It just seems like alums could so easily be biased.
I know as someone who came from DCPS to private in 9th my hope would be to have kids in the class who followed my same trajectory (vs. a dominance of private school lifers).
Or in a similar a fashion, I'd probably be more likely to see the value in middle class kids vs. the kids who come from extreme money.
(Not that this would always come out in interviews but I'm sure it does).

There is a lot about the composition of classes in these schools that is polarizing.
Much, much better to have third parties interviewing kids.

Protip- There are other schools aside from Sidwell that have great experiences & outcomes and less drugs.

I can understand involving alumni, but not in the actual admissions interview process. Maybe they could have a panel with Sidwell graduates that talk about their experience and answer questions from prospective applicants instead.

Hey Sidwell, What Say You?

Anonymous wrote:I'm really surprised there are no interviews by admissions staff (our HS student had a different experience when applying in a prior year). We also had student-led tours and they were much better than the parent-led tour we attended.

yes, this is just plain weird. We applied to 9th 2 years ago and they spent an hour+ interviewing my son and us.

wouldn't alumni interviewers be ripe for favoring friends/colleagues (or the reverse)? I can't see them being completely neutral.

All very odd.

Our experience with Sidwell's parent-led tour and interview left much to be desired. The tour focused primarily on how great the parent's child was and the interview consisted of watching someone eat their breakfast while asking generic questions. We hope the school places a high value on teacher recommendations and grades, but the overall approach to the admissions process left us feeling underwhelmed. The school's reputation and college acceptance rates are impressive, but the activities offered are on par with other top schools in the area. The administrative contact was lacking and our interactions with alumni, parent-led tours, open houses, and testing were uninspiring and unmemorable. We suggest Sidwell take note of how other schools conduct their admissions process to avoid turning off potential applicants. Though Sidwell is a top choice, we have other schools that we are also just as interested in. Can you imagine brining on new students and creating a culture without meeting them?

I'm really surprised there are no interviews by admissions staff (our HS student had a different experience when applying in a prior year). We also had student-led tours and they were much better than the parent-led tour we attended.

I opened my thread fully ready to roll my eyes but no, that’s nuts. I would be mad if I were a currently enrolled family, honestly. They should getting significantly more face time with prospective students.

We're applying for middle and the process has been ok. I have wondered what their decisions are for not having parent essays or only accepting current teacher recommendations (my kid had an amazing teacher last year who would have probably been able to paint a clearer picture of our kid). We loved the tour and found the parent guides to be very informative and friendly. The interview was just ok (not with an admissions member). My kid loves the school, but we don't have a hook and without the extra info from parent essays or additional teacher recs, I'm not sure how my kid will stand out amongst the other amazing (I assume) applicants.

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, Sidwell dropped to the bottom of our list after the admissions process.

Same here.

Anonymous wrote:I am similarly unimpressed- alum interview for 9th grade and when we asked for my DD to meet someone from the admissions committee, they gave us a soft no. Loved Maret interview process, GDS in between. Fingers crossed and we will see if she has options or not.

We also loved Maret’s admission process (for K) even though the school was at the bottom of our (short) list. We still did not get in.

I am similarly unimpressed- alum interview for 9th grade and when we asked for my DD to meet someone from the admissions committee, they gave us a soft no. Loved Maret interview process, GDS in between. Fingers crossed and we will see if she has options or not.

Anonymous wrote:We applied for high school and were interviewed by alumni as well. No personal contact with the administrative team. Fingers crossed they will google my husband.

What does he do?

Applying to lower school and enjoyed the tour. Interviewed with admissions rep and they were very engaging.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Applying for 9th grade and we are keener on three other schools since the Sidwell interview process. Not impressed by a school that doesn't want to get to know us personally. Every other school from St Albans to GDS, Madiera, and Potomac felt like they wanted to get to know my kid and family. You may say if we get in we'd take the spot like past posters said but they have moved from top choice and agree with the original poster.

Your child is applying to St. Alban’s and Madeira? Okay.

I have an 11th grader in St Albans and my daughter is in 9th. He also applied to Sidwell a few years back, was waitlisted, got a spot and then ended up choosing the school with the best sports program because that's his thing.