The Catholic High Schools definitely talk mainly to ensure each parochial student gets at least one acceptance. Although I can't prove this it seems to me that also talk about FA so one school doesn't outbid the others especially for athletes.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Peter, thank you for your clarification - does that mean it's good to tell a school that this school is my DC's first choice? If the ADs all talk to each other, and the favorite school doesn't accept my DC, the other school may be unwilling to be the #2 or #3 choice? If the Ads don't really talk with each other, it's good to let the #1 choice school know that if accepted we would definitely go?

I'm not Peter (although I agreed with his post), but DEFINITELY tell one school that it is the first-choice school if in fact you have a preference. They don't share that type of information with other schools, and it can help in the admissions committee room. (I was actually surprised to be told this by a friend in admissions but it was said unequivocally.) What I would not do -- and it doesn't sound like you are suggesting this -- is to write a 'first choice' letter to multiple schools.

Not being Peter is well known to be a HUGE handicap! (Can my teenagers come live with you? They might prefer it.) Okay, okay, don't answer at night, I know.

Schools want to be your first choice. It helps them calculate yield (the percentage of their admission offers that are accepted), which makes it easier to calculate their final numbers more accurately. And, of course, they want families who are MORE enthusiastic about their school, not less. (Duh.)

There's at least one well known school in DC that does not want to be second-choice so much that I've seen them pass on very strong applicants in favor of kids who look less qualified on paper but who have said, "You're my first choice." (Before you pass judgment, the school's reasoning is very well thought-out and, to me at least, legitimate. It might not be what you think.)

The only caveat I'd append to the post quoted above is that I really, really discourage telling a school that it's your first choice if it's not true. Eventually the system you're trying to game is likely to even the score. If you have younger kids it can hurt them, and if your child attends a school that has a lot of applicants in later years, it can compromise the school's standing. It's nice to have a first choice, but it can also be nice to have schools wondering if you'll go elsewhere if they don't attract you. If it's not your first choice, tell them honestly that you really loved your visits and that you're considering two or three at this point. Besides, call me crazy, but I think honesty is a good foundation for a relationship that's going to last four years or more.

Peter

_____________________

Disclaimer: The anonymity here makes me uncomfortable; it's easy to be uninformed, personal, or simply mean-spirited if people don't identify themselves. For that reason, I have an account so you know whose words you're reading. I have more than 20 years' experience as a teacher and administrator in independent schools, and I hope I can be helpful to some folks. If you don't like something I've said, you're in good company — there's a long line of past students ahead of you. If you want to chat further, please feel free to contact me offline: peter <at> arcpd <dot> com

A "new" head of school in the area from out of town told me years ago that he/she couldn't believe how incestuous the DC independent school community is. Heads of school serve on the boards of "competing" schools around here. We once were unhappy with our DC's school and set up a parent interview with another to explore transferring -- we had not even formally applied yet. As soon as we walked in the admission's person said "hope you don't mind, but X at your school is on our board so I gave x a heads up call that you were coming in to talk to us." I don't remember whether DC applied and was rejected, or we were just told not to apply. DC ended up at an ivy league college so this set back -- while very upsetting at the time - did not hurt the trajectory of DC's life.

Anonymous wrote:Peter, thank you for your clarification - does that mean it's good to tell a school that this school is my DC's first choice? If the ADs all talk to each other, and the favorite school doesn't accept my DC, the other school may be unwilling to be the #2 or #3 choice? If the Ads don't really talk with each other, it's good to let the #1 choice school know that if accepted we would definitely go?

I'm not Peter (although I agreed with his post), but DEFINITELY tell one school that it is the first-choice school if in fact you have a preference. They don't share that type of information with other schools, and it can help in the admissions committee room. (I was actually surprised to be told this by a friend in admissions but it was said unequivocally.) What I would not do -- and it doesn't sound like you are suggesting this -- is to write a 'first choice' letter to multiple schools.

Peter, thank you for your clarification - does that mean it's good to tell a school that this school is my DC's first choice? If the ADs all talk to each other, and the favorite school doesn't accept my DC, the other school may be unwilling to be the #2 or #3 choice? If the Ads don't really talk with each other, it's good to let the #1 choice school know that if accepted we would definitely go?

Anonymous wrote:I think anti trust legislation prevents them from talking about financial aid packages.

I worked in schools for 25 years and have never heard of admission officers discussing particular applicants while applications are pending. Admission officers are keenly aware that collusion, whether about financial aid or admission offers before they are made, could be viewed as an antitrust violation, as implied above. In my work advocating for students there were times that admission officers sought information on what I thought a student might decide if offered spots at multiple schools — "His sister's at XYZ; is that where he wants to go too?" One year, two well known DC schools had a bunch of applicants from our eighth grade, and they seemed to split exactly right — each qualified applicant got one acceptance, and nobody (or maybe only one student) got two. If they had talked, it worked out great! But of course it was pure dumb luck — it never happened like that again.

When I discussed decisions with admission offices AFTER they were made, nobody ever said to me, "I heard he got into ABC school." Almost always, when I asked about a rejection, the response indicated caring, not snark, as in: "Does he have somewhere to go?"

I suppose this kind of collusion could happen, but I haven't seen any evidence in support of the suspicions expressed here. Most of these admission folks are plenty busy at this time of year managing their own pools without nattering about what's going on elsewhere.

Peter

_____________________

Disclaimer: The anonymity here makes me uncomfortable; it's easy to be uninformed, personal, or simply mean-spirited if people don't identify themselves. For that reason, I have an account so you know whose words you're reading. I have more than 20 years' experience as a teacher and administrator in independent schools, and I hope I can be helpful to some folks. If you don't like something I've said, you're in good company — there's a long line of past students ahead of you. If you want to chat further, please feel free to contact me offline: peter <at> arcpd <dot> com

DCUM urban legend.

Sometimes they say "admissions talk and they want to know they are first choice". I'm guessing that only a few applicants are discussed in this manner?

Anonymous wrote:I think anti trust legislation prevents them from talking about financial aid packages.

Specific exemption applies, in part as a result of the NBAA amendment and in part as a result of state blessing of specific compacts. In this area, all of the larger non-profit privates are members of AISGW and actively share student information, just as they vigorously refuse to accept any effort to apply the Buckley Amendment to them.

I think anti trust legislation prevents them from talking about financial aid packages.

1. Gossip all the time. 2. Official communications, especially re transfer applicants - read your contract, school policies (which are incorporated into your contract) and your admissions-application boilerplate; you've given each school blanket permission in advance with no requirement to consult with you first.

As with any other professional network, of course people talk. While these schools "compete" against each other, most of the staff are friends and will most definitely discuss folx who standout in their mind. I doubt however, that they get together and have a roundtable discussion with the intent of discussing applicants. Perhaps they do, but that would just be downright odd.

Gossip between admissions people and their friends over at another school, gossip between administrators, parents, teachers, whoever has contacts in another place.

not wise, but almost certainly common given the low IQs of most of the administrations and admin people involved.

*oops and in what context

Have heard this a couple times on this board. Any idea how often this happens and how often?