Gilman

[Anonymous]

Ok I have a kid at Gilman. Great school but I promise you it is NOT “unmatched” in “heart, soul, and generosity.” Look at friends, Loyola, McD, Park, St.Paul’s, Calvert Hall. All very strong (maybe stronger) heart and soul. It’s really magical thinking to believe there’s one and only one school that is the right place for your DS.

[Anonymous]

If your #1 goal is for your kid to attend Gilman (based on your philosophical post above), the best path to do that is to commit to your kid repeating 8th grade. That will give you the best shot, but not a certain one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ok I have a kid at Gilman. Great school but I promise you it is NOT “unmatched” in “heart, soul, and generosity.” Look at friends, Loyola, McD, Park, St.Paul’s, Calvert Hall. All very strong (maybe stronger) heart and soul. It’s really magical thinking to believe there’s one and only one school that is the right place for your DS.

Op has already said she won’t consider schools with a religious affiliation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If your #1 goal is for your kid to attend Gilman (based on your philosophical post above), the best path to do that is to commit to your kid repeating 8th grade. That will give you the best shot, but not a certain one.

I agree with this, as a Gilman parent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The website says 66% of faculty have advanced degrees.

My son graduated from Gilman. Most students who enter in middle school or high school are the usual age for each. They’re transferring from 5th grade in public or private and have not done pre-first anywhere.

Great school in every way. Diverse, challenging, and supportive. No one school is perfect for everyone. Good luck with your search.

OK, whatever I read about Gilman said 58%. Whatever. I've served on boards of privates and we want to see 100%

Gilman is an academic powerhouse with a strong record of sending boys to elite colleges. I don't care what you think because you don't live in Baltimore or know the school so your observations are pointless.

NP here. True, but I don’t think it’s worth it for my son to go to a school that enables child molesters go undetected for over a decade. Gilman is a pass for me.

[Anonymous]

No one has mentioned Boys Latin (not far from Gilman). Great school!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No one has mentioned Boys Latin (not far from Gilman). Great school!

It wasn’t an omission — Boys Latin is unlikely to provide the rigor op is looking for. i

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The website says 66% of faculty have advanced degrees.

My son graduated from Gilman. Most students who enter in middle school or high school are the usual age for each. They’re transferring from 5th grade in public or private and have not done pre-first anywhere.

Great school in every way. Diverse, challenging, and supportive. No one school is perfect for everyone. Good luck with your search.

OK, whatever I read about Gilman said 58%. Whatever. I've served on boards of privates and we want to see 100%

Gilman is an academic powerhouse with a strong record of sending boys to elite colleges. I don't care what you think because you don't live in Baltimore or know the school so your observations are pointless.

NP here. True, but I don’t think it’s worth it for my son to go to a school that enables child molesters go undetected for over a decade. Gilman is a pass for me.

I hope you passed on Mcdonogh as well as they had a parent repeatedly molesting a student on school grounds recently.

Or we can just recognize there are is only so much schools can do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ok I have a kid at Gilman. Great school but I promise you it is NOT “unmatched” in “heart, soul, and generosity.” Look at friends, Loyola, McD, Park, St.Paul’s, Calvert Hall. All very strong (maybe stronger) heart and soul. It’s really magical thinking to believe there’s one and only one school that is the right place for your DS.

Look it's very possible it's just who I know right? It's not like I haven't looked at these other schools at all, I've done extensive research. Again, religious affiliation is a sticking point. We're looking at magnet schools as well. McD is unfortunately too far away for us or we would look at it as closely as we're looking at Gilman.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If your #1 goal is for your kid to attend Gilman (based on your philosophical post above), the best path to do that is to commit to your kid repeating 8th grade. That will give you the best shot, but not a certain one.

We're open to it as parents. My child may or may not be open to the idea. It would depend if he could do that at Gilman or not. Repeating 8th at his current school would likely be really uncomfortable for him & he would be very bored.

