That could be the case; I have some experience with the ADW (Archdiocese of Washington) schools but not as much as with independents. I wonder if they take a different approach to financial aid because all of it is cleared through a central agency, rather than being allocated independently by school. About half of the ADW high schools use the HSPT (High School Placement Test) administered by the ADW; the other half don't require it and will accept the SSAT or ISEE. There's more information here: http://adw.org/applying-catholic-high-school/ By the way, as recently as a few years ago the ADW schools used to permit permit applications to only TWO diocesan schools in a given year, but I can't tell from their site if that's still the case. Does anybody have more recent information? Peter _____________________ Disclaimer: The anonymity here makes me uncomfortable; it's easy to be uninformed, personal, or simply mean-spirited if people don't identify themselves. For that reason, I have an account so you know whose words you're reading. I have more than 20 years' experience as a teacher and administrator in independent schools, and I hope I can be helpful to some folks. If you don't like something I've said, you're in good company — there's a long line of past students ahead of you. ![]() |
I've talked to representatives at two K-8 schools that we are applying to and it's clear that they help the H.S.'s sort this out. One flat out told me she has had conversations with HS letting them know which kids are only interested in one school and which would be happy at a couple of schools. Another school clearly "directs" students to an appropriate "first choice" where they are likely to get in based on their academic records. |
I may have misinterpreted the original note. I thought the question was, "Do different high schools talk to each other about their ninth-grade applicants?" That's the question I was answering yesterday; it's the question on which the appearance or reality of collusion is a potential problem. The question you seem to be raising is, "Do the middle school heads (or other out-placement directors) at K-8 schools talk to the admission officers at the high schools where the eighth graders are applying?" The answer to that is an unqualified yes. I was the MS head at a K-8 and every year I met with or spoke to almost every admission office where our students applied. I saw my job vis-a-vis other schools as presenting our students in their best light. I believe I developed a reputation over many years as an honest and enthusiastic advocate — I loved our kids and wanted them to get in everywhere, but I wouldn't misrepresent anybody. With families, I see my job, in part, as one of delivering honest information based on a lot of experience. I'd never say to a family, "You can't apply to that school," but I do tell them honestly whether I think it's a long shot based on my experience. I've found that people can handle disappointing news if it's presented straight and non-judgmentally, and I worked hard to develop ways to do that. Obviously I did (and still do) many other things in the process, but I always tried to start from the most honest place I could. If I misrepresent a student one year, who's going to believe me the next year? With very few exceptions (and I've tried to learn from those), I've received positive feedback from the families and admission officers with whom I've interacted. I hope that's helpful. Peter _____________________ Disclaimer: The anonymity here makes me uncomfortable; it's easy to be uninformed, personal, or simply mean-spirited if people don't identify themselves. For that reason, I have an account so you know whose words you're reading. I have more than 20 years' experience as a teacher and administrator in independent schools, and I hope I can be helpful to some folks. If you don't like something I've said, you're in good company — there's a long line of past students ahead of you. ![]() |
This is not the case anymore. Parochial discipline problems are not getting spots in Catholic high school |
That seems counter to Catholic teaching. |
Yes, I know this to be the case as well. That's peculiar to private school exmissions for 8th grade, however, because the privates are all part of one big community. I've only heard of one private 8th grader not being accepted to a private for 9th, and that was a highly unique/unusual situation. |
They are allowed to apply to three this year. |
Thanks! |
+1. The K-8s absolutely talk to the high schools about their students. In fact, it is their core job in the process. It helps their graduates and it helps the high schools sort out the applicants so they don't "waste" an admission on someone who would go elsewhere. On the other hand, the independent high schools do not talk to each other about individual applicants. In my DC's case, she applied to two equally strong schools, but she didn't really want to go to the second. Our K-8 head was very clear in his conversations and the schools responded accordingly. If neither school was sure, the odds that both of them might have thought she was headed to the other might have led to an empty inbox. |
Thank you to Peter and others for the helpful info! Question: What if you have a first choice in terms of fit, but financial aid would ultimately be the deciding factor for your family? I'm assuming it's best to say nothing...
Also, I know this has been asked before but I'm still unclear...is it possible to get a sense of whether there was an easy-to-point-to reason why a student was NOT admitted? I think it would help with deciding whether to reapply at some point (like if we have a significant change in our income). If it was that there were a ton of applicants and it was basically luck of the draw, that's one thing, but if, for example, the test scores or student visit were a clear mismatch for the school, that would be good to know. Otherwise I'll probably assume that it was because my child was an average applicant and we're not connected to the school in any way or even full pay. |
This is interesting to me. We have one child at a K-8 school (in 7th grade), and one child in MCPS (in 5th grade). I guess I'm realizing that the K-8 will be somewhat actively helping to try to get our DS accepted somewhere for 9th grade, which is a nice benefit of going to a K-8. They know my DS and I hope that they can advocate for him. (When it's time for our younger child to go to 9th grade, we will try for an independent school. I figure that we can only expect our public school to provide transcripts and I hope that the teachers will write rec letters. Or we may just keep our younger child in public for HS as she is thriving there and doesn't need the extra TLC that our older child does. Either way, it seems like the kids from a K-8 have a bit of an advantage because of the school's advocacy, although I see lots of smart and motivated kids in public too and they may outweigh any advocacy.) |