and requirements. So I wanted to hear from actual parents whose children have been accpeted.

[Anonymous]

Oh Good Lord. Maybe the OP should read "He's Just Not That Into You." You people need to stop trying to quantify the admissions experience. You're not going to find the magic formula for admission, and you're not going to figure out why your child did or didn't get in. It's just not that cut and dried. There are lots more applicants than there are slots, and sometimes, excluding for factors like sibling or legacy status, it's just a pretty random process. I know DC has a high proportion of control freaks, but Geeez! And if you're this obsessive about the subject, consider that it may have come across loud and clear in your visit to the school!

[Anonymous]

Reading this, it occurs to me that there are lawyers, and then there are lawyers. Also Bank/Fund and Bank/Fund. It makes a difference if you're an equity partner or just a grunt.

[Anonymous]

I don't think there is anything wrong with wanting your child to be accepted to a really good school ... who wouldn't? But I agree with 9:31 that achieving that goal is not a matter of proper homework and data collection. If you like the school(s) and you can pay the price, then go ahead and apply. Your child is no less deserving than any other child ... go into the process with that attitude and good luck. If your child is not accepted, the most likely reason is that there are simply not enough slots for all who would love to attend. In other words, remain calm and all will be well, no matter what happens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think there is anything wrong with wanting your child to be accepted to a really good school ... who wouldn't? But I agree with 9:31 that achieving that goal is not a matter of proper homework and data collection. If you like the school(s) and you can pay the price, then go ahead and apply. Your child is no less deserving than any other child ... go into the process with that attitude and good luck. If your child is not accepted, the most likely reason is that there are simply not enough slots for all who would love to attend. In other words, remain calm and all will be well, no matter what happens.

OP here, yes, that is exactly how we started out the process of applying and are still trying to maintain that level of calmness. It was reading posts like the ones from 9:31 shouting that you have to have connections, etc that made us wonder what did we get ourselves into here. This is our first year applying and learning as we go. Reading some of these threads just really made us wonder, are there any "regular folks" sending their kids to these schools? We're not trying to find a magical formula. We 're not planning to change who we are or whoour daughter is in any way to please a school or otherwise. We feel that we have a wonderful Dc as most of you do and as her parent we just want a good school for our Dc and are willing to make sacrifices in other areas if needed to do so because we feel that her education is important. We are not wealthy by DC standards but comfortable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Reading this, it occurs to me that there are lawyers, and then there are lawyers. Also Bank/Fund and Bank/Fund. It makes a difference if you're an equity partner or just a grunt.

I am the World Bank/IMF family pp above. Believe me - we are grunts. I know a few senior IMF and World bank parents at our child's school and also grunts like ourselves.

[Anonymous]

OP, it is hard to compare one admissions season to the next. Some years some schools have extremely high numbers of siblings/priority candidates. Or, there may be a group of siblings who are more heavy on the boys, so if you are applying your boy to those schools your odds will not be good that year. There really is no way to determine how it will work out for you in advance. If you want advice, seek it from a professional consultant (they talk to the AD's and know some of this information) not here. There are many posters here who applied in different years, so you really can't use the information much - it's apples and oranges.

This is a unique application year due to the economy and election. A consultant "in the know" might be able to help give you some of the feedback you are looking for - based on this year's applicant pool. I didn't use a consultant, I know it's controversial on this blog to do so, but the good ones are better informed than everyone on this board. Including myself. People who use them seem to fare better - maybe because they get better informed advice on where to apply. If you don't want to pay for the consultant, one thing we did which was actually pretty accurate in its predictive value, was the following:

1. Determine how many kids from your current school went to each of the various schools you are applying to. In our case, there was a pretty strong pattern for several previous years. We knew how many in our preschool were siblings and subtracted those from the highest total number of kids taken.

2. Call the AD's at the school and get feedback about your child's visit. Ask about the number of sibling applicants - is it an unusually high number this year, etc.

It's important to cast a wide net and not get hung up on only 3 schools.

[Anonymous]

PP gives great advice. What I would add is that there are broad consideration which make up a grade of students. Learning styles, socio-economic status, race and sex, priority versus non-priority.

The public has very little idea of all the different levers required to fill a balanced classroom, and while there are a plethora of wonderful kids who are more than qualified for these schools, there simply isn't the space.

It makes the job of an admissions director all the tougher, especially when there are so many loving (or Type A) parents trying to get their kids into these schools.

There is no single formula, just as there is no single type of student or learner.

The hyperbole about money and class in this forum is just that. Most of the families at the schools are "no name" regular people who can afford the tuition (or qualify for Aid).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, it is hard to compare one admissions season to the next. Some years some schools have extremely high numbers of siblings/priority candidates. Or, there may be a group of siblings who are more heavy on the boys, so if you are applying your boy to those schools your odds will not be good that year. There really is no way to determine how it will work out for you in advance. If you want advice, seek it from a professional consultant (they talk to the AD's and know some of this information) not here. There are many posters here who applied in different years, so you really can't use the information much - it's apples and oranges.

This is a unique application year due to the economy and election. A consultant "in the know" might be able to help give you some of the feedback you are looking for - based on this year's applicant pool. I didn't use a consultant, I know it's controversial on this blog to do so, but the good ones are better informed than everyone on this board. Including myself. People who use them seem to fare better - maybe because they get better informed advice on where to apply. If you don't want to pay for the consultant, one thing we did which was actually pretty accurate in its predictive value, was the following:

1. Determine how many kids from your current school went to each of the various schools you are applying to. In our case, there was a pretty strong pattern for several previous years. We knew how many in our preschool were siblings and subtracted those from the highest total number of kids taken.

2. Call the AD's at the school and get feedback about your child's visit. Ask about the number of sibling applicants - is it an unusually high number this year, etc.

It's important to cast a wide net and not get hung up on only 3 schools.

I am the WB/IMF PP. Our child got into all the schools we applied to including the ones I stated above and we used a consultant although it was last year.