I'm not so sure the "top 3" are actually the top 3....

[Anonymous]

It's a matter of semantics. If OP had said I'm not so sure these are the 3 or 4 most competitive schools then this discussion would not have gone on for so long because there is a little disagreement that Sidwell, the Cathedral schools, GDS, and Maret are the most competiitve to get into. As for whether they are the top schools it seems that the restaurant analogy a PP used above works well.

[Anonymous]

The restaurant analogy is terrific. My child goes to one of the top 3/4 and got in to one of the others. We did not even apply to the other two because the education/atmosphere was not what we wanted for child. Our third choice would have been a school that never makes the top of the rankings, but we consider it to be excellent. It is all about keeping your child happy and challenged.

I was once at a school party when another parent announced definitely that our school was "the best" in town. It sounded like such a dumb comment. The best for whom? I know so many parents who followed the crowd into the name schools and ended up with unhappy children who were begging their parents for transfers by middle school. These kids left Albans, NCS, GDS and Sidwell for schools like Waldorf and Field and they never looked back. Find the right fit and your child will thrive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To me, the fundamental point--which is made repeatedly on this site but not yet in this thread--is that the top three schools for my kid and family might not be the top three for yours. It's a bit like naming the top three restaurants in the area: a place may have a great reputation and a reservation book that fills up three months ahead, but if you don't like the food then (i) don't go there; and (ii) don't be defensive about it; but (iii) don't trash the people who do like the place (whose preferences are not inferior to yours, either.) When people talk about the top three (or four, or however many) schools, they are usually talking about the ones who are believed to have, metaphorically, the longest reservation book, etc. But are they the "best" ones? Once you start defining terms, it becomes clear pretty quickly that reasonable people can, do, and should disagree. The statement "the best three schools in the area are A, B and C" is meaningless. The statement that "for my kids/family, based on their interests and needs, the three best schools in the area are A, B and C" is not.

LOVE this analogy! Well put.

[Anonymous]

The restaurant analogy is an excellent one.

It's possible to like a restaurant for different qualities -- genre, atmosphere, traditional versus cutting edge, and all the rest. Would it be possible to have a reasoned discussion on the various elements of the private schools around here?

For example,
-- is the school nurturing or not,
-- are the teachers engaging and/or well-qualified,
-- the facilities, and then
-- the whole range of academics -- science, languages, english, opportunities in art.

And lots of other stuff, I'm sure. I think we may already have done "values".

[Anonymous]

I agree. It would be nice to hear specific comments about specific schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's a matter of semantics. If OP had said I'm not so sure these are the 3 or 4 most competitive schools then this discussion would not have gone on for so long because As for whether they are the top schools it seems that the restaurant analogy a PP used above works well.

I do NOT agree with "there is a little disagreement that Sidwell, the Cathedral schools, GDS, and Maret are the most competiitve to get into." In fact, I know this statement to be absolutely false. There are other schools in Washington that are equally competitive, if not harder in a given year, to get into. Just as there are other schools that rarely, if ever, dip into the wait lists, and usually are over-subscribed. I can think of at least one other PS-12 and one PS-8, in particular, that meet these crietria.

[Anonymous]

Which?

[Anonymous]

Interesting. Could you name them, with the understanding that this isn't meant to be an exhaustive list?

[Anonymous]

I'm not that PP, but to name one example, Blessed Sacrament in NW DC is very difficult to get into.

A lot of you reading will think, well that's not on the table for us, because we're not Catholic/it's too far/it's co-ed, whatever. And to borrow the restaurant analogy ... that's great! It's not for you, no problem there.

Still this doesn't change the fact that this school is very difficult to get into, it rarely dips into a waitlist, it's bursting at the seams, it's several families' first choice, and so on.

[Anonymous]

What makes a school competitive? Is it just admissions numbers or do you have to factor in the caliber and interests of the applicants? For example, kids who do not want to be saddled with a heavy workload in high school self-select out of certain schools.

I've heard that Maret is the most competitive in admissions because it is so small. Sidwell, GDS and the Cathedral schools are all tough to get into, though the Cathedral schools are a somewhat less competitive because they are drawing only from a pool of students willing to go single-sex. I think Sheridan can be tough in the early years, though they generally have openings at 6th and beyond when their students start peeling off to go to other schools. Holton is easy to get into at the lower school, but more difficult in the later years.

[Anonymous]

All of this is very useful and informative. Thanks to the recent PPs for steering this thread back on topic.

[Anonymous]

Another possibility: when people say "competitive", do they mean tough to get in, or do they mean a pressure-cooker in terms of academics and/or competitive extra-curriculars?

[Anonymous]

In this context, I think they almost always mean "hard to get into."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: Holton is easy to get into at the lower school, but more difficult in the later years.

"easy to get into" - according to who?

[Anonymous]

WIS is very competitive.

St Patrick's is also very competitive especially for N, PK, and K and iffy for other years depending on if students leave at 3rd or 4th for Landon/Holton or NCS/STA.

Sheridan is getting more and more competitive every year.