Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:St. Andrews was not what we expected. Great vibe and gorgeous facilities.

Huuuge, really.

Ha Ha (happy SAES parent but this still made me laugh)

Anonymous wrote:I was surprised how rude the AD at NCS was and then shadow day was not much better. I thought the campus was pretty though and very updated. Sidwell was beautiful and their whole process was much better than we had imagined. Potomac was a wild card. Beautiful campus but sort of cold during admission and basically assumed our child would not get in. Maret needs some updating but they are so warm there it makes up for a lot. The lacking playing fields make it a hard choice if your child loves athletics so something to consider. Stone Ridge was 100 percent better than we had thought. That school moved up many places after our tour. GDS is not a place for an athletic child but many impressive kids and teachers.

I'm a potomac parent and hate hearing that the admissions process was not welcoming. Was this recently (i.e. with the new admissions director)? And did you mean that they assumed your child would not get in, or you assumed that (because of the interactions)? I think the school still struggles with how to be warm and welcoming but not give the impression that "everyone gets in," like so many people who look down on it because it is not in DC and why would anyone choose to send their kids there. Please note, I'm not saying YOU think that!

Anonymous wrote:+100. It definitely had a cattle call feel. I felt the same way when I went an open house with Sidwell a few years ago. I walked out halfway through the open house. They lost me after seeing those fancy cookies decorated with the Sidwell logo yet dark and depressing looking lower school classrooms.

Anonymous wrote:GDS was not what I expected. We were coming from a small intimate private school setting. I went to a GDS information session and quite honestly it felt very much like a Cattlecall. I just got the feeling sitting there the people were just clamoring to get their children a space at the school. I ended up walking out in the middle of the information session because I just felt so disgusted by it. I’m in no way implying that it’s a bad school, all I can talk about is my experience during the information session and how it made me feel. All that to say it was not the school for us.

I was pleasantly surprised by the vibe at St. Andrews. The people are friendly, the environment was just so warm and inviting. I liked the facilities and liked the vision and mission of the school. It felt very much like the smaller environment that we were used to.

Yep. You get there and realize the hype is just that. Some people love the hype among peers. Some prefer a welcoming campus with updated buildings and expansive grounds.

+100. It definitely had a cattle call feel. I felt the same way when I went an open house with Sidwell a few years ago. I walked out halfway through the open house. They lost me after seeing those fancy cookies decorated with the Sidwell logo yet dark and depressing looking lower school classrooms.

Anonymous wrote:GDS was not what I expected. We were coming from a small intimate private school setting. I went to a GDS information session and quite honestly it felt very much like a Cattlecall. I just got the feeling sitting there the people were just clamoring to get their children a space at the school. I ended up walking out in the middle of the information session because I just felt so disgusted by it. I’m in no way implying that it’s a bad school, all I can talk about is my experience during the information session and how it made me feel. All that to say it was not the school for us.

I was pleasantly surprised by the vibe at St. Andrews. The people are friendly, the environment was just so warm and inviting. I liked the facilities and liked the vision and mission of the school. It felt very much like the smaller environment that we were used to.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:GDS was not what I expected. We were coming from a small intimate private school setting. I went to a GDS information session and quite honestly it felt very much like a Cattlecall. I just got the feeling sitting there the people were just clamoring to get their children a space at the school. I ended up walking out in the middle of the information session because I just felt so disgusted by it. I’m in no way implying that it’s a bad school, all I can talk about is my experience during the information session and how it made me feel. All that to say it was not the school for us.

I was pleasantly surprised by the vibe at St. Andrews. The people are friendly, the environment was just so warm and inviting. I liked the facilities and liked the vision and mission of the school. It felt very much like the smaller environment that we were used to.

GDS is much sought-after today. It is unfortunate but understandable that parents are clamoring for a spot for their children, so the information sessions can be large. The school is amazing, though.

Please go home, GDS troll.

