2025 rankings of best private schools in the DMV

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rankings now out for best private schools in the DMV:

1. Sidwell
2. BIM
3. Madeira
4. GDS
5. EHS
6. Potomac
7. Holton
8. Georgetown Prep
9. NCS
10. WIS
11. Maret
12. STA

https://www.niche.com/k12/search/best-private-high-schools/m/washington-dc-metro-area/

STA is #12 !
What a joke

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rankings now out for best private schools in the DMV:

1. Sidwell
2. BIM
3. Madeira
4. GDS
5. EHS
6. Potomac
7. Holton
8. Georgetown Prep
9. NCS
10. WIS
11. Maret
12. STA

https://www.niche.com/k12/search/best-private-high-schools/m/washington-dc-metro-area/

STA is #12 !
What a joke

Agreed. Better than WIS, so should be #10.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never heard Episcopal High School ever mentioned on this board, I actually had to look it up. Same thing with some of these tiny schools in Virginia - Veritas, Pinnacle Academy, Ideaventions???

Episcopal is legit. Lavish campus, solid academics, it’s even prestigious, has all the sports/ activities you could ask for, great location, and pretty much anything you could ask for in a school.
Not spoken of much here because most people are looking for day schools and not boarding.

While BIM uses an old office building only half built-out, operates an AP grind test factory, begs for recognition but is mostly ignored on DCUM except when they hype these rankings, has a tiny crust of activities and sports that fit on the astroturfed parking lot and the tiny gym and theater, is located snug up against 267, and has pretty much nothing else to commend it.

Sorry your kid wasn’t accepted into Basis.

Making up defensive nonsense is also a bad look. It reflects poorly on the BIM parent population if that's how they always react to someone pointing out obvious physical shortcomings in the school. "You're just jealous!" is a real middle-school-type answer.

Hardly anyone is not accepted at BIM. You need to come up with something a little less lame next time.

You can say that for every so-called top private school in the area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is how I know these rankings are ridiculous. Academy of the Holy Cross ahead of Georgetown Visitation.

Money doesn’t buy brains.

AHC has always been more rigorous than Visi. Always.

My friends and I still joke about how high school was more stressful than law school/med school, etc. AHC is no joke.

🤣🤣🤣

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rankings now out for best private schools in the DMV:

1. Sidwell
2. BIM
3. Madeira
4. GDS
5. EHS
6. Potomac
7. Holton
8. Georgetown Prep
9. NCS
10. WIS
11. Maret
12. STA

https://www.niche.com/k12/search/best-private-high-schools/m/washington-dc-metro-area/

STA is #12 !
What a joke

Yeah, the rankings are just disrespectful. Bullis 19. SSSA 22, SAES 24, Flint Hill 25? Each is a better all around school for a kid and clearly should be in the top 15.

Someone needs to create an alternative review site, because niche is starting to get carried away with the bs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rankings now out for best private schools in the DMV:

1. Sidwell
2. BIM
3. Madeira
4. GDS
5. EHS
6. Potomac
7. Holton
8. Georgetown Prep
9. NCS
10. WIS
11. Maret
12. STA

https://www.niche.com/k12/search/best-private-high-schools/m/washington-dc-metro-area/

STA is #12 !
What a joke

Yeah, the rankings are just disrespectful. Bullis 19. SSSA 22, SAES 24, Flint Hill 25? Each is a better all around school for a kid and clearly should be in the top 15.

Someone needs to create an alternative review site, because niche is starting to get carried away with the bs.

Niche gets paid to produce the BS. The hidden hand of the market at work.

[Anonymous]

If those rankings factor into how you choose a school for your kid, or fill your heart with a sense of pride or humiliation.… I can’t even.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And, as always, buried at the bottom of their methodology page:

"Niche takes steps to ensure data integrity, but rankings may be inaccurate if Niche is supplied with inaccurate data from schools, data sources such as the US Department of Education or spam and automated 'bot' reviews."

That sounds like literally every other school ranking out there, including for colleges. Take these with a grain of salt and use it as a starting point to research the schools, nothing more.

US News isn’t much better, but at least their rankings aren’t based on data influenced by spam and bots.

