2009 Private School Admission Results - Share them as you get them!

[Anonymous]

Responding to 15:07:

First to clarify, this was not a cold call to the AD. The Head of School was a family friend; we were leaning towards the neighborhood school but wanted reassurance that we were not ruling Sidwell out by not applying for pK. His response was that the odds were better at the Middle School level, and if we loved the neighborhood school we should go with it. If we had not liked the neighborhood school, we would have tried for Sidwell for pK.

DC moved to Sidwell in Middle School. I would say his preparation was equivalent to the kids coming out of Lower School; he was probably ahead in writing and math, but they had gotten more science, social studies, language, and art. That said, I agree that the real strength of Sidwell is in the Upper School - but that's true many schools. Middle School is also very good, and much more appealing than our public option (which is why we moved him!).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC
Pre-K
GDS

Congrats! Just for curiosty, does your pre-k child have a sibling or child of alum or staff? reason I ask is that I heard last year and this, the pre-K was predominately that. most others were waitlisted.

Thanks! No we do not have a current or prior school connection. This year was very difficult and we count ourselves lucky. While some of the staff there claimed that there are not necessarily slots set aside, they also emphasize that they are a family school. Seems then that many slots will then go to sibs, staff children, etc. if they want to keep the family together.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am probably identifying myself by saying this but my DC was rejected for pre-k at Sidwell despite everyone in her family having gone to Sidwell for 80 years, including her father, an older brother and sister, cousins, etc. She is also perfectly qualified on her own merits. I think this definitively puts to rest the question of whether legacy or sibling relationship means anything.

My DC was rejected by Sidwell for pre-k several years ago. Mother, uncle and grandfather are alums. We also got the standard rejection letter - no note, call or anything. My understanding from going to the alumni info nights they do is that fewer than 50% of kids with preference (includes alums, siblings, quakers) are accepted. So you, and we, had at best a 50/50 chance (better than the 10% everyone else has but still not a shoe in by any stretch). While I was upset at the time it turned out to be a good thing - it wouldn't have been a good fit for her anyway (and frankly we didn't even like it that much during the admissions process). There are plenty of great schools out there and Sidwell is not for everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Responding to 15:07:

First to clarify, this was not a cold call to the AD. The Head of School was a family friend; we were leaning towards the neighborhood school but wanted reassurance that we were not ruling Sidwell out by not applying for pK. His response was that the odds were better at the Middle School level, and if we loved the neighborhood school we should go with it. If we had not liked the neighborhood school, we would have tried for Sidwell for pK.

DC moved to Sidwell in Middle School. I would say his preparation was equivalent to the kids coming out of Lower School; he was probably ahead in writing and math, but they had gotten more science, social studies, language, and art. That said, I agree that the real strength of Sidwell is in the Upper School - but that's true many schools. Middle School is also very good, and much more appealing than our public option (which is why we moved him!).

I am the poster 15:07. I gratefully appreciate your clarifying the circumstances which lead to Sidwell's Head of School encouraging you to send your child to the neighborhood school and having your dc apply for Middle School admission. It sounds like a well-executed plan that worked out well.

Now I didn't attend Sidwell, so I can not personally reflect on the depth of value of their Upper School versus the Lower School; however, I can't help but be weary of some schools which begin at Pre-K/K, that true strengths are in the Upper School and not enough research and attention is devoted to the early years. Prospective parents should consider how much value is specifically invested by the schools in the early childhood years, especially when we are paying exorbitantly high tuitions for very young children to go to school. I understand it is important to reserve a spot at the school to gain admission in upper school, but it is a very expensive reservation and I would hope your child is receiving an education worthy of the expense.

As a graduate of Beauvoir, I can honestly say that it is an outstanding educational institution which is solely devoted to young children. I look back at my classmates from Beauvoir and deeply respect each and everyone one of them. I am awed by the success of my former classmates, not their financial success, but how so many have chosen careers and paths that give back to our country, and in recent years how many have left high-paid lucrative careers for professions of public service. Beauvoir provided a wonderful foundation firmly based in integrity, love and the greater good of all. I realize it is not the right school for every child or family, and there may be a few parents who for some reason outsiders like to stereotype. That being said, those few were the exceptions, and more importantly, I have yet to meet a fellow "Beauvoir baby" who is not a solid & honest person.

