Reply to Which K-8 has the best high school placement?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Following up on the question about WES above, we have a ninth grader who just went through the application process last year and who is very happy with where she landed.

WES did an amazing job of thinking with us--bolstered by discussions the head of school and head of middle school had with the teachers in preparation--about the best fit for our daughter. In a year when the entire admissions process was completely kerfluey, and no one knew what would happen, we got thoughtful advice, and they were helpful and supportive at each step of the way.

It's notable that that list of where the recent grads are includes so many great schools, but what's even more important is that the students who are at each of those places are there for the right reasons. "Fit" isn't jut lip service at WES--they really did help us think smartly and strategically, and DD is having a great year. [/quote]
So where there siblings of students at GDS and Sidwell etc that did not get in but other non-siblings did that were a “fit”? Or did the school steer non sibling families away from those schools so that everyone thinks they got their first choice?[/quote]

Would love to hear from current families on this. The schools constantly say that x% of kids go to their first or second choice. I suspect they also steer kids away from falling in love with certain schools (or being very discouraging) if they know there are say, 3 siblings/ VIPs in the class whose heart is set on that school. [/quote]
 Exactly this. The k8 schools never mention this and the parents of the siblings and VIP parents will not tell you this when they are sitting on the "happy parents" panel as part of the info sessions when they talk about how positive the ex-missions process was for their family. They won't say their child wasn't "top 10 percent of the class", which seems to be the myth of getting into a Big 3 from a k8, because let's face it, some siblings might fall in that category but nowhere near all siblings or VIP's kids are. Those are the kids that the VIP parents say have a great personality and that they just interview really well (which might very well be true, but the money they bring helps too). They won't say that they got lucky with the first kid and the rest just got admitted when their turns came because of that older sibling. They won't tell you the pattern I have noticed that most of the kids admitted to a Big 3 from the k8s I am familiar with have parents who are either on the k8 Board, donate over 10-15k per year, or have a big hook, or of course are legacy/siblings. Often a mixture of these. The myth of only or oldest children (who are applying to Big 3 schools)getting into their best fit is simply that at many k8s if you are talking about a kid with the unlucky situation of being in a grade with many sibling applicants and VIPs who want the same schools. 9th grade admissions is a numbers game as was said before. I know nothing of WES.  Also true above is that there are likely not 15 applicants to X school per grade, but if hard to get in X school only takes roughly 2-3 applicants from each k8 and your kid has 3 siblings in their grade applying there you can guess what is likely to happen, so that sort of eliminates it as being your kids "first choice" even if you really felt it was. I know nothing about StA and Sidwell. As a PP said above, their sibling preference might not be as strong, but they only take around 1-2 kids per k8 per year, so again, you have to think your kid's chances are low if there is a sibling classmate or VIP/large donor family applying also.   I think OP was originally asking about this in the context of GDS type schools so OP should know that the have a better shot of getting in at K.[/quote]

Yep.  It’s a mystery why PP’s kid didn’t get into PP’s preferred school.  [/quote]
I’m actually the PP but I was not unhappy with how things ended up. My daughter was however at the time, because at age 14 it was the first time she got a glimpse of the realities of this sort of advantage given in lieu of hard work paying off. It was not lost of her that siblings got in even if they were not as involved or as studious as those who were waitlisted and ended up at their 3rd choice. The kids know each other for many years at a K8, so they know who works hard and who is really smart, or not. As a parent I feel bad she didn’t get in for 9th where she would have had a great chance of getting in earlier based on how many schools she did get in for K. But I was a bit naive then and drank the cool aid about ex-missions and “best fit” and didn’t know all of the above then.  There’s nothing wrong with passing along information I would have loved to have had many years ago when we were making these kinds of decisions. This is the sort of breakdown of how things can actually play out that you don’t get at admissions events. It’s not sour grapes but simply passing on to younger parents what I wish I had be given, which is a clear picture before making a decision about K8 downsides. There are many positives too but ex-missions is definitely more complex than the schools disclose. [/quote]

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