Sidwell Vs Maret vs NCS

[Anonymous]

For GDS be brown, liberal, LGBTQ+, and your chances in improve. White moderate preppy types need not apply.

[Anonymous]

You must not actually be a GDS parent, because our kids have had lots of white preppy types in their grades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For GDS be brown, liberal, LGBTQ+, and your chances in improve. White moderate preppy types need not apply.

Actually, a white preppy kid might have an advantage at this point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: First and foremost consider how your kid will hold up in varying degrees of intensity and stress. Ncs seems to usually poll the highest and that’s certainly the experience of our friends who have kids at all of these schools. I’d personally take a hard pass. Maret is known for a bit less homework and seems to have college outcomes pretty much the same. For some kids that’s way way more impt than whether they have a bit too much DEI. Gds is definitely a lot of work but at least they try to put joy into the process and take the stress down a notch. Sidwell maybe somewhere in between gds and ncs. The most impt thing is where your kid will thrive - not things like cool buildings and who overcooks the dei.

That's super helpful, we are also looking for joy! How would Holton Arms comapre to NCS in terms of intensity and stress?

GDS is definitely the win for joy.

New to GDS and the emphasis on joy is evident. We are pleasantly surprised by it as we didn't expect it to be emphasized as much as it is. It is intentional and cultivated.

This is off-topic, I apologize! But do you have any advice on how to get into GDS? We love the school but have found it incredibly difficult to get in. The application process (into middle school) has felt pretty impersonal at times--lots of emphasis on "this is who we are," but not as much focus perhaps on getting to know us or our child. It's been hard to convey why we believe we’d be a great fit for the school. We don’t have any "hooks" that might give us an edge, and we’ve sort of resigned ourselves to the fact that it might just come down to that? Any thoughts or insights would be greatly appreciated!

Try not to worry about the impersonal side. We felt that way for both of our kids during admissions and they both were accepted (one after being WL) . It’s odd because the school is far more personal once attending.

In general - some schools admissions are warmer than others. And you’d think it matters or would be a reflection of the school culture given it is so forward facing. But it is rarely the case. They have a lot of work to do so try not to let it get to you. And - as others have noted - many schools are courting athletes and huge donor families and it 100% is a bad feeling to see the overtones of this - Potomac dies it during tours right in front of everyone else! And I’ve seen GDS and Sidwell do it at secondary school fair. And Maret at accepted student events (while families are deciding) or at their open house.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For GDS be brown, liberal, LGBTQ+, and your chances in improve. White moderate preppy types need not apply.

We see far more white preppy kids at GDS than we did at Sidwell or Maret. (Overflowing white preppy types at Potomac & St Albans)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree - it's the same as asking what the secret sauce is to get into Harvard or Stanford. Regardless of anything academic or once you get into the school, the reality is that the most competitive schools in DC are every bit as hard to get into as a Top 25 college (GDS, SFS, STC, NCS, Maret).

lol - having had multiple kids get into multiple of these HS and having gone through college admissions too - this is so off. It’s far harder to get into T25 college without a hook than into these DC schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: First and foremost consider how your kid will hold up in varying degrees of intensity and stress. Ncs seems to usually poll the highest and that’s certainly the experience of our friends who have kids at all of these schools. I’d personally take a hard pass. Maret is known for a bit less homework and seems to have college outcomes pretty much the same. For some kids that’s way way more impt than whether they have a bit too much DEI. Gds is definitely a lot of work but at least they try to put joy into the process and take the stress down a notch. Sidwell maybe somewhere in between gds and ncs. The most impt thing is where your kid will thrive - not things like cool buildings and who overcooks the dei.

That's super helpful, we are also looking for joy! How would Holton Arms comapre to NCS in terms of intensity and stress?

GDS is definitely the win for joy.

New to GDS and the emphasis on joy is evident. We are pleasantly surprised by it as we didn't expect it to be emphasized as much as it is. It is intentional and cultivated.

This is off-topic, I apologize! But do you have any advice on how to get into GDS? We love the school but have found it incredibly difficult to get in. The application process (into middle school) has felt pretty impersonal at times--lots of emphasis on "this is who we are," but not as much focus perhaps on getting to know us or our child. It's been hard to convey why we believe we’d be a great fit for the school. We don’t have any "hooks" that might give us an edge, and we’ve sort of resigned ourselves to the fact that it might just come down to that? Any thoughts or insights would be greatly appreciated!

Try not to worry about the impersonal side. We felt that way for both of our kids during admissions and they both were accepted (one after being WL) . It’s odd because the school is far more personal once attending.

