Anonymous wrote:He is not into “sport” or interested in a school “with a strong academic culture”. ??? Good luck.

Sorry, I meant "athletic".

We are looking to move to DC in a couple of years and have been researching private schools for my son. Whilst we plan to schedule in-person visits to learn more, I'd just like to get the perspective of people here.
Our son is now enrolled in a progressive school, and he would like to continue his education somewhere with similar pedagogy. I went to a Quaker school, and I understand they are usually very liberal compared to most schools. However, we have heard the pedagogy at Georgetown Day may be a better match. He's very academic and indifferent to sport, so he is not interested in a school with a strong athletic culture. Lastly, we would like him to go somewhere in a cosmopolitan environment with many international students.
We are more than aware that both of these schools are very competitive and most applicants are not accepted. We have not yet begun the formal application process.
Any information would be appreciated.

Anonymous wrote:Am wondering what high school(s) might be the best fit for our non-binary child. They are very proud of their LGBT identity and also have mild dyslexia and lots of anxiety about schoolwork generally. Need a place with lots of hand-holding and individual attention. Definitely no Sidwell or other pressure-cooker schools. Looking at Burke, and maybe Field. Where else?

Georgetown Day. It's amongst the most progressive schools in the city.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, welcome to DC and sorry about the tone here. The problem is the schools you mention are very competitive and some people are probably surprised and/or jealous. They are getting hung up on that and can’t seem to understand that you are relocating and didn’t apply during the normal cycle. Just ignore it and I promise that life will be better in person.

Now, on to your question. As others have noted, each of the schools has an entirely different culture. Is it more traditional? Is it more progressive? What is your son’s current school like? What does he enjoy doing? Interests? Can your son visit them? I know it’s hard to get a sense during the summer, but it might also be useful to get a sense of the physical spaces.

Best of luck to you.

This might be the only useful answer for you, OP. Does your son thrive in a traditional or progressive pedagogy? As others note, STA is very sporty, so if that is a concern, then between Sidwell and GDS, the learning style is an important distinguishing point. My child is at GDS HS, and I think it is a welcoming environment. I'm sure the same is true at Sidwell.

I think he would prefer a progressive pedagogy. How do SFS and GDS differ from one another?

Anonymous wrote:OP, welcome to DC and sorry about the tone here. The problem is the schools you mention are very competitive and some people are probably surprised and/or jealous. They are getting hung up on that and can’t seem to understand that you are relocating and didn’t apply during the normal cycle. Just ignore it and I promise that life will be better in person.

Now, on to your question. As others have noted, each of the schools has an entirely different culture. Is it more traditional? Is it more progressive? What is your son’s current school like? What does he enjoy doing? Interests? Can your son visit them? I know it’s hard to get a sense during the summer, but it might also be useful to get a sense of the physical spaces.

Best of luck to you.

So I think I have gotten a good sense of how STA differs from the other two. How do SF and GDS differ from one another?

Anonymous wrote:Dear OP,

I would check out Burke before you accept St. Albans, Sidwell or GDS. Seriously. You will probably prefer Big 3, as most people do, but some people in a similar position prefer Burke. There are things you said in your post that make me think you might be one of the minority that prefers Burke. Burke has a number of parents who went to high schools like Exeter and chose Burke over Big 3.
.

What is it about Burke that sets it apart from the other schools?

Anonymous wrote:Am I the only one that notices the references to GDS as " Georgetown Country Day" and St Albans as SAS ?

Certainly a parent who has applied and son has had an interview ( required - yes, even during Covid) wouldn't list the name of schools as if she cut and pasted randomly from internet

I call troll post

I am sorry for using the wrong initials.
I don't know what a troll post is, but I am more than happy to clarify any other questions.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, congrats on your upcoming move. The PPs are correct in telling you to cast a much, much wider net. It is a freak occurrence for one of these schools to have an opening in 11th grade. Not saying miracles don’t happen, but cover yourself. Also, the admission teams will be very honest with you if you get in touch with them. Best of luck.

Thank you for the reply.
We have been in touch with the admissions teams, and they all said that his grades and scores are on the higher end of the range for admitted students. They said that they have a few openings, but competition is much higher than for regular admission.
He has also applied to several schools in the area, and has been admitted to each one we've heard back from.

I’m confused. When is he starting? He applied already or not? Very confusing.

I agree this is a confusing post.

When is he starting?

OP, I’m the “best of luck” PP. I wasn’t confused, but I am completely amazed that you were able to get him into more than one school. That is amazing (truly). Congratulations. Oh, and FWIW- I would send my son to STA in a heartbeat. Love that school. The other PPs who are negative make it seem like the boys are a bunch of wild animals. That is simply not true.
Has he gotten into any schools and if so which ones?

I messed up that post- sorry. My reply is in the quote and the question at the end is not mine. Sorry!

It is all right, no problem!
So he did get into St. A's. He was also accepted into two other day schools, but they are 9-12. Neither are our first choice.

Anonymous wrote:St. Alban’s School - STA
St. Andrews Episcopal School - SAES
St. Anselm’s Abbey School- SAAS
St. Stevens St Agnes School - SSSAS

Which one did you mean, OP?

St. Alban's.

Anonymous wrote:

Farmer wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, congrats on your upcoming move. The PPs are correct in telling you to cast a much, much wider net. It is a freak occurrence for one of these schools to have an opening in 11th grade. Not saying miracles don’t happen, but cover yourself. Also, the admission teams will be very honest with you if you get in touch with them. Best of luck.

Thank you for the reply.
We have been in touch with the admissions teams, and they all said that his grades and scores are on the higher end of the range for admitted students. They said that they have a few openings, but competition is much higher than for regular admission.
He has also applied to several schools in the area, and has been admitted to each one we've heard back from.

