Be prepared for a lot of homework. By the time the boys are in 5th grade, they are averaging 2 hours a night.

Stellar academic ability is the most important qualification.

St. Albans was founded as a school for the boy choristers at the National Cathedral. Superb vocal talent does still matter.

PP 16:35 here. I was not trying to trivialize the admissions process to STA, or suggest that simply being a great singer or actor for the school play will land you a spot in 9th grade. What I am saying, based on my conversation with the AD a couple of years ago, is that having a substantial ability or talent that truly sets you apart from others (in combination with strong academics) tends to carry more weight later on. In the beginning (ie: 4th grade) they put more weight on scores and report cards, but later when they have a sense of the individual make up of a class (and the kinds of interests and talents in the class) they might find that to come up with a more well-rounded or diverse group any particular year, they need to bring in someone who is strong musically or artistically etc. and can add that dimension to the class. Not sure why my comments have hit a nerve with some posters-- it was certainly not intended to.

New poster here. Believe it or not, they need a few kids who can sing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are never guarantees pp -- it's never easy to get into STA.

Yeah it looks that way. I have been studying the board for hours now looking for more information on getting into 9th grade. Does anyone know about how many slots they have and what they are looking for?

From what I was told, in 9th grade they look beyond just straight academics and standardized test scores. They may need a star for the musical one year, or a talented musician, etc. In other words, talents and accomplishments that are beyond academics take on new importance when they are looking to flesh out their class.

Star for the musical? LOL. How about athletic ability, dear.

Did Beauvoir Boys receive acceptance letters to STA and NCS?? How many are in each place. This will help everyone else understand the chances??

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are never guarantees pp -- it's never easy to get into STA.

Yeah it looks that way. I have been studying the board for hours now looking for more information on getting into 9th grade. Does anyone know about how many slots they have and what they are looking for?

From what I was told, in 9th grade they look beyond just straight academics and standardized test scores. They may need a star for the musical one year, or a talented musician, etc. In other words, talents and accomplishments that are beyond academics take on new importance when they are looking to flesh out their class.

Your specific examples are ridiculous. Yes they look beyond academics, but not to field some highschool musical or piano recital.

Try telling that to the AD.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are never guarantees pp -- it's never easy to get into STA.

Yeah it looks that way. I have been studying the board for hours now looking for more information on getting into 9th grade. Does anyone know about how many slots they have and what they are looking for?

From what I was told, in 9th grade they look beyond just straight academics and standardized test scores. They may need a star for the musical one year, or a talented musician, etc. In other words, talents and accomplishments that are beyond academics take on new importance when they are looking to flesh out their class.

Your specific examples are ridiculous. Yes they look beyond academics, but not to field some highschool musical or piano recital.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are never guarantees pp -- it's never easy to get into STA.

Yeah it looks that way. I have been studying the board for hours now looking for more information on getting into 9th grade. Does anyone know about how many slots they have and what they are looking for?

From what I was told, in 9th grade they look beyond just straight academics and standardized test scores. They may need a star for the musical one year, or a talented musician, etc. In other words, talents and accomplishments that are beyond academics take on new importance when they are looking to flesh out their class.

Anonymous wrote:There are never guarantees pp -- it's never easy to get into STA.

Yeah it looks that way. I have been studying the board for hours now looking for more information on getting into 9th grade. Does anyone know about how many slots they have and what they are looking for?

There are never guarantees pp -- it's never easy to get into STA.

Anonymous wrote:It appears that about 40 % of applicants get into STA in 9th from some of info in public domain. I suspect that the applicants in later years are superior to those entering at 4th grade and a 40 percent admission rate may still be a high bar given qwuality of applicants.

Then maybe everyone should sit tight and apply in 9th grade? If they are taking 40% of applicants for the 20 slots in 9th grade surely a decent student can get a slot.

Anonymous wrote:Does STA ever call people before mailing out the decisions? Our son goes to another private school and our renewal deposit is due soon. I know lots of people are probably in the same boat, but it would be nice to get a realistic update as to our chances before shelling out some money to his current school.

Thanks for any thoughts out there.

We're in the same boat. We took a gamble and didn't re-enroll with our current school. Contracts were due mid-February so we knew going in that we wouldn't have an admission decision, but did know that we didn't want to return. We have a couple of contingency plans in place if it doesn't work out with StA, though we'd prefer not to go with plan B or C.

Good luck everyone!