Getting into St. Albans

[Anonymous]

The STA test is used for admissions, yes, but also for determining class placement among the boys who eventually attend. So there are questions in there they don't expect many of the kids to get, since it can lead to 2-3 levels of math classes, more when there are kids who place above grade level. I'm not saying this well, so as an example - a 7th grader coud end up in one of 2-3 math levels or even an 8th and 9th grade math classes depending on results.

[Anonymous]

Not to discourage families, but from my experience, most of the non-Beauvoir slots are eaten up by siblings. If there are 15 spaces for non-Beauvoir incoming C-formers, a good 6-7 are siblings of older boys at the school. As to where they went to school, I would argue it really doesn't matter. The decising factor in their acceptance was not their school (or performance) but in their family. In my son's entering C form, only about 5-6 boys were non-Beauvoir, non-sibling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:from our experience the non beauvoir C form is usually head and shoulders above those beauvoir boys. Way better at math, typically, and there is always the joke that you can tell the beauvoir boys because they cannot open their lockers themselves.

the other boys come from everywhere, depending on the year but typically you see public schools (DC, MD and VA) and then also some privates -- we had boys from Concord Hill, WES, NPS, St Patrick's, WIS, Potomac, among others. Entry for 7th and 9th is also huge, with many coming from privates that end in 6th or 8th or public schools too.By middle of the year, no one cares by the way who was at beauvoir and who was not.

Do you think that its easier to get accepted if you wait until 7th grade vs. 4th? It seems like there are more spots in 7th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not to discourage families, but from my experience, most of the non-Beauvoir slots are eaten up by siblings. If there are 15 spaces for non-Beauvoir incoming C-formers, a good 6-7 are siblings of older boys at the school. As to where they went to school, I would argue it really doesn't matter. The decising factor in their acceptance was not their school (or performance) but in their family. In my son's entering C form, only about 5-6 boys were non-Beauvoir, non-sibling.

In our year, there were 3/4 sib applicants. It really varies from year to year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The STA test is used for admissions, yes, but also for determining class placement among the boys who eventually attend. So there are questions in there they don't expect many of the kids to get, since it can lead to 2-3 levels of math classes, more when there are kids who place above grade level. I'm not saying this well, so as an example - a 7th grader coud end up in one of 2-3 math levels or even an 8th and 9th grade math classes depending on results.

There are 3 classes of C-Formers (4th graders).

Are you saying that the boys were placed in their classes based on their test scores (whether STA or WPPSI)?

[Anonymous]

13:58 here - I can only speak to 7th grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This was also my son's experience last weekend. It's a relief to hear that we are not alone in this process. We are also applying from public school and it seems as though we are the only family applying this year.

My question is - will we see the results of the test? And if so, when?

.

PP did you get the sense that most of the kids completing the test last weekend were from other independent schools? We picked up late, so didn't get a sense of how many kids were there competing for those non-Beauvoir spots. Any idea of how many are applying?

I wasn't there, so all of my information is second-hand. My parents said there were about 40-50 kids there for the test. My son said he met some kids, all 3 were from other private schools. I know we are the only family applying from our public school.

[Anonymous]

40-50 kids doesn't sound like that much to me considering they will overenroll the class. If you figure there are 10-12 spots left after Beauvoir boys, that's almost a 1 in 2 shot you'll get in. Granted, some of those slots may be for sibs, but depending on the year, it still may not be that bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:40-50 kids doesn't sound like that much to me considering they will overenroll the class. If you figure there are 10-12 spots left after Beauvoir boys, that's almost a 1 in 2 shot you'll get in. Granted, some of those slots may be for sibs, but depending on the year, it still may not be that bad.

They test on more than one day. It's at least double if not triple or more kids you're competing with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:40-50 kids doesn't sound like that much to me considering they will overenroll the class. If you figure there are 10-12 spots left after Beauvoir boys, that's almost a 1 in 2 shot you'll get in. Granted, some of those slots may be for sibs, but depending on the year, it still may not be that bad.

They test on more than one day. It's at least double if not triple or more kids you're competing with.

If they test on one day, then why do they only list one test day for C Formers on their web site?????

[Anonymous]

I know that the Beavoir boys need only submit their 2nd and 3rd grade report cards to STA (friends have told me this and STA's website confirms this.) My question is, for those other applicants to C Form from public school or other privates, do you send only report cards from 2nd and 3rd grade, or from Pre-K or K onward?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:40-50 kids doesn't sound like that much to me considering they will overenroll the class. If you figure there are 10-12 spots left after Beauvoir boys, that's almost a 1 in 2 shot you'll get in. Granted, some of those slots may be for sibs, but depending on the year, it still may not be that bad.

They test on more than one day. It's at least double if not triple or more kids you're competing with.

If they test on one day, then why do they only list one test day for C Formers on their web site?????

The Beauvoir boys have a separate day of testing.

There is also a make-up day, and special testing set aside for special candidates (read - Saudi prince types, and kids of recently elected senators and the like).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:40-50 kids doesn't sound like that much to me considering they will overenroll the class. If you figure there are 10-12 spots left after Beauvoir boys, that's almost a 1 in 2 shot you'll get in. Granted, some of those slots may be for sibs, but depending on the year, it still may not be that bad.

They test on more than one day. It's at least double if not triple or more kids you're competing with.

If they test on one day, then why do they only list one test day for C Formers on their web site?????

The Beauvoir boys have a separate day of testing.

There is also a make-up day, and special testing set aside for special candidates (read - Saudi prince types, and kids of recently elected senators and the like).

Last year there were only 40-50 boys present for the test, and the AD told me that everyone had made it in for testing. No one was talking about the Beauvoir boys being included in the 40-50 boys who were present at this year's test.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:40-50 kids doesn't sound like that much to me considering they will overenroll the class. If you figure there are 10-12 spots left after Beauvoir boys, that's almost a 1 in 2 shot you'll get in. Granted, some of those slots may be for sibs, but depending on the year, it still may not be that bad.

They test on more than one day. It's at least double if not triple or more kids you're competing with.

If they test on one day, then why do they only list one test day for C Formers on their web site?????

The Beauvoir boys have a separate day of testing.

There is also a make-up day, and special testing set aside for special candidates (read - Saudi prince types, and kids of recently elected senators and the like).

Last year there were only 40-50 boys present for the test, and the AD told me that everyone had made it in for testing. No one was talking about the Beauvoir boys being included in the 40-50 boys who were present at this year's test.

I think the confusion may stem from PP's estimate of a "1 in 2" chance of boys getting in. There's a math problem for you. If there are 40 boys in the incoming class, and 30 are from Beauvoir, and 50 non-Beauvoir boy applicants, what are the odds of the non-Beauvoir boys of getting in? I am no math whiz, but I do not believe it is a 1 in 2 chance.

[Anonymous]

I am the PP who suggested a possible 1 in 2 chance at admission, and believe me I'm no math whiz either. I guess I was thinking that if perhaps 28 boys came from B and there were 42 incoming boys (as there are this year I think), and they overenroll the class, they will accept 14 boys plus whatever amount they overenroll, lets say 5. That's 19 boys, and if there were 40 boys present at the test, that's almost a 1 in 2 chance. Now I do think I've overstated it a bit, and its more likely to be less than a 50 % chance, but I don't think I'm so far off that it's a 10 % chance. But also, I think the # of B boys incoming can change those #'s around pretty quickly.