I’m looking for a private spot for a 7th grade boy due to a move. Where should I look?

Depends on the school and grade, last year our school had several openings for 6th and a long waitlist for 7th. Can be pretty random, so try several schools!

If you called my school a month ago, we had no spots. We have a few school-wide now. I don’t want to name the school but it’s a local K-8. We lost kids to moves, one or two got off waitlists at a K-12, one or two are switching to public for financial reasons. I know this is the case at other schools in the area as well. It’s absolutely worth calling now.

It really depends on which schools you are looking at.
Generally speaking, there are only so many slots and many, many more “good fit” kits who apply to most of the sought after schools in the DMV. And I’m talking about those who apply on time. I’d focus on next year.

I think telling you you have a good shot next year means you are at top of the pool and you’re in if there is attrition this year and in for sure next.

Anonymous wrote:They tell everyone they’d be a good fit, in case they need you to accept an offer someday. Don’t read into it

+1. And even if they meant it, they have more “good fit” applicants than spaces available. Your chances are likely as good as most of the other waitlisted families.

Anonymous wrote:They tell everyone they’d be a good fit, in case they need you to accept an offer someday. Don’t read into it

I read people well and those admissions people are difficult to read. Great poker players.

At this point, you may want to contact other schools to see if they have space and apply there. The K-8s may have a random spot in a grade if you are looking for those grades. If you say what grade(s) and general location (NOVA, NW DC, Cap Hill, Bethesda, SS) you may get some suggestions here.

Its a long shot. Sorry.

They tell everyone they’d be a good fit, in case they need you to accept an offer someday. Don’t read into it

All the privates have increased applications since COVID, some are even over subscribed based on their neighborhood agreements. I wouldn’t count on it but you never know

Possible, but not very likely. It is a dice roll, with very low probability. Separately, many schools say “good fit” just to be polite and to deflect parental anxiety.

Anonymous wrote:We only decided we wanted to send our child to private in March and missed the admissions cycle. We are waitlisted at a few places and every school told us that our child would be a good fit. I am fairly confident my child would have gotten in if we had applied on time.

Do we have any shot?
Should we just plan to apply again the following year?

Schools have told us we will get in but it may not be until the following year.

Grade level matters a lot here. Which grade are you applying to?

I don't know the answer to this, but we only applied to the school we ultimately chose in early May and got in nearly immediately. I'd made a few inquiries at the time and had four other schools that said they still had spots for my child's grade and contacted me one to several times (after my initial inquiry) to see if we wanted to apply during May. One additional school that didn't have a spot said to check back after June 2. So maybe there will be some movement in June. Plus people move and plans change all the time.

I would stay positive, send a follow-up note expressing your continued interest, and wait and see what happens by the end of August.

We only decided we wanted to send our child to private in March and missed the admissions cycle. We are waitlisted at a few places and every school told us that our child would be a good fit. I am fairly confident my child would have gotten in if we had applied on time.

Do we have any shot?
Should we just plan to apply again the following year?

Schools have told us we will get in but it may not be until the following year.