We are so forunate to live in a city with so many excellent schools. I don't want to take anything away from NCS & St. Albans where many of us went after Beauvoir. The academics at these schools are outstanding. Just the depth in choice of study offered in my ninth grade english curriculum at NCS alone surpassed what is offered in four years at many high schools. However, I credit Beauvoir with instilling the unconditional love of learning and a profoundly deep respect of mankind that we have carried with us our whole lives.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, well that "deep respect for mankind" must have missed the Beauvoir soccer player who used a racial epithet at a player from another team during a game a couple of years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, well that "deep respect for mankind" must have missed the Beauvoir soccer player who used a racial epithet at a player from another team during a game a couple of years ago.

A few years ago, Beauvoir did expel a boy for calling an AA boy the n-word. This same boy had also been breaking several of the school's other life rules. Don't know if it's the same boy or not.

[Anonymous]

Wow! A child this young used that word, scary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow! A child this young used that word, scary.

Learned behavior. Parents have undoubtedly used it, too.

[Anonymous]

no not necessarily. don't jump to the conclusions it came from the parents, it could be from other sources (movies, music) or even a babysitter or other family member (older sibling). Yes it probably came from somewhere but you just don't know where exactly.

And by the way we had a similar issue this year at a different school, and the child was suspended. It is inexcusable. I know these particular parents of the offending kid are horrified. So you never know where it comes from, but it is wrong, and any school would hopefully punish a kid appropriately, for that word or any other "hate" word.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:no not necessarily. don't jump to the conclusions it came from the parents, it could be from other sources (movies, music) or even a babysitter or other family member (older sibling). Yes it probably came from somewhere but you just don't know where exactly.

And by the way we had a similar issue this year at a different school, and the child was suspended. It is inexcusable. I know these particular parents of the offending kid are horrified. So you never know where it comes from, but it is wrong, and any school would hopefully punish a kid appropriately, for that word or any other "hate" word.

I must have missed that. Which school was this and what were the details?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Responding to 15:07:

First to clarify, this was not a cold call to the AD. The Head of School was a family friend; we were leaning towards the neighborhood school but wanted reassurance that we were not ruling Sidwell out by not applying for pK. His response was that the odds were better at the Middle School level, and if we loved the neighborhood school we should go with it. If we had not liked the neighborhood school, we would have tried for Sidwell for pK.

DC moved to Sidwell in Middle School. I would say his preparation was equivalent to the kids coming out of Lower School; he was probably ahead in writing and math, but they had gotten more science, social studies, language, and art. That said, I agree that the real strength of Sidwell is in the Upper School - but that's true many schools. Middle School is also very good, and much more appealing than our public option (which is why we moved him!).

I am the poster 15:07. I gratefully appreciate your clarifying the circumstances which lead to Sidwell's Head of School encouraging you to send your child to the neighborhood school and having your dc apply for Middle School admission. It sounds like a well-executed plan that worked out well.

Now I didn't attend Sidwell, so I can not personally reflect on the depth of value of their Upper School versus the Lower School; however, I can't help but be weary of some schools which begin at Pre-K/K, that true strengths are in the Upper School and not enough research and attention is devoted to the early years. Prospective parents should consider how much value is specifically invested by the schools in the early childhood years, especially when we are paying exorbitantly high tuitions for very young children to go to school. I understand it is important to reserve a spot at the school to gain admission in upper school, but it is a very expensive reservation and I would hope your child is receiving an education worthy of the expense.

As a graduate of Beauvoir, I can honestly say that it is an outstanding educational institution which is solely devoted to young children. I look back at my classmates from Beauvoir and deeply respect each and everyone one of them. I am awed by the success of my former classmates, not their financial success, but how so many have chosen careers and paths that give back to our country, and in recent years how many have left high-paid lucrative careers for professions of public service. Beauvoir provided a wonderful foundation firmly based in integrity, love and the greater good of all. I realize it is not the right school for every child or family, and there may be a few parents who for some reason outsiders like to stereotype. That being said, those few were the exceptions, and more importantly, I have yet to meet a fellow "Beauvoir baby" who is not a solid & honest person.

