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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]We felt the same way--surprised at how down to earth the place was.  My daughter was coming from DCPS and they admitted quite a large number of kids from DCPS this year.  In contrast, STA is still admitting mostly the country club set from the feeder K-8's, new-to-the-area VIPs plus a few kids from outside the city (PG county etc) for diversity.  NCS felt far more welcoming and "normal" than STA and it was reflected in the kids we found out were admitted (and not admitted). [/quote]

This PP oozes envy and resentment of the country club class.  Th differences in admissions between NCS and STA is more complex than PP’s simplistic and ill-informed assumptions.

We are a Cathedral family who’s been on the Close for many years.  There are no feeder schools for STA.

STA’s AD has done a fabulous job bringing in highly accomplished boys who are also kind, good kids. Admissions are highly competitive, because it has the reputation for being an amazing school that boys love.

A few years ago children of Beauvoir board members were rejected from STA because they disrespected STA teachers during their school visit. If STA were the kind of school that admitted kids solely because of prestige and connections those boys would have been admitted.

It is true that private schools boys have an advantage in applying to STA but that’s because private schools prepare them better.  High-level writing and critical analysis skills are crucial for STA admissions. These are areas where DCPS is weak.

NCS has had a poor reputation for the past 10 years, which it has struggled to turn around: high pressured academic environment with a number of mean girls souring social dynamics for some classes. They seem to be doing a better job managing the bullying and creating a less pressured academic approach.

However, many private school parents including from Beauvoir still shy away from NCS. Our Beauvoir daughter chose Sidwell over NCS for these reasons.  Girls also do better in verbal skills and critical analysis, are better organized, and more independent learners.

Bottom line: NCS has fewer applicants than STA. Girls from DCPS are probably better prepared for NCS than boys from DCPS are for STA.[/quote]

Your reply only further supports my point: NCS is far more open to taking kids from DCPS and other public schools while STA sticks to the private elites/VIPS with a few kids thrown in for diversity.

You say that STA doesn't choose DCPS kids because they don't have the high-level writing and critical analysis skills.  So apparently, the choice a parent makes at age 4 (to send their kid to DCPS) irreversibly damages then in them in the eyes of STA.  They can never catch up (please tell this to Sidwell or GDS or Maret who accept older DCPS kids all the time). 
Thankfully NCS can see that a kid may still have potential in 7th or 9th, despite years of being among the philistines in the public school system.    I live in NW DC in the neighborhood of a good DCPS.  You know who sends their kids to private school beginning in PK or K in our neighborhood?  The wealthy.  The law partners and the investment bankers.  Do you know who uses public?  the federal attorneys, professors, journalists, most doctors, etc.  But if you're correct those kids will never be good or elite enough for STA since they made this choice beginning at age 4/5.   :roll:    And so by admitting only the private school kids who "are better prepared for STA", STA admits the wealthy of NW.   Magical how this works![/quote]

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