Why is private more popular in HS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think many parents make financial calculations, weighed against when your transcript "counts". No college is looking at your elementary or middle school transcript (unless you accelerate to HS level coursework, which would then show on your HS transcript), nor are there many if any private schools in the DMV that are developing top athletes in MS (think IMG Academy and some others in CA and FL which are out recruiting middle school kids).

I am aware of many DCPS parents that evaluated the process that way...you run the risk of not getting accepted in HS, though it seems like the kids do fine getting accepted at GDS, SFS, etc.

To put it bluntly, you just saved $40,000 x 9 = $360,000, and you are no worse positioned then the kids that started in ES or MS.

It's been tricky to impossible in recent years. Last year from Deal there were 2 accepts to SFS and something like 1-2 at GDS. I personally know 15+ kids rejected from GDS. The pandemic and the state of Wilson have made admisions really difficult.

There is no way you know about the admittance numbers of 500 kids at Deal. I don’t care how many friends your kid has.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Better college counseling

Why do people keep posting that you get into better colleges if you go public?

I think PP was talking about the counseling specifically: dedicated college counselors who lead and handhold students through the process in a way that public school counselors don't have time to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think many parents make financial calculations, weighed against when your transcript "counts". No college is looking at your elementary or middle school transcript (unless you accelerate to HS level coursework, which would then show on your HS transcript), nor are there many if any private schools in the DMV that are developing top athletes in MS (think IMG Academy and some others in CA and FL which are out recruiting middle school kids).

I am aware of many DCPS parents that evaluated the process that way...you run the risk of not getting accepted in HS, though it seems like the kids do fine getting accepted at GDS, SFS, etc.

To put it bluntly, you just saved $40,000 x 9 = $360,000, and you are no worse positioned then the kids that started in ES or MS.

It's been tricky to impossible in recent years. Last year from Deal there were 2 accepts to SFS and something like 1-2 at GDS. I personally know 15+ kids rejected from GDS. The pandemic and the state of Wilson have made admisions really difficult.

There is no way you know about the admittance numbers of 500 kids at Deal. I don’t care how many friends your kid has.

well, my kid was one of the 2 admitted to Sidwell and we know one of the two admitted to GDS. You see the accepted students at accepted student events and then you see the matriculated students on the new student lists. It's not a big secret.
The kids know other Deal kids by sight and name.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think many parents make financial calculations, weighed against when your transcript "counts". No college is looking at your elementary or middle school transcript (unless you accelerate to HS level coursework, which would then show on your HS transcript), nor are there many if any private schools in the DMV that are developing top athletes in MS (think IMG Academy and some others in CA and FL which are out recruiting middle school kids).

I am aware of many DCPS parents that evaluated the process that way...you run the risk of not getting accepted in HS, though it seems like the kids do fine getting accepted at GDS, SFS, etc.

To put it bluntly, you just saved $40,000 x 9 = $360,000, and you are no worse positioned then the kids that started in ES or MS.

It's been tricky to impossible in recent years. Last year from Deal there were 2 accepts to SFS and something like 1-2 at GDS. I personally know 15+ kids rejected from GDS. The pandemic and the state of Wilson have made admisions really difficult.

There is no way you know about the admittance numbers of 500 kids at Deal. I don’t care how many friends your kid has.

well, my kid was one of the 2 admitted to Sidwell and we know one of the two admitted to GDS. You see the accepted students at accepted student events and then you see the matriculated students on the new student lists. It's not a big secret.
The kids know other Deal kids by sight and name.

Well you likely don’t know my kid or his friend that was admitted. They didn’t attend any events as they both opted for another school. I have another popular kid at Deal and there are 400 kids on other teams he wouldn’t be able to spot outside of Deal so you are exaggerating. A lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think many parents make financial calculations, weighed against when your transcript "counts". No college is looking at your elementary or middle school transcript (unless you accelerate to HS level coursework, which would then show on your HS transcript), nor are there many if any private schools in the DMV that are developing top athletes in MS (think IMG Academy and some others in CA and FL which are out recruiting middle school kids).

I am aware of many DCPS parents that evaluated the process that way...you run the risk of not getting accepted in HS, though it seems like the kids do fine getting accepted at GDS, SFS, etc.

To put it bluntly, you just saved $40,000 x 9 = $360,000, and you are no worse positioned then the kids that started in ES or MS.

It's been tricky to impossible in recent years. Last year from Deal there were 2 accepts to SFS and something like 1-2 at GDS. I personally know 15+ kids rejected from GDS. The pandemic and the state of Wilson have made admisions really difficult.

There is no way you know about the admittance numbers of 500 kids at Deal. I don’t care how many friends your kid has.

well, my kid was one of the 2 admitted to Sidwell and we know one of the two admitted to GDS. You see the accepted students at accepted student events and then you see the matriculated students on the new student lists. It's not a big secret.
The kids know other Deal kids by sight and name.

Well you likely don’t know my kid or his friend that was admitted. They didn’t attend any events as they both opted for another school. I have another popular kid at Deal and there are 400 kids on other teams he wouldn’t be able to spot outside of Deal so you are exaggerating. A lot.

Missing the main point of the thread...a fair number of people wait to switch to private until HS because your ES and MS transcripts don't count and they want to save the $$$$s. They figure private HS has the most direct impact on their kid's future, which is when they decide to make the switch.

Your risk is you are shut out of the privates to which you want to attend, however, if this has been your thinking all along, you are likely putting your kid in SSAT prep and doing other things to make sure their HS application is strong.

Maybe COVID caused people to make a hard pivot towards private at the last minute, when they were happily moving along the all public route. Probably what did happen.