Anonymous
Post 04/12/2026 07:40     Subject: Seeking advice for applying to 9th grade this winter
At the upper school, NCS has a lot of activities (including theater and some sports) and some classes with STA. Would your daughter be interested in at least looking there? I agree with keeping GDS, Maret, and Sidwell on her list. I don’t think you need hooks to get in to any of those with a strong application. It’s not easy to get in necessarily, but it’s likely tied more to class mix, academics than it is to hooks.
Anonymous
Post 04/12/2026 00:28     Subject: Seeking advice for applying to 9th grade this winter
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:OP here, thanks everyone. By central DC I mean the Shaw/U St area, so a bus from the Hill would not be that convenient for us. I'm just trying to get my head around this now, and to be honest I was a little spooked by seeing some of my friends' 8th graders not get the results they hoped for at Walls and certain privates. So I'm trying to just casually see what schools are realistic options for us logistically and in terms of admissions.

Burke seems an okay size to me, I just meant not like alternative-model small like Templeton. St. John's is definitely one of the bigger schools I'm looking at, but that's okay too. It's still smaller than some of the suburban publics, which I guess would be our plan if we moved.


There have to be at least 25 kids we know who got into St John’s this year - B/C students, so you could always use that as a safety school as it doesn’t seem difficult to get into. Walls is a total crapshoot and has zero transparency. A lot of kids we know who didn’t get in were well rounded and 4.0’s and kids we know who did get in were around 3.7 GPA’s and just regular kids- we had thought walls was supposed to be a school that only selected top students that excel in every way but that doesn’t seem to be the case- I would avoid applying there unless you really just want to spin the lottery wheel.


St. John's is no longer a safety school. They had roughly 1,200 kids apply for the 320+ 9th grade slots this year, so a lot of applicants won't get in.
Anonymous
Post 04/10/2026 11:02     Subject: Seeking advice for applying to 9th grade this winter
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I assumed super small meant something like 20 students per grade. 60 is smallish, but not tiny. But then my NCS graduating class has 64 girls. I don’t think of NCS as super small either.


64 girls at NCS translates to 128 students at a co-ed school for lots of purposes. Super small, to me, would be 50 or fewer in co-ed but 25 or fewer in single sex.


I think given how selective NCS is academically, the smaller size is okay. At a less selective school I would have to wonder how big their top academic cohort is. And NCS can charge a lot, so no worries about economies of scale like you get at schools that have to attract kids with aid.
Anonymous
Post 04/10/2026 10:57     Subject: Seeking advice for applying to 9th grade this winter
Anonymous wrote:I assumed super small meant something like 20 students per grade. 60 is smallish, but not tiny. But then my NCS graduating class has 64 girls. I don’t think of NCS as super small either.


64 girls at NCS translates to 128 students at a co-ed school for lots of purposes. Super small, to me, would be 50 or fewer in co-ed but 25 or fewer in single sex.
Anonymous
Post 04/10/2026 10:06     Subject: Seeking advice for applying to 9th grade this winter
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't bother with Sidwell but the rest sound good. Maybe also add Field to the list. Though I don't know how accessible it is - would have to check.


Not Sidwell because it's too hard to get in unhooked? Or because it's too high-pressure?


Too hard to get into unhooked. Yes, there's always a chance, but if OP doesn't want to spend her entire fall doing applications and only applications, I would leave that one off her list and let GDS and Maret be the "reaches".


Thank you. Yes I feel like I have to put some limits on how much time we spend for low chances.
Anonymous
Post 04/10/2026 09:54     Subject: Seeking advice for applying to 9th grade this winter
My friend got into Sidwell (and some other area privates) but waitlisted at GDS and Maret, so I’d still apply to Sidwell too. You never know, as these schools are all looking for different things.
Anonymous
Post 04/10/2026 09:42     Subject: Seeking advice for applying to 9th grade this winter
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't bother with Sidwell but the rest sound good. Maybe also add Field to the list. Though I don't know how accessible it is - would have to check.


Not Sidwell because it's too hard to get in unhooked? Or because it's too high-pressure?


Too hard to get into unhooked. Yes, there's always a chance, but if OP doesn't want to spend her entire fall doing applications and only applications, I would leave that one off her list and let GDS and Maret be the "reaches".
Anonymous
Post 04/10/2026 09:05     Subject: Re:Seeking advice for applying to 9th grade this winter
Some schools have events in the spring that are targeting current 7th graders (mostly from PK-8 schools) but its open to everyone. Its worth looking into or asking some of the schools your interested in if they expect to have any events this spring. We attended a few which helped us identify a few schools we wanted to apply to in the fall.
Anonymous
Post 04/10/2026 08:12     Subject: Seeking advice for applying to 9th grade this winter
Anonymous wrote:I assumed super small meant something like 20 students per grade. 60 is smallish, but not tiny. But then my NCS graduating class has 64 girls. I don’t think of NCS as super small either.