I don't think they would ask him to repeat 8th based on academic performance, testing or maturity. Based on age alone, from what I'm hearing, yes they might. I'm trying to get a consensus on their school of thought.

Should I be direct and ask admissions this question?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your #1 goal is for your kid to attend Gilman (based on your philosophical post above), the best path to do that is to commit to your kid repeating 8th grade. That will give you the best shot, but not a certain one.

We're open to it as parents. My child may or may not be open to the idea. It would depend if he could do that at Gilman or not. Repeating 8th at his current school would likely be really uncomfortable for him & he would be very bored.

I don't think they would ask him to repeat 8th based on academic performance, testing or maturity. Based on age alone, from what I'm hearing, yes they might. I'm trying to get a consensus on their school of thought.

Should I be direct and ask admissions this question?

In these situations, the repeat year happens at the new school. So you would be applying to Gilman for 8th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your #1 goal is for your kid to attend Gilman (based on your philosophical post above), the best path to do that is to commit to your kid repeating 8th grade. That will give you the best shot, but not a certain one.

We're open to it as parents. My child may or may not be open to the idea. It would depend if he could do that at Gilman or not. Repeating 8th at his current school would likely be really uncomfortable for him & he would be very bored.

I don't think they would ask him to repeat 8th based on academic performance, testing or maturity. Based on age alone, from what I'm hearing, yes they might. I'm trying to get a consensus on their school of thought.

Should I be direct and ask admissions this question?

I would, yes, and of course, it would be at Gilman, they would not ask you to repeat at your home school. I would contact them, and say after reflection on your last meeting, whether the school felt 8th would be a better admissions fit for your child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our family, very recently started considering private school, Gilman in particular. We did not consider other private schools due to distance & religious affiliation. Having visited Gilman, I'm reconsidering our approach to not look at other schools.

While our student is very gifted, we have concerns about admissions after our visit. See, our student skipped a grade two years ago. Public school was not providing him a challenging enough environment, he was testing out of every subject and performing well above grade level for many years. At the time, private school was only a passing thought due to cost. When we mentioned our students grade elevation during our visit, we received mixed responses from the admissions team. A concern that had not crossed my mind until that conversation. Maturity & social development seemed to be a point of general concern, but I don't believe they were speaking about my child directly.

However, over the past two years our financial situation has changed and we would now be able to pay for tuition in full. While we could swing 35k, it would be a considerable amount of savings that would be sacrificed. We would still like to apply for FA.

For context, our student is very poised and mature, maintains a 3.9, is active in a handful of clubs/sports. Our student also has ADHD and requires medication to maintain focus which is well controlled. Executive functioning skills are very good and do not require any additional accommodations. Grade skipped was 6th grade.

1. What is the general consensus on students who skip a grade/gifted students.
2. Even though the FA application is separate, will it have an impact on admissions?
3. How selective is Gilman? (No stats available online and did not feel comfortable asking directly.)

I suspect they probably were describing your child but most of us don't want to hear the negative.

a few thoughts:

1) never heard of Gilman so looked it up
2) it's not boarding so I'm assuming you live in Baltimore?
3) 58% of teachers don't have advanced degrees. that's a red flag for me. our privates insisted on teachers working or obtaining their Masters degrees.
4) You said he's "very gifted" (the term used is "profoundly gifted") but Gilman doesn't seem to be oriented towards either giftedness or ADHD. Maybe I read too fast.
5) whether or not you think you can swing $35K a year is irrelevant to them. You will have to provide extensive financials to get financial aid. Every school is different. We never received aid.
6) while skipping grades used to be a positive a few decades back it is a practice frowned upon now. In fact, we have the other problem of children being "red-shirted" to give them more years of maturation before they compete for college, so yes, skipping two years is odd and something you will have to explain. That's why we now have 7 year olds in K. My own DD was red-shirted by her private and it was absolutely the best thing in the world for her.
6) If you live in the DC area the perfect school for you would be Commonwealth Academy because it serves both gifted and ADHD. But it's in Alexandria, VA.

best of luck

If you aren’t familiar with Gilman, maybe you just not respond. Never change DCUM.

and just what are YOU contributing to this post? absolutely nothing but criticism. PP acknowledged they didn't know about Gilman up front but has served on private school boards and other PPs think the comments valid. Does it make you feel better to try and find one fault in a post and deride the person offering comment -- with no other constructive comments of your own? Try offering up some constructive thoughts here and not tear down other PPs. WHAT A THOUGHT!