We are so forunate to live in a city with so many excellent schools. I don't want to take anything away from NCS & St. Albans where many of us went after Beauvoir. The academics at these schools are outstanding. Just the depth in choice of study offered in my ninth grade english curriculum at NCS alone surpassed what is offered in four years at many high schools. However, I credit Beauvoir with instilling the unconditional love of learning and a profoundly deep respect of mankind that we have carried with us our whole lives.

I think it is wonderful that you have such deep respect for the school you attended. As someone that has not explored/attended/been a parent of a student at Sidwell, please be careful on how you judge it. Sidwell's Lower School is led by a veteran principal, well respected in the field of elementary education. The faculty are extremely well qualified and experienced. The school is on its own campus - often very much its own school separate from the Middle and Upper School. The faculty of the Lower School are devoted to teaching their students at the elementary level (as the Middle School teachers focus on the MS students, and the Upper School focus on the US students). Hopefully all educators help instill the 'unconditional love of learning and a profound deep respect' - I know first hand how much the Sidwell LS teachers do that and that alone is worth the price of the education (nevermind if MS or US ends up being the right place for my child - the foundation and love or learning hopefully will be there). Peace.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: I think it is wonderful that you have such deep respect for the school you attended. As someone that has not explored/attended/been a parent of a student at Sidwell, please be careful on how you judge it. Sidwell's Lower School is led by a veteran principal, well respected in the field of elementary education. The faculty are extremely well qualified and experienced. The school is on its own campus - often very much its own school separate from the Middle and Upper School. The faculty of the Lower School are devoted to teaching their students at the elementary level (as the Middle School teachers focus on the MS students, and the Upper School focus on the US students). Hopefully all educators help instill the 'unconditional love of learning and a profound deep respect' - I know first hand how much the Sidwell LS teachers do that and that alone is worth the price of the education (nevermind if MS or US ends up being the right place for my child - the foundation and love or learning hopefully will be there). Peace.

PP you seem a bit defensive. I don't think the poster was judgmental of Sidwell at all. In fact, she specifically stated that she has no knowledge of and thus can't comment on Sidwell. I do agree with her point that parents need to take a look at where the focus lays in schools that serve wide populations like PK-12 or K-12. Endowments are down and resources are limited. Even if they weren't, it's very difficult for any school to do it all well. There are always competing priorities. As an example (and this is not a slight as I am considering this school for my child), Holton Arms has stated in the last year or so that it is shuffling resources from the lower school to its upper school grades. And I believe Holton has one of the highest endowments of area independent schools. I don't doubt that Sidwell is a fine school, and works well for some families and some children. But it is not the end all be all (no school is), and is not without deficiencies. Let us all have school pride, but let us not be myopic in our thinking about our schools. There's always room for improvement.

[Anonymous]

Holton alum here - just wanted to point out that Holton has not "refocused" on upper school but rather has significantly more students in the junior and senior classes and so needs to target greater resources at the larger classes. Class size is being driven purely by demographics of the most qualified applicants, not by any intent on the school's behalf to make one age more important than another.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:20016 zip code. Beauvoir letter arrived today. Wait listed for K. 99% WPPSI. 850K yearly salarly. Sobbing as I type this.

850K a year isn't a salary, it's a windfall! Damn, can my kids and I come live with you?

[Anonymous]

We are a black family new to the DC area. Our son had 99.9 percentile (full scale 146) on WPPSI screening exam and was rejected from both Beauvoir and Sidwell Friends School 2 years ago. He is settled in the MCPS system now and is a Davidson Young Scholar and recent CTY at JHU talent search award winner as he finishes up 2nd grade. He plays piano, studies Mandarin and Spanish and is a competitive swimmer in the D.C. area. In retrospect (though clearly disappointed at the time), we are happy he was rejected from Sidwell and Beauvoir. In the second grade he was allowed to subject accelerate in Math (Math 6/7-prealgebra). Neither Sidwell nor Beauvoir would have accommodated his needs and provided appropriate challenges to match his ability, aptitude and accomplishments.