Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Schools like Sidwell and St Albans have a below 10% acceptance rate and a yield over 90%.

They don't publish this data, so where are you getting these numbers?

Because insiders get the info from admissions staff. Schools don’t publish, but most are happy to tell applicants how many other applicants there are that year. Yield patterns are shared hush hush within the school.

Sidwell’s yield went down during the pre-Covid college admissions disaster. It’s back up. STA’s yield has gone higher.

for what it's worth, STA's 9th grade yield was 100% this year.

I can understand why. STA showed itself to be the best-managed Big 3 this year. The admin and faculty showed great leadership and care for the students, which is always what has made it an exceptional school. Eg: the 4th grade teachers lobbied hard to have their students attend class in person, because they thought starting school virtually would be especially hard for kids just starting STA. The admin was responsive and worked wit the teachers to make it possible for C Formers to have classes in person from the start of the school year.

The school spent the summer training the teachers on how to teach in a hybrid format, with 1/2 their students at home and 1/2 in the classroom. That training made a huge difference. My boys got a real education this past year.

Sidwell and GDS really dropped the ball. My DD (Sidwell) had a terrible year compared to her brothers. So infuriating.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Schools like Sidwell and St Albans have a below 10% acceptance rate and a yield over 90%.

They don't publish this data, so where are you getting these numbers?

Because insiders get the info from admissions staff. Schools don’t publish, but most are happy to tell applicants how many other applicants there are that year. Yield patterns are shared hush hush within the school.

Sidwell’s yield went down during the pre-Covid college admissions disaster. It’s back up. STA’s yield has gone higher.

for what it's worth, STA's 9th grade yield was 100% this year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, as a non-full pay family, your son will need something that makes him really stand out to be accepted by a private school and given financial aid. There are plenty of families who can pay full freight who are competing to get in at the better privates. Also, unless you're an exceptional URM, most school will only offer 15-25% financial aid.

If you are an URM, that makes a big difference. A strong URM candidate might get more like 60-80% financial aid.

If your son is White or Asian, you will be considered overrepresented at most private schools.

You don't say why you want your son to transfer to private, but unless your son has a particular need or interest that can't be met in public school MoCo's magnet track could be a more affordable option.

What's your motivation for wanting to switch to private?

MoCo's magnet track accepts a far lower percentage of applicants than the most selective private schools. This year the middle school magnet was by lottery for students who qualified. My kid qualified for the lottery but his name was not selected. There isn't another chance at 7th or 8th.

My kid's current educational situation won't be an option after 6th, and so we're looking at all options.

I highly doubt that. The most selective private schools accept about 7% of their applicants. Just goes to show how little you know about the private school world.

MoCo's gifted magnets take about 4% of applicants.

Total BS. https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/info/choice/ChoiceStudyReport-Version2-20160307.pdf

26% of applicants to middle school magnets accepted and 37% to high school magnets.

OP, you sound either clueless or you're just a braggy jerk.

MCPS has completely changed their admissions practices since 2016.

Yes, but the percentage admits have stayed about the same.

For middle school every 5th grade student in the county is now considered. This had a huge impact on admissions percentages.

It also doesn't change the fact that telling someone that they should just go to a public magnet (which accepts zero students for 7th) because getting into private is too hard, is ridiculous.

MCPS only has a few hundred magnet slots in MS. Its near impossible to get in. My kid has high stats, often in the 99% and didn't get in. OP kid needs all A's, high MAP and PARCC and much more.

There are fewer MS slots at top DC privates and the catchment area is the entire DMV, drawing from a pool of bright accomplished kids with well-off parents who can pay full tuition.

Mater Dei
Then Georgetown Prep or Gonzaga

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Schools like Sidwell and St Albans have a below 10% acceptance rate and a yield over 90%.

They don't publish this data, so where are you getting these numbers?

Schools share this data with current parents. And those who they hope to get donations from (alumni or other). It’s not a huge secret (except maybe to those outside the school). I went to one basic parents meeting where this data was discussed with current parents

Since your looking for 7th, St Peter’s in Olney has a strong STEM program and are a Project Lead the Way school. You’ll still have to apply to high schools obviously. They may also have openings for 6th grade this fall. They have been expanding and have a new, talented principal.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, as a non-full pay family, your son will need something that makes him really stand out to be accepted by a private school and given financial aid. There are plenty of families who can pay full freight who are competing to get in at the better privates. Also, unless you're an exceptional URM, most school will only offer 15-25% financial aid.

If you are an URM, that makes a big difference. A strong URM candidate might get more like 60-80% financial aid.

If your son is White or Asian, you will be considered overrepresented at most private schools.

You don't say why you want your son to transfer to private, but unless your son has a particular need or interest that can't be met in public school MoCo's magnet track could be a more affordable option.