In general - some schools admissions are warmer than others. And you’d think it matters or would be a reflection of the school culture given it is so forward facing. But it is rarely the case. They have a lot of work to do so try not to let it get to you. And - as others have noted - many schools are courting athletes and huge donor families and it 100% is a bad feeling to see the overtones of this - Potomac dies it during tours right in front of everyone else! And I’ve seen GDS and Sidwell do it at secondary school fair. And Maret at accepted student events (while families are deciding) or at their open house.

Good luck!

So true. We had a perfectly fine family interview for US , but we did not leave with any feeling of certainty. But kid got in. It is much warmer once you are in and there’s a strong sense of community - stronger than anticipated. And they really try to make school fun to the extent possible. This has all been a pleasant surprise.

[Anonymous]

The three schools think too much of themselves. I believe they also have the same bias as liberal universities in the us.
If you want your kid to be a freethinker pick other schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Visit. They are all three VERY different. You'll get a feeling if the school is a fit for your family right from the get go.

They are not VERY different, aside from the fact that NCS is single sex.

People don't want to admit this, but private schools are more alike than they are different. We all love the idea that there is one school that is a "perfect fit" for each student and family, but that is almost never the case. There are pros and cons, good and bad to all schools. Maret is a smaller Sidwell. Sidwell and NCS may have a reputation as being more rigorous academically, but rigor can be found at Maret if you seek it out. All good at some sports, less so in others. All charge a lot in tuition, have active parent communities and expect contributions to the annual fund. They are all in NW DC and the kids hang out together.

There is no "feeling" that the school is a fit for each family, except in rare cases. You're lucky to get in any of them and most people take what they get.

I don't think this is entirely true. It's easier to get an "A" in Maret English and History courses than at NCS or Sidwell by a significant margin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Visit. They are all three VERY different. You'll get a feeling if the school is a fit for your family right from the get go.

They are not VERY different, aside from the fact that NCS is single sex.

People don't want to admit this, but private schools are more alike than they are different. We all love the idea that there is one school that is a "perfect fit" for each student and family, but that is almost never the case. There are pros and cons, good and bad to all schools. Maret is a smaller Sidwell. Sidwell and NCS may have a reputation as being more rigorous academically, but rigor can be found at Maret if you seek it out. All good at some sports, less so in others. All charge a lot in tuition, have active parent communities and expect contributions to the annual fund. They are all in NW DC and the kids hang out together.

There is no "feeling" that the school is a fit for each family, except in rare cases. You're lucky to get in any of them and most people take what they get.

I don't think this is entirely true. It's easier to get an "A" in Maret English and History courses than at NCS or Sidwell by a significant margin.

True but also the stress levels will be higher in general… it’s also a reflection on how teachers behave and see their role. Maret will be warmer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Very different. My daughter did not like NCS because it felt joyless and was single sex. Everyone was very nice but it felt like everyone was tired. Sidwell was opposite. Sort of intense happiness and coed. Had all the high school stuff we wanted except formal AP classes. Ruled out Maret immediately because it had a quirkier bunch of kids, felt a small (literally smaller grades), limited campus and sort of felt heavy with DEI —even more than Sidwell. And for my kid, she was tapped out on some of that. As she says “no hate but can we talk about something else for a change.” So OP you really need to visit and pursue and I think also cast a wider net. NCS and Sidwell are very hard to get into. Maret not nearly as competitive but it’s not a shoe in at all.

Maret may be harder to get into than the other two because there are alot less spots.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The three schools think too much of themselves. I believe they also have the same bias as liberal universities in the us.
If you want your kid to be a freethinker pick other schools.

If you want your kid to be a freethinker, raise one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The three schools think too much of themselves. I believe they also have the same bias as liberal universities in the us.
If you want your kid to be a freethinker pick other schools.

If you want your kid to be a freethinker, raise one.

Yes, also avoid ideological schools like sidwell maret and gds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was supportive of DEI in schools until they start teaching my kid about white privilege. I am non white and I oppose teaching kids to define whether a person is good or bad depending on the skin color, specially when a lot of nonwhite privileged families attend schools and very few underprivileged whites families are part of the community.

There is not a single school that teaches the bolded. Not one. Teaching about white privilege has nothing to do with whether someone is good or bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was supportive of DEI in schools until they start teaching my kid about white privilege. I am non white and I oppose teaching kids to define whether a person is good or bad depending on the skin color, specially when a lot of nonwhite privileged families attend schools and very few underprivileged whites families are part of the community.

There is not a single school that teaches the bolded. Not one. Teaching about white privilege has nothing to do with whether someone is good or bad.

It’s shocking how uninformed and ignorant people are to think that teaching about privilege means that you’re saying people are either “bad” or “good” based on their skin color, as you just mentioned. God help us all.