Anonymous wrote:My child is applying to St. Andrew's for 11th grade a little late but they are open to looking at her grades and application. Is this a good sign considering that it is now the summer that they have spots? My child is a stellar student with amazing grades!!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Given the geography, I guess it's no mystery that people would seek to contrast/compare Bullis and St. Andrew's. But it still seems odd to me. Having had a child at St Andrew's now for five years and having been a family at two DC privates, I think the most apt comparison is Maret.

Agreed - and there are several SAES/Maret families. I can’t think of a single family who have kids currently at both SASS & Bullis.

When we first became an SAES middle school family (about 11 years ago), I recall the then-head of the middle school (who was fabulous) told me, "If this school (SAES) were downtown, it would be called Maret." At this point, I think SAES might not deem the comparison any longer to be a complement. Not because Maret isn't a wonderful place, it is, but because SAES has established its own brand of wonderfulness and it need not copy anyone else.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a SAES parent and Sidwell alumna. I like what the poster said about the Univ of Arizona vs William & Mary in her Bullis vs SAES comparison. Sounds right.

St. Andrew's is small (90ish kids in an US grade), close-knit, a mix of traditional and progressive, and I happen to agree that were it located in NW DC, it would rank among the top schools. Not because the student body is uniformly as competitive -- although my child's class has a large number of high achievers. But because the faculty, curriculum, administration, facilities, communications are all exceptional.

Geography counts for a lot in metropolitan DC. It used to matter more, I think, to be located close in. But between the population growth and concentration of wealth of Montgomery County, there's no need for SAES admissions to try too hard to compete with the DC privates. They're already filling their school with talented, friendly kids. Mine has had a wonderful experience. Made the best friends of her life and feels very well prepared for her selective college.

One last thing -- a bigger school is more likely to have really competitive sports. Bullis is a bigger pool of kids to draw from, right? But St. Andrew's is competing against similarly sized schools in their leagues and winning championships. And more kids get to play because of the small size of the student body.

Location doesn’t seem to deter DC families from choosing SAES. Even the president sends his child there. If it’s the best fit, I’m sure plenty of DC families choose it.

Anonymous wrote:I am debating if my 6th grader should apply for St Andrews or Bullies… this post is very helpful…

Anonymous wrote:I am debating if my 6th grader should apply for St Andrews or Bullies… this post is very helpful…

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Given the geography, I guess it's no mystery that people would seek to contrast/compare Bullis and St. Andrew's. But it still seems odd to me. Having had a child at St Andrew's now for five years and having been a family at two DC privates, I think the most apt comparison is Maret.

Agreed - and there are several SAES/Maret families. I can’t think of a single family who have kids currently at both SASS & Bullis.

Anonymous wrote:My child is applying to St. Andrew's for 11th grade a little late but they are open to looking at her grades and application. Is this a good sign considering that it is now the summer that they have spots? My child is a stellar student with amazing grades!!

Anonymous wrote:Given the geography, I guess it's no mystery that people would seek to contrast/compare Bullis and St. Andrew's. But it still seems odd to me. Having had a child at St Andrew's now for five years and having been a family at two DC privates, I think the most apt comparison is Maret.

Anonymous wrote:St. Andrews. No comparison.