Sheridan

[Anonymous]

Is Sheridan difficult to get into? Specifically, I'm wondering if its difficult to "transfer" in around the 3rd/4th grade. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

You should pose that question to the admissions director there to get a better answer. The admissions team knows better than anyone here how many applicants they typcially get for each class from year to year. Since it is a small school, and that is not an "intake" year, the number of actual openings for any given year would not be known until the Spring most likely.

[Anonymous]

Sheridan is not difficult to get into. It's not in the same league as gds or Beauvoir. There will always be at least 1-2 spaces from children who go on to other schools (Sidwell-3rd, Maret-4th).

[Anonymous]

It's not in the same league as gds or Beauvoir.

PP, what does this mean, exactly? Does this mean something like caliber of teachers, or curriculum? Or the so-called "eximissions"?

Have you had children attend each of these schools?

[Anonymous]

It's not in the same league in terms of applicant numbers. If you want to get a sense of this investigate how many play visits each school holds for each grade and how many children attend each. This will give you a good indicator of the volume. You can also check back after the reply deadline and you'll see some schools have spaces still available. This is much more likely at a place like Sheridan (2006) than GDS, Beauvoir, or Sidwell. You can also look at the size of the graduating class relative to the entry class to get an idea of the school's attrition and their ability to recruit new students.

[Anonymous]

You know, this is all so silly. I read all this desperate talk about getting into the "Big Three" schools (for kindergartners, no less!), and, as someone who has lived here for 30 years, everyone on this Board needs to take a deep breath. There are many good private schools in the DC area, not just Sidwell, Beauvoir and GDS. Your kids will be fine if they don't go to one of those schools. I have friends whose kids go to Sidwell, Sheridan, NCS, Maret, GDS, Lowell, Potomac, Landon, Norwood, et al. Their kids are all happy and doing well. My own kids (and many of my friends') went to DC public school first then to private, and they all got into private schools they liked and are doing well. People need to chill out! Look at a bunch of schools. Find a few that seem to be the best fit for YOUR child, which may not be ones that will impress your friends. Too many people on this site reflect the prevailing attitude in DC that if your kid doesn't get into the "right" school now, well, there goes the Ivy League and they'll be working in McDonald's for life. The fact that you all can fret about getting IN to a school that costs $25-30K means you all don't have real problems in life. Rant over.

[Anonymous]

I love it! You are so right.

[Anonymous]

Amen pp!

We live in DC and I have to say that these threads make me cringe. My husband and I obviously want the best for our child and have a hard time balancing private v. public because we really don't want to be in an environment of snotty rich kids (I am a white rich kid, so I know of whom I speak!)., yet we also want the best educational fit. I don't think a 5% increase (or whatever nominal amount it is) in Ivy League admissions is worth selling our souls for. We also can't afford it without eating mac n cheese for years. Is it worth it? We'll see. I'm trying public school for - DC public school. Thanks pp for shedding light that it IS possible to switch from a DC public school to a private school down the road.

[Anonymous]

I was at Sheridan a few weeks ago and found it to be lovely. There is so much artwork hanging everywhere, the faculty was friendly and the kids were terrific. (I taught a class there for an afternoon.)

I am a former teacher (at one of the big 3) and am in many public and private schools because of the nature of my business and really, really liked Sheridan.

[Anonymous]

although not in DC, does anyone have any input on Burgundy Farms Day School?

[Anonymous]

A friend has two children there and LOVES LOVES LOVES it. I've never been to either but based on what I've heard and read Green Acres, Burgundy, and Lowell seem very similar--one for each geographic location. If anyone has any additional information on how the three differ please inform us.

[Anonymous]

PP you may want to post your question in the thread "determining the right fit" for your child, it seems like it could be relevant there and people may be able to share the differences.

[Anonymous]

Georgia Irvin's guide says in 2005 (I think) Sheridan had 130 applicants, 41 enrolled. It would be more useful to know how many applied and how many were accepted rather than enrolled, but it still provides some information.

[Anonymous]

Sheridan School has about 200 applications for the coming fall. It is important to note that Sheridan only has 223 students in the entire school. The cap is 226.
There numbers are as staggering as everyone else's.

[Anonymous]

Sidwell, GDS and Beauvoir all had spaces available after the contracts were due. They still took children off their waitlist in June and July!