Anonymous wrote:GDS was not what I expected. We were coming from a small intimate private school setting. I went to a GDS information session and quite honestly it felt very much like a Cattlecall. I just got the feeling sitting there the people were just clamoring to get their children a space at the school. I ended up walking out in the middle of the information session because I just felt so disgusted by it. I’m in no way implying that it’s a bad school, all I can talk about is my experience during the information session and how it made me feel. All that to say it was not the school for us.

I was pleasantly surprised by the vibe at St. Andrews. The people are friendly, the environment was just so warm and inviting. I liked the facilities and liked the vision and mission of the school. It felt very much like the smaller environment that we were used to.

Lower/middle campus or upper school?

GDS lower school : we felt the joy of learning from the kids walking through the hallways and pretty much everywhere. This made up for the cramped rooms.

GDS upper school : my kid liked the openness. He goes to Deal MS now and it is almost like teachers and admin thereexpect you to misbehave. So he liked the implied trust that the general atmosphere at GDS conveyed.

Anonymous wrote:GDS was not what I expected. We were coming from a small intimate private school setting. I went to a GDS information session and quite honestly it felt very much like a Cattlecall. I just got the feeling sitting there the people were just clamoring to get their children a space at the school. I ended up walking out in the middle of the information session because I just felt so disgusted by it. I’m in no way implying that it’s a bad school, all I can talk about is my experience during the information session and how it made me feel. All that to say it was not the school for us.

I was pleasantly surprised by the vibe at St. Andrews. The people are friendly, the environment was just so warm and inviting. I liked the facilities and liked the vision and mission of the school. It felt very much like the smaller environment that we were used to.

GDS is much sought-after today. It is unfortunate but understandable that parents are clamoring for a spot for their children, so the information sessions can be large. The school is amazing, though.

GDS was not what I expected. We were coming from a small intimate private school setting. I went to a GDS information session and quite honestly it felt very much like a Cattlecall. I just got the feeling sitting there the people were just clamoring to get their children a space at the school. I ended up walking out in the middle of the information session because I just felt so disgusted by it. I’m in no way implying that it’s a bad school, all I can talk about is my experience during the information session and how it made me feel. All that to say it was not the school for us.

I was pleasantly surprised by the vibe at St. Andrews. The people are friendly, the environment was just so warm and inviting. I liked the facilities and liked the vision and mission of the school. It felt very much like the smaller environment that we were used to.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where do kids spend all day in a room with no windows???

River School.

That's pretty crappy TBH.

Huh? We’ve been at River for 4 years and there is not a single classroom without a window!!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where do kids spend all day in a room with no windows???

River School.

That's pretty crappy TBH.

Anonymous wrote:Where do kids spend all day in a room with no windows???

River School.

Anonymous wrote:Where do kids spend all day in a room with no windows???

You’d be surprised how many schools where some of the classes have no windows. I know of at least 2 private schools in PG County.

St Pats—truly beautiful library area (light and airy set up); not great recess area (small)
Potomac —amazing Art room (high ceiling,all windows looking out onto nature) Lower school inside brand new and gorgeous with open library, high ceilings and well kept sea life/ fishtank
Langley- Auditorium and cafeteria exceptional. Large outdoor play area. Nice soccer field
Beauvoir- Fabulous playground. Eh inside.

Beauvoir - playground amazing (obviously), school was drab — at least on day of tour as it was raining and it felt damp. Maybe would have had a different experience on sunny day.
Classrooms in the same grade also seemed to be decorated very differently.

Sidwell- lower school playground was lacking. School just so so (apart from gym, which was stunning). Vibe was aloof.

GDS - felt warm, playground was lacking, seemed totally chaotic and disorganized and disheveled. Nice art and wall displays of work.

NPS - grounds have a presence, but school feels small. No separate cafeteria. Prim and proper, but nice. Clean and organized.

River school - so many levels. Some seemed to be underground. Playground on roof.

Sheridan - small playground — a bit lacking, nice student art. Warm vibe, but very small.

Maret - k cottage so cozy. School was one of the few with tile hallways rather than carpeting, which I liked. Nice student art. Most notably diverse school (both teachers and students) of the lot. Warm vibe.