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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Our family, very recently started considering private school, Gilman in particular. We did not consider other private schools due to distance & religious affiliation. Having visited Gilman, I'm reconsidering our approach to not look at other schools.

While our student is very gifted, we have concerns about admissions after our visit. See, our student skipped a grade two years ago. Public school was not providing him a challenging enough environment, he was testing out of every subject and performing well above grade level for many years. At the time, private school was only a passing thought due to cost. When we mentioned our students grade elevation during our visit, we received mixed responses from the admissions team. A concern that had not crossed my mind until that conversation. M[b]aturity & social development seemed to be a point of general concern, but I don't believe they were speaking about my child directly. [/b]

However, over the past two years our financial situation has changed and we would now be able to pay for tuition in full. While we could swing 35k, it would be a considerable amount of savings that would be sacrificed. We would still like to apply for FA.

For context, our student is very poised and mature, maintains a 3.9, is active in a handful of clubs/sports. Our student also has ADHD and requires medication to maintain focus which is well controlled. Executive functioning skills are very good and do not require any additional accommodations. Grade skipped was 6th grade.

1. What is the general consensus on students who skip a grade/gifted students. 
2. Even though the FA application is separate, will it have an impact on admissions?
3. How selective is Gilman? (No stats available online and did not feel comfortable asking directly.) [/quote]

I suspect they probably were describing your child but most of us don't want to hear the negative.

a few thoughts:

1) never heard of Gilman so looked it up
2) it's not boarding so I'm assuming you live in Baltimore?
3) 58% of teachers don't have advanced degrees.  that's a red flag for me.  our privates insisted on teachers working or obtaining their Masters degrees.
4) You said he's "very gifted" (the term used is "profoundly gifted")  but Gilman doesn't seem to be oriented towards either giftedness or ADHD.  Maybe I read too fast.
5) whether or not you think you can swing $35K a year is irrelevant to them.  You will have to provide extensive financials to get financial aid.  Every school is different.  We never received aid.
6) while skipping grades used to be a positive a few decades back it is a practice frowned upon now.  In fact, we have the other problem of children being "red-shirted" to give them more years of maturation before they compete for college, so yes, skipping two years is odd and something you will have to explain.  That's why we now have 7 year olds in K.  My own DD was red-shirted by her private and it was absolutely the best thing in the world for her.
6) If you live in the DC area the perfect school for you would be Commonwealth Academy because it serves both gifted and ADHD.  But it's in Alexandria, VA.

best of luck[/quote]

If you aren’t familiar with Gilman, maybe you just not respond.  Never change DCUM.[/quote]

+1. That post was beyond worthless, even more so than mine really.[/quote]

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