Soccer and Lowell. Not a sports school not that any middle school should be but they are just not very good. My son went there and played soccer and basketball. I am not sure they ever won a game. But he had fun and that is all that matters but you said soccer as his second main interest so if he a serious athlete awful fit.

If your child excels in math lowell is not the best fit. What kind of student are they in general? Personal triats ?

From Lowell, not much.

Anonymous wrote:Not much.

But your odds aren’t good from DCPS either.

Not much.

Anonymous wrote:I don't think coming from Lowell is going to advantage your DC, and it won't be worth the cost. How many kids go on to more selective private high schools from your above average DCPS middle school?

OP here: Fair enough and helpful questions/thoughts.

People, this forum reiterates this all day every day - choose private if that’s the experience you want your child to have while they’re there - NOT because you think it gives them an advantage for the next round of admissions. If this is your reasoning you will always be disappointed. Is it that you want your kid in smaller classes in a more nurturing environment? Great. Do it. If you think it’s going to get you into GDS or Sidwell, you’re fooling yourself and setting your kid up for failure.

I don't think coming from Lowell is going to advantage your DC, and it won't be worth the cost. How many kids go on to more selective private high schools from your above average DCPS middle school?

Yes. I’m OP and it’s on their website: https://www.lowellschool.org/admissions/high-school-placement

It’s helpful but of course not granular enough to determine how much it’s helping each particular kid. As I’m reading replies and thinking about it more, I’m thinking it’s an impossible question to answer. But if anyone disagrees and thinks they can shed more light on it, I would appreciate your thoughts!

Small school will absolutely translate into teachers/coaches knowing your kid and being able to write recommendations. Head of School will be able to advocate for your child in the admissions process too. Small school also allows for invidiualuzed attention for strengths and weaknesses which is also helpful in preparing kids for HS. Don’t know a lot about Lowell in particular but I’d say focus on whether school is a good fit for your kid/family vs potential HS admissions bump.

Lowell ends at 8th grade -- where do their students go next? Do they publish a list of schools where Lowell kids were accepted?

Thanks. The kid’s standout things are probably math and soccer, but not sure that distinguishes us from dozens of others in the area.

We likely will prioritize the more traditional elite HS (as generally perceived on this board, at least), and others if those don’t work out.

Makes sense that there’s a bump and of course no guarantee. Just struggling with how to quantify the bump. Thanks for your efforts to help!

With the same kid, I would guess it makes a small difference at a top school in that the teachers know your kid better and the school helps with the application process and advocates for your child. By the time you are done with middle school, you have a better idea than elementary school regarding your child’s admissions prospects (actual grades rather than DCPS 4’s and 3’s, test scores, better idea of performance in extracurriculars). It’s a small bump, but it’s absolutely no guarantee.

We need more information about what kind of student your DC is, their interests, where you might be looking for HS. Some of k-8 privates have better outplacement than others, but attending one of these private schools is not an automatic ticket to getting into a private HS.

We are considering Lowell for middle school, with the other option being our DCPS above average middle school. We understand the obvious advantages (class size, resources) and disadvantages (cost), but we are having trouble pinning down the degree Lowell will increase our child’s odds of admission to a more selective HS. We applied to some of those places for MS and got waitlisted, so no need to suggest that option. Thanks for any meaningful advice or thoughts!