What's your motivation for wanting to switch to private?

MoCo's magnet track accepts a far lower percentage of applicants than the most selective private schools. This year the middle school magnet was by lottery for students who qualified. My kid qualified for the lottery but his name was not selected. There isn't another chance at 7th or 8th.

My kid's current educational situation won't be an option after 6th, and so we're looking at all options.

I highly doubt that. The most selective private schools accept about 7% of their applicants. Just goes to show how little you know about the private school world.

MoCo's gifted magnets take about 4% of applicants.

Total BS. https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/info/choice/ChoiceStudyReport-Version2-20160307.pdf

26% of applicants to middle school magnets accepted and 37% to high school magnets.

OP, you sound either clueless or you're just a braggy jerk.

MCPS has completely changed their admissions practices since 2016.

Yes, but the percentage admits have stayed about the same.

For middle school every 5th grade student in the county is now considered. This had a huge impact on admissions percentages.

It also doesn't change the fact that telling someone that they should just go to a public magnet (which accepts zero students for 7th) because getting into private is too hard, is ridiculous.

MCPS only has a few hundred magnet slots in MS. Its near impossible to get in. My kid has high stats, often in the 99% and didn't get in. OP kid needs all A's, high MAP and PARCC and much more.

OP here,

Exactly. Applying to a magnet makes sense if we end up at a school that ends in 8th. Assuming he’ll get in and not also exploring other options would be nuts.

None of which matters because at this point we’re looking for 7th.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, as a non-full pay family, your son will need something that makes him really stand out to be accepted by a private school and given financial aid. There are plenty of families who can pay full freight who are competing to get in at the better privates. Also, unless you're an exceptional URM, most school will only offer 15-25% financial aid.

If you are an URM, that makes a big difference. A strong URM candidate might get more like 60-80% financial aid.

If your son is White or Asian, you will be considered overrepresented at most private schools.

You don't say why you want your son to transfer to private, but unless your son has a particular need or interest that can't be met in public school MoCo's magnet track could be a more affordable option.

What's your motivation for wanting to switch to private?

MoCo's magnet track accepts a far lower percentage of applicants than the most selective private schools. This year the middle school magnet was by lottery for students who qualified. My kid qualified for the lottery but his name was not selected. There isn't another chance at 7th or 8th.

My kid's current educational situation won't be an option after 6th, and so we're looking at all options.

I highly doubt that. The most selective private schools accept about 7% of their applicants. Just goes to show how little you know about the private school world.

MoCo's gifted magnets take about 4% of applicants.

Total BS. https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/info/choice/ChoiceStudyReport-Version2-20160307.pdf

26% of applicants to middle school magnets accepted and 37% to high school magnets.

OP, you sound either clueless or you're just a braggy jerk.

MCPS has completely changed their admissions practices since 2016.

Yes, but the percentage admits have stayed about the same.

For middle school every 5th grade student in the county is now considered. This had a huge impact on admissions percentages.

It also doesn't change the fact that telling someone that they should just go to a public magnet (which accepts zero students for 7th) because getting into private is too hard, is ridiculous.

MCPS only has a few hundred magnet slots in MS. Its near impossible to get in. My kid has high stats, often in the 99% and didn't get in. OP kid needs all A's, high MAP and PARCC and much more.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Soccer isn’t a real drawing card at most of these schools. They have an abundance of soccer players.

At some football, lacrosse and basketball impact athletes get their attention.

And kids develop at different paces. The best 6th and 7th graders sometimes fizzle out in high school while others blossom.

The best indicator of likely athletic talent are the athletic careers of his or her parents.

I am not so much looking for a place where his athletics are a boost. Just a place where a kid like him would be happy and have time to do both sports and art.

Pretty much any school in the IAC or MAC or your local public.

Really? I read a thread about the amount of HW in the big 3’s that pretty much convinced me that there is no way a kid could do that and sports and another time consuming extracurricular like art.

I want someplace where academics are strong but not all consuming and he can do what he loves.

Art could be a major part of the school day curriculum. At Potomac there is a whole concentration for it that is done during the school day and the winter athletics block. Look for the visual arts concentration on their website.

I always thought Potomac was a pressure cooker. During the winter Athletics block is there less of a workload?

No, sorry I wasn’t super clear. Potomac allows students to do alternate activities after school in lieu of athletics—robotics, plays, etc. If a student is in the arts program, they will have arts classes during the day AND work on independent study during the after school athletics block in the winter

Potomac certainly can be very challenging academically, but students can manage it by choosing courses that fit what they want. Nobody is forcing them to take every honors class available—there’s variability in the course work (and in optional concentration areas—like the arts)