99 percentile scores without evidence of emotional intelligence and a full life can be a concern to the schools that aren't just in it to beef up their numbers -- too close too Aspberger's

A question the schools would ask is, has his previous schooling prepared him for the very competitive academics at some DC privates? It sounds like maybe his previous school wasn't in DC, as you mention that you've lived here for about a year only. So you might check into how his academic profile (where is he in math, what has he read in English) matches up against the grades he would be entering.

PP, you should also check out Landon. It's not in DC, but not that much of a commute, and might be a good place for your son.

Got a strange question what are the chances of an African American male coming from a parish catholic school to get into one of the top schools. The schools in question are GP, STA or Gonzaga. Now let me explain the profile. He is a musician and a pretty good basketball player. He is not one of these well sought after athletes like a lot of kids around the area just a good ball player. We have learned from living in this area for almost a year that it is a basketball mecca. His dad and I think he has "held his own" however, we would like to see him get into a really nice high school because, what's the point of living in the area if we are not going to exhaust all opportunities for your child? We will try everything to help him to make sure that we have exposed him to everything possible. So, I am just throwing this out there for comments. Please don't worry about offending me because I am obviously African American. I would like to know what the community thinks of these profiles.

Just an FYI. He is a bright child with good grades' He always does well on standardized tests. This has been our selling point for whatever he has accomplished especially back home.

Don't forget - each school has its own formula. They are looking for a mix of kids to give the school depth and balance. They are not looking for kids who all have the same strengths, personalities and test scores.

Too often, a kid is turned down not because he or she didn't have the right qualifications. It's because the school had too many other similar kids and needed something different.

Agree with the PP's that it's not "all" about parental money or connections. But for some kids, and in some cases, it is about money and/or parental connections. And for some kids, it is indeed artistic talent that matters. Clearly there's no single formula, and for different kids, different things will make the difference.

If you can walk, talk and chew gum at the same time I'm sure that building wing donation will suffice. How do you think those endowments have grown over the last century. This is the elite private education sector, not Blair or TJ!

Anonymous wrote:That would be nice but we should not be naive that big dollars and school donations will suffice for admission.

Certainly will help, but I don't know about suffice.

That would be nice but we should not be naive that big dollars and school donations will suffice for admission.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Financial aid, maybe. They don't give academic scholarships. -- parent of 99th SSAT percentile (overall) kid who got waitlisted at Sidwell.

Once your kid gets past the 95th percentile, I don't think additional percentages matter. They do look at the whole child, and in one case we've seen, at the (wealthy) parents too, in order to reach down into the 70th percentiles for SSATs. We know the wealthy family in question.

Perhaps you know better, but the kid might have brought something to the table besides rich parents. I know of one kid who got into Sidwell with very scattered SSATs, and professional parents with no prospects for large donations. But the kid had excellent grades, a slew of interests, and was very talented artistically. It's not all about money (or connections).

It is not about one factor. A kid could have a very high SSAT score but bring little else to the plate. They are looking at scores, grades, extra-curriculars, sports, outside interests, parents, recommendations, monetary and volunteer contributions, former school reviews of both kid and parents, where you live, how likely you will be to accept, unique kid talents and the personality and spirit of the kid. Also the kid's interview skills and ability to interact with everyone there. Each one of these gets "graded" by the AD Committee. It's about your total score and how likely the child will be able to thrive at the school.

Anonymous wrote:Financial aid, maybe. They don't give academic scholarships. -- parent of 99th SSAT percentile (overall) kid who got waitlisted at Sidwell.

Once your kid gets past the 95th percentile, I don't think additional percentages matter. They do look at the whole child, and in one case we've seen, at the (wealthy) parents too, in order to reach down into the 70th percentiles for SSATs. We know the wealthy family in question.

Yup.

I'm applying for 9th grade at a private high school, and I got a 99 percentile. My friend got a 92. Are those 8 percentiles really going to make much of a difference since she gets better grades than me? For example: I got 5 A+s and 4 As on our last report card, and she got 8 A+s and 1 A.

Unemployment is no guarantee for financial aid since there are many CEOs and investment bankers that are unemployed but worth 10 to 20 million dollars +.

The schools are not dumb. What's your worth? That's more predictive of whether you might be eligible for financial aid.