Competitiveness of admissions to local independent schools?

[Anonymous]

We are interested in applying for independent schools for our child for next year. He will be a rising fourth grader -- but he is an August birthday boy and immature so we may apply 3rd grade.

This child has already had some tough experiences in his school career. So, I don't want to put him through the rigmarole of a complicated admissions process if he is unlikely to get accepted anywhere. This happened with a friend of mine who had a child the same age. Applied to 5-6 schools and didn't get accepted anywhere.

With that in mind, how competitive are the following schools to get into? Can we know from the standardized testing scores whether the child is competitive or not?
-GDS
-Sheridan School
-Oneness Family School
-Norwood School
-Mclean School
-Washington International School (child is bilingual Sp/Engl)
-Burke School
-Washington Episcopal School

Thanks very much for any information you can provide.

[Anonymous]

One person's opinion:

-GDS - competitive
-Sheridan School - less competitive
-Oneness Family School - not very competitive
-Norwood School - somewhat competitive
-Mclean School - less competitive
-Washington International School (child is bilingual Sp/Engl) - somewhat competitive
-Burke School - starts at 6th grade...wait a few years.
-Washington Episcopal School - somewhat competitive

One big caveat - if you're applying for a non-expansion grade (not sure if 3rd is or isn't for these schools), then the available slots will be be dependent, largely, on the number of kids who left the previous year. So they could be quite a bit more competitive.

Your best bet is to start calling schools to inquire about admissions for next year.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

OP this is a fairly broad range of schools, from Montessori, to traditional to a school for kids with special needs. I think you need to focus on fit here rather than on chance of acceptance.

[Anonymous]

GDS expands slightly in 3rd, but it's not a major entry year like 4th. I think Sheridan has openings only due to attrition.

[Anonymous]

As with admissions for PK/K, I highly doubt that standardized test scores will have much if any weight for 3rd grade.

[Anonymous]

Wanting to repeat a grade will be a red flag for any mainstream school, especially GDS and Sheridan. McLean might be open to it 8f you explain why it's necessary and how it fits with the support it offers. I don't know anything about the other schools on your list.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are interested in applying for independent schools for our child for next year. He will be a rising fourth grader -- but he is an August birthday boy and immature so we may apply 3rd grade.

This child has already had some tough experiences in his school career. So, I don't want to put him through the rigmarole of a complicated admissions process if he is unlikely to get accepted anywhere. This happened with a friend of mine who had a child the same age. Applied to 5-6 schools and didn't get accepted anywhere.

With that in mind, how competitive are the following schools to get into? Can we know from the standardized testing scores whether the child is competitive or not?
-GDS
-Sheridan School
-Oneness Family School
-Norwood School
-Mclean School
-Washington International School (child is bilingual Sp/Engl)
-Burke School
-Washington Episcopal School

Thanks very much for any information you can provide.

GDS is highly competitive and is probably not the best environment for a child who is immature and has not had a great school career thus far. The school does not believe in coddling children, so your child will need to have initiative, confidence, and be fairly self-motivated to thrive there.

Norwood is more nurturing and less competitive, although smaller.

WES and WIS are also fairly competitive.

Your best bet is to talk directly to the admissions team at each school, describe your child's challenges, and ask for an honest assessment of his chances at admissions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are interested in applying for independent schools for our child for next year. He will be a rising fourth grader -- but he is an August birthday boy and immature so we may apply 3rd grade.

This child has already had some tough experiences in his school career. So, I don't want to put him through the rigmarole of a complicated admissions process if he is unlikely to get accepted anywhere. This happened with a friend of mine who had a child the same age. Applied to 5-6 schools and didn't get accepted anywhere.

With that in mind, how competitive are the following schools to get into? Can we know from the standardized testing scores whether the child is competitive or not?
-GDS
-Sheridan School
-Oneness Family School
-Norwood School
-Mclean School
-Washington International School (child is bilingual Sp/Engl)
-Burke School
-Washington Episcopal School

Thanks very much for any information you can provide.

GDS is highly competitive and is probably not the best environment for a child who is immature and has not had a great school career thus far. The school does not believe in coddling children, so your child will need to have initiative, confidence, and be fairly self-motivated to thrive there.

Norwood is more nurturing and less competitive, although smaller.

WES and WIS are also fairly competitive.

Your best bet is to talk directly to the admissions team at each school, describe your child's challenges, and ask for an honest assessment of his chances at admissions.

You are more likely to have a productive conversation with admissions if you ask them about whether the school would be a good fit for your child, not whether he can get it. What does success mean to you? What does your child need to achieve that? What has worked or not worked for him so far?

[Anonymous]

Try Landon

[Anonymous]

OP here. How do I find out which years are entry years?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. How do I find out which years are entry years?

This is information usually available on the website, but if not, the admissions office will share it with you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One person's opinion:

-GDS - competitive
-Sheridan School - less competitive
-Oneness Family School - not very competitive
-Norwood School - somewhat competitive
-Mclean School - less competitive
-Washington International School (child is bilingual Sp/Engl) - somewhat competitive
-Burke School - starts at 6th grade...wait a few years.
-Washington Episcopal School - somewhat competitive

One big caveat - if you're applying for a non-expansion grade (not sure if 3rd is or isn't for these schools), then the available slots will be be dependent, largely, on the number of kids who left the previous year. So they could be quite a bit more competitive.

Your best bet is to start calling schools to inquire about admissions for next year.

Good luck!

I agree with this poster, and I agree with a later poster that you should look at Landon. If you can afford to pay full price ... it will greatly increase your chances of admittance.

[Anonymous]

Why Landon?

[Anonymous]

WIS is tough for admission and the IB curriculum gets quite rigorous. You can apply but do not assume anything is a done deal. It is not a school you can coast through. They are many bilingual applicants in this area and families moving in from overseas.

Overall I think you need to come to terms with how unpredictable the process is and have a couple of safety schools in mind, to include public or current school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why Landon?

We love the school and the lower school is wonderful. I would start in third to get the full lower school experience.