Sibling preference-- which schools have the strongest?

[Anonymous]

If you are a larger family with 4 kids this is something one must consider when applying for the first child. Does anyone know which schools have very strong sibling preference in the DC and NOVA area? This is very important to me since I have 4 children and want to make sure I go to a place that will hopefully accept all my children.

[Anonymous]

Maret will tell you that because they're so small, they don't have as strong a sibling preference as other schools, but I do know several families with multiple children there. I do know two families where siblings got rejected. For Sidwell, NCS, St. A's, GDS, I think it helps, but doesn't guarantee acceptance if the sibling doesn't otherwise meet admissions requirements (lackluster grades, poor test scores, etc.). Landon has a very strong sibling acceptance policy (many families with 3 and 4 boys there), but, the caveat is always that the sibling's got to meet the admission standards. Don't know about the Catholic schools, but I'd assume they'd have strong sibling policies. Bottom line is, there's no guarantee that all your kids will be accepted by one school. Unless your last name is "Obama."

[Anonymous]

The larger question is, can you afford 90-130k/year for tuition?

[Anonymous]

Norwood has a strong sibling preference policy.

[Anonymous]

Catholic schools are great for large families. Siblings get top priority and there is a tuition break for each additional child.

[Anonymous]

The code word you want to hear on tours is something like "we are a family school." I have heard Sidwell's preference is not at all strong and that you should be prepared for DC#2 not to get in on the first try even if that DC later gets in. I think Maret tries but can't have a class of all sibs, and the classes are small in the early years. I know somebody with 3 kids at GDS, so they may have a stronger policy.

[Anonymous]

Sheridan School has a great sibling policy, check it out!

[Anonymous]

Langley seems to have a strong sibling preference. I know a couple families with 4 kids there, and lots of siblings are in the preschool class each year. People don't seem to worry much about not having a sibling accepted, although I hear its happened so I suppose there's no guarantee. Lots of twins too this year.

[Anonymous]

The following are family schools and I'm sure there are more out there:

Beauvoir
Norwood
St. Patricks
Potomac (at least for early entry)

[Anonymous]

Primary Day is a family school with a strong sibling preference.

[Anonymous]

Sidwell is pretty explicitly "non-family" in the sense that they reject siblings routinely. In my own case, in the same year one child was accepted and the other rejected.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The larger question is, can you afford 90-130k/year for tuition?

Thankfully, yes we can afford to pay private for all 4 kids. Thanks to all the posters who gave me some suggestions on schools.

[Anonymous]

NOVA: Burgundy if the kids meet admissions standards.