Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone know why Walls has become less desirable in recent years?

Less desirable is very questionable. Walls had roughly 1000+ applicants this year. People here think their small cohort is representative of the entire city. It is far from that. It's actually a very myopic view. Some think the elimination of the entrance exam equates to a less rigorous experience. No one knows the answer to that. Other schools have also become more desirable and that's a great thing. If you think SWW is a fit for your kid, go for it. I'd ignore the rest.

It is free and easy to apply to Walls, and you can always turn it down, so the gross number of applicants is meaningless.

The real issue is whether more and more people are turning down offered slots. As a PP pointed out, this seems to be the case since Walls scrapped its entrance exam.

Even declining relative popularity may not be a real issue though, because DCPS enrollment is growing. Maybe Walls is getting a smaller share of a bigger pie. It’s still a big piece of pie.

Another thing that has changed in recent years is the emergence/size of DCI - they've got about 250 9th graders enrolled, vs. much smaller numbers a couple years ago.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone know why Walls has become less desirable in recent years?

Less desirable is very questionable. Walls had roughly 1000+ applicants this year. People here think their small cohort is representative of the entire city. It is far from that. It's actually a very myopic view. Some think the elimination of the entrance exam equates to a less rigorous experience. No one knows the answer to that. Other schools have also become more desirable and that's a great thing. If you think SWW is a fit for your kid, go for it. I'd ignore the rest.

It is free and easy to apply to Walls, and you can always turn it down, so the gross number of applicants is meaningless.

The real issue is whether more and more people are turning down offered slots. As a PP pointed out, this seems to be the case since Walls scrapped its entrance exam.

Even declining relative popularity may not be a real issue though, because DCPS enrollment is growing. Maybe Walls is getting a smaller share of a bigger pie. It’s still a big piece of pie.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone know why Walls has become less desirable in recent years?

Less desirable is very questionable. Walls had roughly 1000+ applicants this year. People here think their small cohort is representative of the entire city. It is far from that. It's actually a very myopic view. Some think the elimination of the entrance exam equates to a less rigorous experience. No one knows the answer to that. Other schools have also become more desirable and that's a great thing. If you think SWW is a fit for your kid, go for it. I'd ignore the rest.

It is free and easy to apply to Walls, and you can always turn it down, so the gross number of applicants is meaningless.

The real issue is whether more and more people are turning down offered slots. As a PP pointed out, this seems to be the case since Walls scrapped its entrance exam.

DS in top 30 on WL. Has only moved up 2 spots so far.

Anonymous wrote:Anyone know why Walls has become less desirable in recent years?

Less desirable is very questionable. Walls had roughly 1000+ applicants this year. People here think their small cohort is representative of the entire city. It is far from that. It's actually a very myopic view. Some think the elimination of the entrance exam equates to a less rigorous experience. No one knows the answer to that. Other schools have also become more desirable and that's a great thing. If you think SWW is a fit for your kid, go for it. I'd ignore the rest.

Anonymous wrote:Anyone know why Walls has become less desirable in recent years?

I don't "know" but I would guess that this is less about Walls being less desirable and more about other schools being more desirable. I bet way fewer people were choosing Wilson over Walls five years ago. Same with BASIS.

Which is a great thing, by the way. Having more good options means more and more people are happy where they end up.

I mean, I can remember when I first moved to DC back in 2010 saying I'd love to be able to send my kids to DC public (or charter) schools and I got literally laughed at.

Anyone know why Walls has become less desirable in recent years?

Anonymous wrote:Kids will “take” a Walls seat for various reasons end up making a different decision before school starts. So, that too, will open seats from the waiting list.

I think this is what they are trying to reduce/eliminate by adding match day seats. It has to be extremely disruptive to teachers, students, and staff alike to have new freshmen joining the school a few weeks into the school year. It’s not the end of the world, but it should be avoided if possible.

Walls never used to make offers in the fall, and they made very few in the summer. Then in 2020, they made 30 summer/fall offers, and in 2021 they made 41. In 2022 they increased the number of match day seats (by 27) and this number fell (by 23, to 18). This year they added another 20 match day seats. So I expect the list to move in the spring, but I expect another significant drop in summer/fall offers.

Kids will “take” a Walls seat for various reasons end up making a different decision before school starts. So, that too, will open seats from the waiting list.

There will be movement. Admin at Walls is behind.

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't expect much movement. They have emphasized not going to the wait list. That's why they admitted more kids.

Where did you hear this?

Anonymous wrote:2020 (exam):
Matches: 145
Waitlist offers: 91
Total offers: 236
Count day enrollment: 156
Yield: 66%

2021 (no exam):
Matches: 143
Waitlist offers: 95
Total offers: 238
Count day enrollment: 157
Yield: 66%

2022 (no exam):
Matches: 170
Waitlist offers: 69
Total offers: 239
Count day enrollment: 158
Yield: 66%

(Sources: MySchool data and the OSSE audit.)

Not exactly. 2020 had a little thing called the Covid-19 pandemic, which obviously had a huge impact on DC schools and admissions. In fact, in 2020 DC administered the Walls admissions test at a school in Ward 8 rather than Walls itself, which DC had never done before. Both these circumstances undoubtedly had an impact on who applied. So, I hardly think that 2020 is a great place for you to start.

But let’s run with your analysis and take it back a few years before 2020:

2017 (exam)
Matches: 140
Waitlist offers: 60
Total offers: 200
Count day enrollment: 155
Yield: 78%

2018 (exam):
Matches: 140
Waitlist offers: 85
Total offers: 225
Count day enrollment: 152
Yield: 68%

2019 (exam):
Matches: 140
Waitlist offers: 70
Total offers: 210
Count day enrollment: 160
Yield: 76%

(Sources: MySchool data and the OSSE audit.)

You calculated the yield for 2020, 2021, and 2022 at 66% for each year.

Thus, it does look like you see a decrease in the Walls yield from before the exam to after.

2020 (exam):
Matches: 145
Waitlist offers: 91
Total offers: 236
Count day enrollment: 156
Yield: 66%

2021 (no exam):
Matches: 143
Waitlist offers: 95
Total offers: 238
Count day enrollment: 157
Yield: 66%

2022 (no exam):
Matches: 170
Waitlist offers: 69
Total offers: 239
Count day enrollment: 158
Yield: 66%

(Sources: MySchool data and the OSSE audit.)

2 of my kids smartest friends were waitlisted. It's so random with only the interview. Almost all of the kids we know who got in accepted their spots.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, it looks like this year will be even worse for Walls than last year.

In fact, the yield has been going down every year since Walls scrapped the admissions test.

What are you babbling about? Seriously you think kids on the waitlist are that much less qualified than those accepted? They all had the same GPA.

What are you babbling about?

You don't understand yield.

Every year they go deeper into their waitlist.