More competitive year than usual?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the flight from public school has ramped up another level. It happened in the 21 and 22 cycles, related to the pandemic and we all thought some kids would leave private when things went “back to normal” (which some did). But this feels like a new wave of people leaving public school and trying for private spots.

This year's 6th and 9th applicant pool got hammered by the pandemic. It'll be bad again next year but should return to normal after that.

Last year’s results were great. This years’s were awful. Please explain why this isn’t the new normal?

The rising 9th graders missed almost their entire middle school experience and got a really bad first impression from 6th and 7th. They also had a lot of learning loss and would be the cohort of kids that might have switched to private k-8 for middle school during the pandemic. Last year's class would have had a mostly normal 6th grade. That impression might have given them enough hope to try another year at public for high school.

The rising 6th graders had a bad 3th and 4th grade with the learning loss from that showing up in 5th as academics get started for real. Last year's class would have had a similar profile but the hope of a clean post-pandemic start for 6th. They also would have heard all the pandemic mishaps about their middle shool.

There probably is a new wave and a new normal forming but this year has some anomolies that make it unique.

What was wrong with 7th grade? In Arlington, we were back full time by then. Only missed 6th grade doing virtual. I feel like we've basically recovered from that already.

Agree. I’d argue the current 9th graders had worse middle school experience. They only had 8th grade for full year which was an awkward and chaotic year to then get thrown in high school. Rising 9th graders had all of 7th and all of 8th in person (non unlike my Jr High that was only 7th/8th).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think probably very tight because in previous years we have seen so many “X v Y - which should I pick?” posts. And now barely any.

It’s been 36 hours. Those posts will come once people have time to absorb the results. Also, there’s a level of sensitivity posting those within the first 24 hours of people getting hammered with rejections.

I think you’re probably right. People are going to talk with their spouses, families, children, and may even reach out to admissions, etc. before they take to online forms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've heard this every year..."this year was more competitive than usual" possibly true but think its a way to make parents feel better. Sigh.

+100

They tell parents what they want to hear. LOL!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've heard this every year..."this year was more competitive than usual" possibly true but think its a way to make parents feel better. Sigh.

+100

They tell parents what they want to hear. LOL!

LOL all you want, but it’s clear you aren’t privy to this information. GDS offered fewer spots this year, as did our school (they took too many last year) and our K-8 admissions warned parents this year is was going to be a “competitive year” which they didn’t do last year. What’s your information from schools to support your opinion?

[Anonymous]

Years of DCUM posts reporting that schools say "this year was more competitive than usual." This is nothing new.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Years of DCUM posts reporting that schools say "this year was more competitive than usual." This is nothing new.

Yep. +1000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Years of DCUM posts reporting that schools say "this year was more competitive than usual." This is nothing new.

Yep. +1000

DCUM is your SOURCE? Since when has this been a proxy for real life? Now I am LOLing…

[Anonymous]

NP. I’m not in DC but locally where I am private school HS admissions have become markedly harder over the past few years. There are a few things driving the change: a sharp increase in the number of kids applying in from public schools and a sharp decrease in the number of kids leaving private in 8th for public. So, more kids are applying for fewer spots.

I have an 8th grader in a K-12. In the years before Covid, there were always multiple kids who left in 8th to go to public. This year not a single kid is leaving. Last year, one left, but only because they moved out of area. It’s changing admissions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Years of DCUM posts reporting that schools say "this year was more competitive than usual." This is nothing new.

Maybe, but the GDS enrollment issues are new. And I do think you are seeing more families frustrated with public.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Years of DCUM posts reporting that schools say "this year was more competitive than usual." This is nothing new.

Maybe, but the GDS enrollment issues are new. And I do think you are seeing more families frustrated with public.

GDS is like one school out of dozens in this area. And while it's true that many families are frustrated with public, way more were during the pandemic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Years of DCUM posts reporting that schools say "this year was more competitive than usual." This is nothing new.

Maybe, but the GDS enrollment issues are new. And I do think you are seeing more families frustrated with public.

GDS is like one school out of dozens in this area. And while it's true that many families are frustrated with public, way more were during the pandemic.

And many private schools accepted those leaving public during the pandemic, and now, having taken in more students that usual a few years ago, those same private schools have fewer spots in middle and/or high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP. I’m not in DC but locally where I am private school HS admissions have become markedly harder over the past few years. There are a few things driving the change: a sharp increase in the number of kids applying in from public schools and a sharp decrease in the number of kids leaving private in 8th for public. So, more kids are applying for fewer spots.

I have an 8th grader in a K-12. In the years before Covid, there were always multiple kids who left in 8th to go to public. This year not a single kid is leaving. Last year, one left, but only because they moved out of area. It’s changing admissions.

Agree there ARE fundamental changes.

Public schools and local/star/federal government screwed students with choosing faulty common core curriculum for k-8, having an AP arms race for high school, eliminating tests/ graded work in order to “close the achievement gaps,” and don’t build nicely sized districts but let them balloon up indefinitely and then mismanage huge budgets.
No thanks. Maybe a single high school district can compete but otherwise nothing good for the masses trying to serve everything badly.

Then Covid. 1-2 years of 25% schooling in America. No thanks again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP. I’m not in DC but locally where I am private school HS admissions have become markedly harder over the past few years. There are a few things driving the change: a sharp increase in the number of kids applying in from public schools and a sharp decrease in the number of kids leaving private in 8th for public. So, more kids are applying for fewer spots.

I have an 8th grader in a K-12. In the years before Covid, there were always multiple kids who left in 8th to go to public. This year not a single kid is leaving. Last year, one left, but only because they moved out of area. It’s changing admissions.

Agree there ARE fundamental changes.

Public schools and local/star/federal government screwed students with choosing faulty common core curriculum for k-8, having an AP arms race for high school, eliminating tests/ graded work in order to “close the achievement gaps,” and don’t build nicely sized districts but let them balloon up indefinitely and then mismanage huge budgets.
No thanks. Maybe a single high school district can compete but otherwise nothing good for the masses trying to serve everything badly.

Then Covid. 1-2 years of 25% schooling in America. No thanks again.

I think Covid vastly accelerated the trend though.

[Anonymous]

This may have been the harshest year in decades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This may have been the harshest year in decades.

Source? We were told by two schools that the grades we were applying for had fewer spots than normal since they needed to right size the schools. I wasn’t sure if that was across the board.