Anonymous
Post 02/17/2026 18:35     Subject: private school decision day: Feb 27
Last year, all the decisions came in at 4pm (literally 4:01 or 4:02) and then emails followed shortly after with links to the contracts. All the schools did also send a welcome package in the mail but these came a few days later - not sure if that was just our mail or the intention was that we wouldn’t receive it before the 4pm deadline. This was for 9th, schools were Sidwell, GDS, Field, Burke.
Anonymous
Post 02/17/2026 18:28     Subject: private school decision day: Feb 27
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Re someone mentioning they already booked a family dinner. We had K-8 graduates waiting for a decision previous years. Our school’s recommendation was not to plan anything for the decision day beforehand. If you don’t get good news canceling plans would be more dramatic and impact your kid even more negatively. Why to plan anything? If there is good news you can just decide to go to a restaurant then. It is a random Friday so there plenty of places that don’t need a prior reservation.


Why wouldn't you be able to go out to dinner if your kid didn't get into a school?


I came back to see if anyone answered because this is really bothering me.
Anonymous
Post 02/17/2026 18:22     Subject: private school decision day: Feb 27
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Do schools reject/accept on the same day? Do they hold anyone back for wait list or not really?

I figure the schools reach out by phone to people in advance of this to make sure they have a group who will accept the offer? or does it not work that way.

If we haven't heard yet i figured getting rejected. (non-high school admissions....we are new to this)

No, not having heard in advance does not mean it’s a rejection. I’ve heard that some schools will give a courtesy advance heads-up to the family of a sibling that is being rejected, a couple days to a few hours before the official release of info. Not all schools even do that.

There are no advance notifications to “ensure a group who will accept the offer.” The schools have scads of data and have a good sense of their expected yield. They admit more students than they have spots for based on that data (some schools may be more conservative if the previous year was overenrolled, etc).

You’re overthinking it.


We got a call from a big 3/4/5 admissions director today, "just checking in" and asking if we had any more questions about the school that they could answer. It felt like a good sign. Who knows whether we'll get in next Friday, but it did seem like they were probing us about our continued interest and perhaps trying to protect yield.


Which school?
Anonymous
Post 02/17/2026 18:14     Subject: private school decision day: Feb 27
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Do schools reject/accept on the same day? Do they hold anyone back for wait list or not really?

I figure the schools reach out by phone to people in advance of this to make sure they have a group who will accept the offer? or does it not work that way.

If we haven't heard yet i figured getting rejected. (non-high school admissions....we are new to this)

No, not having heard in advance does not mean it’s a rejection. I’ve heard that some schools will give a courtesy advance heads-up to the family of a sibling that is being rejected, a couple days to a few hours before the official release of info. Not all schools even do that.

There are no advance notifications to “ensure a group who will accept the offer.” The schools have scads of data and have a good sense of their expected yield. They admit more students than they have spots for based on that data (some schools may be more conservative if the previous year was overenrolled, etc).

You’re overthinking it.


We got a call from a big 3/4/5 admissions director today, "just checking in" and asking if we had any more questions about the school that they could answer. It felt like a good sign. Who knows whether we'll get in next Friday, but it did seem like they were probing us about our continued interest and perhaps trying to protect yield.
Anonymous
Post 02/17/2026 18:10     Subject: Re:private school decision day: Feb 27
What achool?
Anonymous
Post 02/17/2026 18:04     Subject: private school decision day: Feb 27
We heard from a AISGW school today. So these timelines are BS.
Anonymous
Post 02/17/2026 08:35     Subject: private school decision day: Feb 27
The Catholic schools are typically on a different cycle.

As for the independents, most DO NOT send anything in the mail in advance of the decision. The younger your kid, the more likely they are to receive something physical. The more sought after independents send to send something after the decision has been posted in the portal.

In years past, the portal updates happened as early as 3:30pm and as late as around 4:30. A pretty tight window.
Anonymous
Post 02/17/2026 08:24     Subject: private school decision day: Feb 27
Anonymous wrote:Why is Feb 27 the date? Why don't schools do it on different days?

If we were rejected last year, are we likely to be rejected again?


Dematha decisions come out Friday so some do notify on different days.
Anonymous
Post 02/17/2026 08:21     Subject: private school decision day: Feb 27
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:All of the schools we applied to for DC last year sent a physical acceptance/welcome box.

Question—with the move for all schools to announce on the same day, how will that impact kids’ ability to do shadow days/attend accepted students nights post news? DC’s acceptances were staggered which really helped with timing follow up visits and events. Thinking ahead for younger DC so will be curious to hear how things play out this year.

