Anonymous wrote:Having had a kid at Walls, the interview is an important part of the process. The school wants kids who want to be there, and are motivated to succeed. What makes the school special is the students. Interviews enable the school to ensure they are getting kids who genuinely want to be there and will want to contribute to the community. I am not suggesting that interviews are fool proof, but for the student who would prefer to be somewhere else it is a fine weeding process.

That may have worked when they were trying to winnow down 200 or so kids who passed the exam to get to the 140 they'd admit. But they now have ~250-300 getting to the interview stage and the same number of seats. The vast majority will state, convincingly, that they want to be there and why.

So what are the differentiators between these kids going to be exactly?

Having had a kid at Walls, the interview is an important part of the process. The school wants kids who want to be there, and are motivated to succeed. What makes the school special is the students. Interviews enable the school to ensure they are getting kids who genuinely want to be there and will want to contribute to the community. I am not suggesting that interviews are fool proof, but for the student who would prefer to be somewhere else it is a fine weeding process.

I honestly think they should dispense with the interviews as a part of the process.

If I were in charge, I would require a 3.0 GPA and an entrance exam. I'd place all who passes the test into a lottery and allocate spaces / create a wait list that way.

Anonymous wrote:Kinda of annoying. SWW isn't a private school. It is a public school funded with taxpayer dollars. More transparency would be good.

Well, it is now just as much of a crap shoot to get a spot there as it is at any private school.

Anonymous wrote:Kinda of annoying. SWW isn't a private school. It is a public school funded with taxpayer dollars. More transparency would be good.

It's the same at all the application schools, not just SWW.

Kinda of annoying. SWW isn't a private school. It is a public school funded with taxpayer dollars. More transparency would be good.

Anonymous wrote:and there is no way to know what you scored on the initial test, correct?

I've heard of parents who requested it after the fact and received it.

But this is where and why the conspiracy theories get started.

No one knows if the slots go to the 140 students who scored the best and interviewed 'well.' Or, if the test simply a screening tool to create the pool of interviewees all ~250 invited to interview are considered equally qualified, and for the final round it's all about the interview and 'fit' and having a balance of students by ward, feeder school or whatever.

They are pretty clear at open houses that it isn't all about the test. But it's tough to get them to say much beyond that.

and there is no way to know what you scored on the initial test, correct?

Adding -- the 9th grade class is 140 students.

Anonymous wrote:So how many make it to the interview round? basically, if you as a student as well as your parents WANT it, are good at doing that kind of workload and pressure and have a decent score, and aren't a psycho at the interview, will you make it in? (and please, no racist comments about quotas and such-give me numbers!)

They interview about 250-280 students. So about half are matched initially and many (perhaps all?) are put on the wait list.

In 2014-15 they made 64 offers to students on the wait list to fill the 9th grade class. In 2015-16 they made 48 offers to students on the wait list.

So how many make it to the interview round? basically, if you as a student as well as your parents WANT it, are good at doing that kind of workload and pressure and have a decent score, and aren't a psycho at the interview, will you make it in? (and please, no racist comments about quotas and such-give me numbers!)

Anonymous wrote:Is it getting harder to get into SWW? How hard will it be in a couple of years. I have MS age DC and I am thinking about the future. TIA

More kids applying, if reports here are to be believed.

Two years ago 600 took test for 140 seats. This year 875. The school isn't going to expand so yes, probably harder.

Is it getting harder to get into SWW? How hard will it be in a couple of years. I have MS age DC and I am thinking about the future. TIA

Some teachers great, others are just so-so. Curriculum is AP-oriented, which isn't unique or special (you can get that almost anywhere).

The school succeeds because the kids who get in are uniformly smart and pretty high achieving -- and they can ask those who aren't doing well to leave. The attrition from 9th to 12th is pretty high.

<<<<Just heard that DS did not score high enough on the test to proceed to the interview. Bummed.


Sorry. What's your plan B?


He was accepted to a catholic private.>>

This is EXACTLY our situation. Bummed as well as i thought SWW would have been a good opportunity...


Sometimes things work out for a reason? Congrats to your kids for getting into the private and good luck. I'm guessing they will love it.>>

Sorry to be self absorbed but wondering what the reason is here? Looking for reasons to believe not getting into SWW was a good thing