You just pulled that out of your tinfoil hat. Do you work for Niche? Like I said, it’s another ranking which will be flawed like any other school rankings (hope nobody puts that much weight on these when really making decisions; it’s a fine starting point). But you’re making stuff up that’s extreme and fits your narrative.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And, as always, buried at the bottom of their methodology page:

"Niche takes steps to ensure data integrity, but rankings may be inaccurate if Niche is supplied with inaccurate data from schools, data sources such as the US Department of Education or spam and automated 'bot' reviews."

That sounds like literally every other school ranking out there, including for colleges. Take these with a grain of salt and use it as a starting point to research the schools, nothing more.

US News isn’t much better, but at least their rankings aren’t based on data influenced by spam and bots.

You just pulled that out of your tinfoil hat. Do you work for Niche? Like I said, it’s another ranking which will be flawed like any other school rankings (hope nobody puts that much weight on these when really making decisions; it’s a fine starting point). But you’re making stuff up that’s extreme and fits your narrative.

Anyone who takes Niche rankings is an idiot.

It’s based on self-reporting from the school community reports, I.e. which school’s parents and students go on Niche to rate themselves superstars.

Essentially, it’s a masturbatory exercise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And, as always, buried at the bottom of their methodology page:

"Niche takes steps to ensure data integrity, but rankings may be inaccurate if Niche is supplied with inaccurate data from schools, data sources such as the US Department of Education or spam and automated 'bot' reviews."

That sounds like literally every other school ranking out there, including for colleges. Take these with a grain of salt and use it as a starting point to research the schools, nothing more.

US News isn’t much better, but at least their rankings aren’t based on data influenced by spam and bots.

You just pulled that out of your tinfoil hat. Do you work for Niche? Like I said, it’s another ranking which will be flawed like any other school rankings (hope nobody puts that much weight on these when really making decisions; it’s a fine starting point). But you’re making stuff up that’s extreme and fits your narrative.

Anyone who takes Niche rankings is an idiot.

It’s based on self-reporting from the school community reports, I.e. which school’s parents and students go on Niche to rate themselves superstars.

Essentially, it’s a masturbatory exercise.

I am sure that you have a lot of experience in that area but your statement is inaccurate here.

Niche's rankings are data driven and no other platform focuses more on ensuring that their stats are up to date, accurate, and complete.

Here is a detailed description of Niche's methodology:

https://www.niche.com/k12/rankings/methodology/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And, as always, buried at the bottom of their methodology page:

"Niche takes steps to ensure data integrity, but rankings may be inaccurate if Niche is supplied with inaccurate data from schools, data sources such as the US Department of Education or spam and automated 'bot' reviews."

That sounds like literally every other school ranking out there, including for colleges. Take these with a grain of salt and use it as a starting point to research the schools, nothing more.

US News isn’t much better, but at least their rankings aren’t based on data influenced by spam and bots.

You just pulled that out of your tinfoil hat. Do you work for Niche? Like I said, it’s another ranking which will be flawed like any other school rankings (hope nobody puts that much weight on these when really making decisions; it’s a fine starting point). But you’re making stuff up that’s extreme and fits your narrative.

Anyone who takes Niche rankings is an idiot.

It’s based on self-reporting from the school community reports, I.e. which school’s parents and students go on Niche to rate themselves superstars.

Essentially, it’s a masturbatory exercise.

I am sure that you have a lot of experience in that area but your statement is inaccurate here.

Niche's rankings are data driven and no other platform focuses more on ensuring that their stats are up to date, accurate, and complete.

Here is a detailed description of Niche's methodology:

https://www.niche.com/k12/rankings/methodology/

lol

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And, as always, buried at the bottom of their methodology page:

"Niche takes steps to ensure data integrity, but rankings may be inaccurate if Niche is supplied with inaccurate data from schools, data sources such as the US Department of Education or spam and automated 'bot' reviews."

That sounds like literally every other school ranking out there, including for colleges. Take these with a grain of salt and use it as a starting point to research the schools, nothing more.

US News isn’t much better, but at least their rankings aren’t based on data influenced by spam and bots.

You just pulled that out of your tinfoil hat. Do you work for Niche? Like I said, it’s another ranking which will be flawed like any other school rankings (hope nobody puts that much weight on these when really making decisions; it’s a fine starting point). But you’re making stuff up that’s extreme and fits your narrative.

