More competitive year than usual?

[Anonymous]

GDS, NCS and a lot of other schools have been public about this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

It is across-the-board in urban areas including Greater Washington DC. Staffing issues prevent school expansion (just letting more qualified kids in each year), Covid rapidly accelerated demand for privates, and certain schools have their own particular issues which exasperate the issue like the whole neighborhood problem Georgetown Day school is having.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Parent here with kids in both private and public for the past 16 years. Yes, admissions for private high school are much more competitive this year. Pre-pandemic, many 9th graders came from privates to our MCPS "W" school due to a perception that it had better offerings (more APs, extracurriculars, etc.). Not the case anymore. I think people are keeping their high schoolers in private if at all possible (as we are doing with our last kid).

Schools normally not meeting capacity, having openings, and rolling admissions are not doing such anymore.

[Anonymous]

Feeling incredibly lucky/grateful our kid was accepted at first choice. They are coming from public with no hook so the odds were against them!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is it just me or does it seem like there are fewer admissions this year? I’m hearing anecdotally that this was a hyper competitive year, due to the need to right size after expansions during Covid years. Is this true? My DD was accepted at one school and waitlisted and rejected at her other two choices.

I think applications are up especially at schools that parents weee generally pleased with how they handled covid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Feeling incredibly lucky/grateful our kid was accepted at first choice. They are coming from public with no hook so the odds were against them!

Most of us with no strong hooks are just lucky to get in somewhere at the local privates. It's just gotten crazy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Feeling incredibly lucky/grateful our kid was accepted at first choice. They are coming from public with no hook so the odds were against them!

Most of us with no strong hooks are just lucky to get in somewhere at the local privates. It's just gotten crazy.

It used to be that an A student, with high test scores, could write their own ticket. Not anymore. Now, you kind of have to get in where you fit in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

It is across-the-board in urban areas including Greater Washington DC. Staffing issues prevent school expansion (just letting more qualified kids in each year), Covid rapidly accelerated demand for privates, and certain schools have their own particular issues which exasperate the issue like the whole neighborhood problem Georgetown Day school is having.

How would GDS “neighborhood problem” exasperate anything. They went over their agreed enrollment two years in a row.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

It is across-the-board in urban areas including Greater Washington DC. Staffing issues prevent school expansion (just letting more qualified kids in each year), Covid rapidly accelerated demand for privates, and certain schools have their own particular issues which exasperate the issue like the whole neighborhood problem Georgetown Day school is having.

How would GDS “neighborhood problem” exasperate anything. They went over their agreed enrollment two years in a row.

'

Bc they are now right-sizing

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I think this is true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

It is across-the-board in urban areas including Greater Washington DC. Staffing issues prevent school expansion (just letting more qualified kids in each year), Covid rapidly accelerated demand for privates, and certain schools have their own particular issues which exasperate the issue like the whole neighborhood problem Georgetown Day school is having.

How would GDS “neighborhood problem” exasperate anything. They went over their agreed enrollment two years in a row.

'

Bc they are now right-sizing

There are whole threads about this issue. They had to admit I think it was 75 fewer kids than they usually do because of an issue with their neigborhood agreement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve see numbers from a bunch of schools that indicate they have been getting more and more applicants each year post-Covid. I think it’s a reflection of how bad the publics are getting, even in wealthy areas with “good” schools. A huge number of people we know didn’t plan on private, but are there now because they just couldn’t take MCPS anymore.

Same with DCPS. Families who were very committed to public education just 5 years ago are all of a sudden getting a wake-up. It must be really bad.

Public schools are imploding. I have a kid at one and friends at others and the best teachers are retiring in record numbers or leaving for positions in private schools.

[Anonymous]

I think GDS's neighbors' fury has forced GDS to admit fewer the year and as a result there are overall fewer total spots. It's a ripple effect.

[Anonymous]

Why would this cause a ripple effect?

[Anonymous]

At Flint Hill’s revisit event on Tuesday they said applications were up by 20-25 percent for fewer spots.