I’m a Gilman parent who posted more than once on this thread. The hysterics are unnecessary.

OK, then cite to where you posted constructive comments about Gilman above

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our family, very recently started considering private school, Gilman in particular. We did not consider other private schools due to distance & religious affiliation. Having visited Gilman, I'm reconsidering our approach to not look at other schools.

While our student is very gifted, we have concerns about admissions after our visit. See, our student skipped a grade two years ago. Public school was not providing him a challenging enough environment, he was testing out of every subject and performing well above grade level for many years. At the time, private school was only a passing thought due to cost. When we mentioned our students grade elevation during our visit, we received mixed responses from the admissions team. A concern that had not crossed my mind until that conversation. Maturity & social development seemed to be a point of general concern, but I don't believe they were speaking about my child directly.

However, over the past two years our financial situation has changed and we would now be able to pay for tuition in full. While we could swing 35k, it would be a considerable amount of savings that would be sacrificed. We would still like to apply for FA.

For context, our student is very poised and mature, maintains a 3.9, is active in a handful of clubs/sports. Our student also has ADHD and requires medication to maintain focus which is well controlled. Executive functioning skills are very good and do not require any additional accommodations. Grade skipped was 6th grade.

1. What is the general consensus on students who skip a grade/gifted students.
2. Even though the FA application is separate, will it have an impact on admissions?
3. How selective is Gilman? (No stats available online and did not feel comfortable asking directly.)

I suspect they probably were describing your child but most of us don't want to hear the negative.

a few thoughts:

1) never heard of Gilman so looked it up
2) it's not boarding so I'm assuming you live in Baltimore?
3) 58% of teachers don't have advanced degrees. that's a red flag for me. our privates insisted on teachers working or obtaining their Masters degrees.
4) You said he's "very gifted" (the term used is "profoundly gifted") but Gilman doesn't seem to be oriented towards either giftedness or ADHD. Maybe I read too fast.
5) whether or not you think you can swing $35K a year is irrelevant to them. You will have to provide extensive financials to get financial aid. Every school is different. We never received aid.
6) while skipping grades used to be a positive a few decades back it is a practice frowned upon now. In fact, we have the other problem of children being "red-shirted" to give them more years of maturation before they compete for college, so yes, skipping two years is odd and something you will have to explain. That's why we now have 7 year olds in K. My own DD was red-shirted by her private and it was absolutely the best thing in the world for her.
6) If you live in the DC area the perfect school for you would be Commonwealth Academy because it serves both gifted and ADHD. But it's in Alexandria, VA.

best of luck

If you aren’t familiar with Gilman, maybe you just not respond. Never change DCUM.

and just what are YOU contributing to this post? absolutely nothing but criticism. PP acknowledged they didn't know about Gilman up front but has served on private school boards and other PPs think the comments valid. Does it make you feel better to try and find one fault in a post and deride the person offering comment -- with no other constructive comments of your own? Try offering up some constructive thoughts here and not tear down other PPs. WHAT A THOUGHT!

I’m a Gilman parent who posted more than once on this thread. The hysterics are unnecessary.

OK, then cite to where you posted constructive comments about Gilman above

Get a life.

[Anonymous]

I toured Gilman when my DS was 4. Before ever meeting him or knowing anything about him, the admissions person asked me when his birthday was (mid April) and said he would be considered for pre-k instead of kindergarten. I said that he would be going into kindergarten so I wouldn't be applying for pre-k and they said something about "young boys" his age would be considered for pre-k. Um, no thanks.