I don't think it's super small. Also, it's a well-established and stable school (to say the least). I don't want to take a chance on a small school that isn't financially sound or doesn't have a good track record. I think with population declines, it's something parents should carefully research.
Anonymous
Post 04/10/2026 08:11     Subject: Seeking advice for applying to 9th grade this winter
Anonymous wrote:It sounds like ease of commute/location and not-super-small are your first criteria. (Both of these make sense to me fwiw - you have to narrow down somehow). This has given you a list of schools that all have very different student experiences. If I were you, I’d look at when all of their open house dates are for the fall (and when to sign up for them because some dates fill up). Also note that some schools change their bus schedules year to year so that is something to ask about once you have a better sense of where your DD is interested (for example, both Burke and Field added new stops this school year).

Are you coming from private or from public? The reason I ask is most privates have someone who helps with outplacement and they will usually have a really good sense of where your child stands a chance and where is a stretch (at least if they are good at their job). I also always suggest touring your zoned high school - for us there was one school that our child did not apply to because he said he thought he would prefer the public to it (it was a very small school) and that at least took one application and essay off his plate.

Good luck!


Thank you, PP. We are coming from a public that goes through 12th and sends kids to various privates, selective publics, and non selective publics, but also has its own high school. So not that much outplacement support. They're nice but not that experienced with it.

I know it may seem weird to have St John's and Burke, but I honestly think my DD could be fine with a range of styles, as long as there were enough kids for some social variety and to support top level academics and some quality activities.

We do also have the option of moving, and for some schools the combination of tuition and commute are so hard that it makes more sense to just move to Bethesda. I don't mean that as a criticism of any school though.
Anonymous
Post 04/09/2026 23:12     Subject: Seeking advice for applying to 9th grade this winter
I assumed super small meant something like 20 students per grade. 60 is smallish, but not tiny. But then my NCS graduating class has 64 girls. I don’t think of NCS as super small either.
Anonymous
Post 04/09/2026 21:51     Subject: Seeking advice for applying to 9th grade this winter
It sounds like ease of commute/location and not-super-small are your first criteria. (Both of these make sense to me fwiw - you have to narrow down somehow). This has given you a list of schools that all have very different student experiences. If I were you, I’d look at when all of their open house dates are for the fall (and when to sign up for them because some dates fill up). Also note that some schools change their bus schedules year to year so that is something to ask about once you have a better sense of where your DD is interested (for example, both Burke and Field added new stops this school year).

Are you coming from private or from public? The reason I ask is most privates have someone who helps with outplacement and they will usually have a really good sense of where your child stands a chance and where is a stretch (at least if they are good at their job). I also always suggest touring your zoned high school - for us there was one school that our child did not apply to because he said he thought he would prefer the public to it (it was a very small school) and that at least took one application and essay off his plate.

Good luck!
Anonymous
Post 04/09/2026 21:50     Subject: Seeking advice for applying to 9th grade this winter
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:GDS takes about 50 new students in 9th grade. Don't reject it merely because you don't think there are spots.


Especially since Burke is on her list and they take way fewer than 50 since the majority of eighth graders stay on board for high school. Same with the Field school.


I guess I was under the impression that GDS had some sort of agreement with the city about not letting in too many students because of traffic?

As for Burke, it says online that there's 31 new students in the rising 9th grade now, but I had the impression it's easier to get into than GDS so my DD's chances were better. Is that not the case?

Unfortunately Field's shuttle routes don't work well for us.


You are correct that Burke is a much easier admit than GDS. But if you think GDS is a target school for your kid, don’t be afraid to apply. People do get in!
Anonymous
Post 04/09/2026 20:58     Subject: Seeking advice for applying to 9th grade this winter
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:GDS takes about 50 new students in 9th grade. Don't reject it merely because you don't think there are spots.


Especially since Burke is on her list and they take way fewer than 50 since the majority of eighth graders stay on board for high school. Same with the Field school.


I guess I was under the impression that GDS had some sort of agreement with the city about not letting in too many students because of traffic?

As for Burke, it says online that there's 31 new students in the rising 9th grade now, but I had the impression it's easier to get into than GDS so my DD's chances were better. Is that not the case?

Unfortunately Field's shuttle routes don't work well for us.
Anonymous
Post 04/09/2026 20:51     Subject: Seeking advice for applying to 9th grade this winter
Anonymous wrote:OP, You said your prefer "mid-size or large, not super small." but Burke IS super small, about 60 kids per grade in HS. Very similar to Field. (Whereas St. John is about 320 per grade)


FWIW Field is 75/grade in HS and expanding a bit with its new building. Also, there are shuttles for Field. Definitely worth inclusion on your list.