I’m confused. When is he starting? He applied already or not? Very confusing.

I apologize profusely for the confusion. He has applied to a few schools in the area for admission for this fall. We have been accepted into a few schools including SAS, but they do not require a firm answer for about a month. Georgetown Day and Sidwell confirmed they have a few spots open for junior year and we have applied. We have not received a formal letter of admission from GDS or SFS.
I should have been more clear.

They don’t require a firm answer for a month? June 1st is when they require a firm answer or you are on the hook for tuition. Is this post fake?

No, it is not fake. Why would this be fake?
It was only after speaking with the admissions director that I was able to get the extension. It is actually before the first.
Again, I do apologize for the confusion.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, congrats on your upcoming move. The PPs are correct in telling you to cast a much, much wider net. It is a freak occurrence for one of these schools to have an opening in 11th grade. Not saying miracles don’t happen, but cover yourself. Also, the admission teams will be very honest with you if you get in touch with them. Best of luck.

Thank you for the reply.
We have been in touch with the admissions teams, and they all said that his grades and scores are on the higher end of the range for admitted students. They said that they have a few openings, but competition is much higher than for regular admission.
He has also applied to several schools in the area, and has been admitted to each one we've heard back from.

I’m confused. When is he starting? He applied already or not? Very confusing.

I apologize profusely for the confusion. He has applied to a few schools in the area for admission for this fall. We have been accepted into a few schools including SAS, but they do not require a firm answer for about a month. Georgetown Day and Sidwell confirmed they have a few spots open for junior year and we have applied. We have not received a formal letter of admission from GDS or SFS.
I should have been more clear.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, congrats on your upcoming move. The PPs are correct in telling you to cast a much, much wider net. It is a freak occurrence for one of these schools to have an opening in 11th grade. Not saying miracles don’t happen, but cover yourself. Also, the admission teams will be very honest with you if you get in touch with them. Best of luck.

Thank you for the reply.
We have been in touch with the admissions teams, and they all said that his grades and scores are on the higher end of the range for admitted students. They said that they have a few openings, but competition is much higher than for regular admission.
He has also applied to several schools in the area, and has been admitted to each one we've heard back from.

I’m confused. When is he starting? He applied already or not? Very confusing.

I agree this is a confusing post.

When is he starting?

Has he gotten into any schools and if so which ones?

I apologize profusely for the confusion. He has applied to a few schools in the area for admission for this fall. We have been accepted into a few schools including SAS, but they do not require a firm answer for about a month. Georgetown Day and Sidwell confirmed they have a few spots open for junior year and we have applied. We have not received a formal letter of admission from GDS or SFS.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, congrats on your upcoming move. The PPs are correct in telling you to cast a much, much wider net. It is a freak occurrence for one of these schools to have an opening in 11th grade. Not saying miracles don’t happen, but cover yourself. Also, the admission teams will be very honest with you if you get in touch with them. Best of luck.

Thank you for the reply.
We have been in touch with the admissions teams, and they all said that his grades and scores are on the higher end of the range for admitted students. They said that they have a few openings, but competition is much higher than for regular admission.
He has also applied to several schools in the area, and has been admitted to each one we've heard back from.

I’m confused. When is he starting? He applied already or not? Very confusing.

Ah, I understand the confusion.
He has applied to a few schools in the area for admission for this fall. We have been accepted into a few schools, but they do not require a firm answer for about a month. Georgetown Day and Sidwell confirmed they have a few spots open for junior year and we have applied. We have not received a formal letter of admission from GDS or SFS, but he has been accepted into SAS.

Anonymous wrote:Gds roughly doubles its class size between 8th and 9th grade, so most kids would not have been there for 10 years. But entering as a junior is unusual.

PS: It's Georgetown Day School, no country.

So it would be like transferring to a high school?

I know transferring is unusual in general, but I do not want to make switching schools more difficult than it is.
Thank you for the information.

We are moving to DC, and accordingly, my child is transferring schools. By the time we arrive, my child will be entering his junior year. We have been in contact with these schools, but due to COVID we have not visited (now that we are vaccinated, we plan to do so).
My son is very academic and has good grades, but is indifferent to sport and not athletic. He is involved in many extracurriculars, such as mock trials and Model UN. Based on what we have read, we think GDS is very interesting and has very good college matriculation. Sidwell is of course an excellent school, but we have heard that is very intense and stressful for students. I find this odd, given that it's a Quaker school. St. Alban's also sounds very interesting, but we worry that going to a single-sex school will cut him off from girls.
Our main concern is given how GDS and Sidwell are K-12, if coming in as a junior year will cut him off from the other students; if everybody else has been attending the school for the past decade, won't he stand out? St. Alban's is 7-12, so there are similar concerns.
That aside, this is what we are looking for in a school
1. Strong academics, but not so intense to cause burnout (I went to Exeter, and I remember how many other students had mental breakdowns due to the workload)
2. International atmosphere (students from different parts of the world)
3. Openness to new ways of teaching
4. Opportunities for extracurriculars
One last thing; he is more interested in politics and social studies than STEM, and also enjoys art and music classes.
Any information about these schools is appreciated.

Clarification: I realize I was very unclear in this post. I apologize profusely. He has applied to a few schools in the area for admission for this fall. We have been accepted into a few schools including SAS, but they do not require a firm answer for about a month. Georgetown Day and Sidwell confirmed they have a few spots open for junior year and we have applied. We have not received a formal letter of admission from GDS or SFS, but the admissions officers say that his grades are on the upper range of accepted students.