There is no “move for all schools to announce on the same day.” AISGW schools have always been encouraged to follow the association’s guideline for announcement day and almost always have. Last year was weird because the AISGW-specified day fell badly on the calendar in relation to spring break at some schools, so a few schools did NOT follow the guidance even though they usually do.

This year, the AISGW timeline has been shifted (particularly, a much earlier enrollment deadline), but it’s not new for most DC-area independent schools to release decisions on the same day.


I’m pp you are replying to. I meant (and maybe I’m incorrect) Catholic schools moved to align with the independent school announcement date. Last year, and I believe historically, the Catholic schools were roughly a week earlier.


NP. The independent schools announced on March 7 last year and the Catholic schools announced on Feb. 28. In recent times, the independent schools aimed to announce on the last Friday in March. About 10 or so years ago, they used to announce on March 1 (when announcements arrived by snail mail rather than by email/portal) before moving to a Friday afternoon announcement. Catholics were always a few weeks earlier. It now sounds like they have all converged to announce on the Friday closest to March 1 - whether that occurs before or after March 1.

Good luck to all! It all works out.
Anonymous
Post 02/17/2026 07:59     Subject: private school decision day: Feb 27
Do the letters in the mail include the contract?

Is it like college back in the day… small envelope means no?
Anonymous
Post 02/17/2026 07:53     Subject: private school decision day: Feb 27
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:All of the schools we applied to for DC last year sent a physical acceptance/welcome box.

Question—with the move for all schools to announce on the same day, how will that impact kids’ ability to do shadow days/attend accepted students nights post news? DC’s acceptances were staggered which really helped with timing follow up visits and events. Thinking ahead for younger DC so will be curious to hear how things play out this year.

There is no “move for all schools to announce on the same day.” AISGW schools have always been encouraged to follow the association’s guideline for announcement day and almost always have. Last year was weird because the AISGW-specified day fell badly on the calendar in relation to spring break at some schools, so a few schools did NOT follow the guidance even though they usually do.

This year, the AISGW timeline has been shifted (particularly, a much earlier enrollment deadline), but it’s not new for most DC-area independent schools to release decisions on the same day.


I’m pp you are replying to. I meant (and maybe I’m incorrect) Catholic schools moved to align with the independent school announcement date. Last year, and I believe historically, the Catholic schools were roughly a week earlier.
Anonymous
Post 02/17/2026 07:53     Subject: private school decision day: Feb 27
Anonymous wrote:All of the schools we applied to for DC last year sent a physical acceptance/welcome box.

Question—with the move for all schools to announce on the same day, how will that impact kids’ ability to do shadow days/attend accepted students nights post news? DC’s acceptances were staggered which really helped with timing follow up visits and events. Thinking ahead for younger DC so will be curious to hear how things play out this year.


What kind of schools are you talking about? Independent or Catholic? High school or younger?
Anonymous
Post 02/17/2026 07:44     Subject: Re:private school decision day: Feb 27
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:So you find out decisions by logging into Ravenna after 4 pm, or do most schools call/ email before then?

depends when your mailman or delivery guy drops off the package. For most people, the package will arrive first


We live in NW DC where mail delivery isn’t the most consistent so the physical acceptance packages came days after the emails went out. And for some reason none of the packages showed up on the USPS informed delivery alerts. I was afraid they were delivered to the wrong address! It was annoying because although we knew that DC was accepted, we had to wait for the details, including some financial aid and scholarship decisions.
Anonymous
Post 02/17/2026 07:35     Subject: private school decision day: Feb 27
Anonymous wrote:All of the schools we applied to for DC last year sent a physical acceptance/welcome box.

Question—with the move for all schools to announce on the same day, how will that impact kids’ ability to do shadow days/attend accepted students nights post news? DC’s acceptances were staggered which really helped with timing follow up visits and events. Thinking ahead for younger DC so will be curious to hear how things play out this year.

There is no “move for all schools to announce on the same day.” AISGW schools have always been encouraged to follow the association’s guideline for announcement day and almost always have. Last year was weird because the AISGW-specified day fell badly on the calendar in relation to spring break at some schools, so a few schools did NOT follow the guidance even though they usually do.

This year, the AISGW timeline has been shifted (particularly, a much earlier enrollment deadline), but it’s not new for most DC-area independent schools to release decisions on the same day.
Anonymous
Post 02/17/2026 07:28     Subject: private school decision day: Feb 27
All of the schools we applied to for DC last year sent a physical acceptance/welcome box.

Question—with the move for all schools to announce on the same day, how will that impact kids’ ability to do shadow days/attend accepted students nights post news? DC’s acceptances were staggered which really helped with timing follow up visits and events. Thinking ahead for younger DC so will be curious to hear how things play out this year.