GDS has a great bus system from Nova. If you attend a school without a bus, you definitely need to create a carpool. Most schools will help you find others in your area (some have this built as a search function in the school directory).

Some privates east of the river do have school buses to Virginia. I routinely see yellow school buses from German School. Landon seems to have white buses to VA. I do see other privates with daily to/from bus service to parts of NoVA.

Anonymous wrote:how hard is it when you have two working parents w/ tight schedules to do drop off/pick up? is it even workable? do you hate it on a daily basis?

Easier if at least one parent works in DC or adjacent MD. Folks who live and work in Arlington/Alexandria are a kind of middle ground. Harder by far if parents both work and work in Fairfax County (or Loudoun or PW).

thanks! This is OP. I'm pretty convinced I need to save my sanity and not apply to private schools in the city given our circumstances.

Remember that all the friends will be spread out. This makes it harder to do playdates, meet other families, etc. this is more important in elementary school than high school when they can drive, already have friends, can organize around school clubs.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SSSAS and Potomac are just as good as any schoo in DC or Maryland

Potomac, definitely. Not quite "big 3" but fringe for sure, probably top 5. Almost definitely top 3 coed in the DMV area.

SSSAS? Good school, you can get in just about anywhere if you are near the top of your class there, but I wouldn't put it above GDS, NCS/STA, Sidwell, GV, etc. Prob a step above Gonzaga/SJC, but not quite there academically. Terrific sports and a lovely campus though

No way is SSSAS better than Gonzaga academically.

I hate it in a daily basis. It’s 20 minutes without traffic each way from our house to school. We do it because it’s the right fit for our kids but I truly dread it. It also means other play dates and birthday parties are spread out all over. If we had another closer option, we would do it.

Anonymous wrote:Well, I have heard it's easier to get in at the K level because there are more openings, so admittedly am thinking longer term

It's not easier. They take 20 kids, and half or more of the slots will be filled siblings and teachers' kids.

Anonymous wrote:SSSAS and Potomac are just as good as any schoo in DC or Maryland

Potomac, definitely. Not quite "big 3" but fringe for sure, probably top 5. Almost definitely top 3 coed in the DMV area.

SSSAS? Good school, you can get in just about anywhere if you are near the top of your class there, but I wouldn't put it above GDS, NCS/STA, Sidwell, GV, etc. Prob a step above Gonzaga/SJC, but not quite there academically. Terrific sports and a lovely campus though

Anonymous wrote:this is OP...this is for kindergarten...just wondering whether we shouldn't start down a path and regret it later haha

Unless you have a lot of free time on your hands that you want to kill, I wouldn't do it unless there were a very compelling school-provided or public transportation option. Even if the school is only 30 minutes away, do you really want to be spending 2 hours of your day, every day, driving to and from school, for 10 years or more?

Anonymous wrote:Well, I have heard it's easier to get in at the K level because there are more openings, so admittedly am thinking longer term

Your kid will get into a high school that’s right for them 10 years from now. I don’t see a need to lock in so early but each family has to do what’s right for them. Do you really want your kid to commute for school for 13 years?

Well, I have heard it's easier to get in at the K level because there are more openings, so admittedly am thinking longer term

Anonymous wrote:this is OP...this is for kindergarten...just wondering whether we shouldn't start down a path and regret it later haha

I wouldn’t do this to my kid or myself for kinder. Not worth it IMO, but we also did public schools for elementary grades. I’d also think about the fact that you will have to travel for birthday parties, play dates, etc.