Anyone who takes Niche rankings is an idiot.

It’s based on self-reporting from the school community reports, I.e. which school’s parents and students go on Niche to rate themselves superstars.

Essentially, it’s a masturbatory exercise.

I am sure that you have a lot of experience in that area but your statement is inaccurate here.

Niche's rankings are data driven and no other platform focuses more on ensuring that their stats are up to date, accurate, and complete.

Here is a detailed description of Niche's methodology:

https://www.niche.com/k12/rankings/methodology/

lol

+1 on the Lol. Niche may have actual data to use when ranking public schools, but private school's data is not reported to the Department of Ed nor is it anywhere else accessible so for privates they are relying solely on the reviews/number of hits on their site.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And, as always, buried at the bottom of their methodology page:

"Niche takes steps to ensure data integrity, but rankings may be inaccurate if Niche is supplied with inaccurate data from schools, data sources such as the US Department of Education or spam and automated 'bot' reviews."

That sounds like literally every other school ranking out there, including for colleges. Take these with a grain of salt and use it as a starting point to research the schools, nothing more.

US News isn’t much better, but at least their rankings aren’t based on data influenced by spam and bots.

You just pulled that out of your tinfoil hat. Do you work for Niche? Like I said, it’s another ranking which will be flawed like any other school rankings (hope nobody puts that much weight on these when really making decisions; it’s a fine starting point). But you’re making stuff up that’s extreme and fits your narrative.

Anyone who takes Niche rankings is an idiot.

It’s based on self-reporting from the school community reports, I.e. which school’s parents and students go on Niche to rate themselves superstars.

Essentially, it’s a masturbatory exercise.

I am sure that you have a lot of experience in that area but your statement is inaccurate here.

Niche's rankings are data driven and no other platform focuses more on ensuring that their stats are up to date, accurate, and complete.

Here is a detailed description of Niche's methodology:

https://www.niche.com/k12/rankings/methodology/

lol

+1 on the Lol. Niche may have actual data to use when ranking public schools, but private school's data is not reported to the Department of Ed nor is it anywhere else accessible so for privates they are relying solely on the reviews/number of hits on their site.

In other words, just like any other school rankings you can find on the Internet that includes private schools, including USNWR for colleges, business schools, etc. Name ONE superior school ranking that doesn’t rely on self reported data that’s not available to the public.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:These are ridiculous. In no world is NCS behind Holton or Madeira. Please.

Yes, all three are cliquey and toxic, but NCS might be the leader here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And, as always, buried at the bottom of their methodology page:

"Niche takes steps to ensure data integrity, but rankings may be inaccurate if Niche is supplied with inaccurate data from schools, data sources such as the US Department of Education or spam and automated 'bot' reviews."

That sounds like literally every other school ranking out there, including for colleges. Take these with a grain of salt and use it as a starting point to research the schools, nothing more.

US News isn’t much better, but at least their rankings aren’t based on data influenced by spam and bots.

You just pulled that out of your tinfoil hat. Do you work for Niche? Like I said, it’s another ranking which will be flawed like any other school rankings (hope nobody puts that much weight on these when really making decisions; it’s a fine starting point). But you’re making stuff up that’s extreme and fits your narrative.

Anyone who takes Niche rankings is an idiot.

It’s based on self-reporting from the school community reports, I.e. which school’s parents and students go on Niche to rate themselves superstars.

Essentially, it’s a masturbatory exercise.

I am sure that you have a lot of experience in that area but your statement is inaccurate here.

Niche's rankings are data driven and no other platform focuses more on ensuring that their stats are up to date, accurate, and complete.

Here is a detailed description of Niche's methodology:

https://www.niche.com/k12/rankings/methodology/

lol

+1 on the Lol. Niche may have actual data to use when ranking public schools, but private school's data is not reported to the Department of Ed nor is it anywhere else accessible so for privates they are relying solely on the reviews/number of hits on their site.

In other words, just like any other school rankings you can find on the Internet that includes private schools, including USNWR for colleges, business schools, etc. Name ONE superior school ranking that doesn’t rely on self reported data that’s not available to the public.

Agree. In other words, all the arguing, posturing and bluster about rankings is stupid.