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Congrats to all of you that received positive news yesterday and best wishes to those that didn’t. I’m sure either way your kids will be great. Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread, it definitely helped out during this stressful proces! Our little guy got into all three schools that we applied (Greenhill, ESD, and Parish) and he’s headed to GH in the fall! We feel so blessed and happy for our kido.
It’s shocking to me that kids getting 9’s on ISEE aren’t getting acceptances. We got in with 7’s a couple years back. It’s good to know that these schools are looking for more than test scores I guess.
Well we got into ESD and Alcuin but had our hearts set on Greenhill (PreK twins). Knew it was going to be tough. Guess it was a large application pool. Disappointed we didn’t even get a waitlist offer. We are now deciding between ESD vs Alcuin. (Opinions welcome). Waitlist for Lamplighter. Leaning toward ESD unless we get into lamplighter. Then will be a tough call. We liked LL a lot but really like the idea of staying long term in a school.
Anyone know how they look at re-applying for GH next year? I’d still like to try it. My husband is now more turned off on GH. (He felt our interview was a bit weird).
Thanks all. Hope everyone finds a good spot for their kiddos.
Well we got into ESD and Alcuin but had our hearts set on Greenhill (PreK twins). Knew it was going to be tough. Guess it was a large application pool. Disappointed we didn’t even get a waitlist offer. We are now deciding between ESD vs Alcuin. (Opinions welcome). Waitlist for Lamplighter. Leaning toward ESD unless we get into lamplighter. Then will be a tough call. We liked LL a lot but really like the idea of staying long term in a school.
Anyone know how they look at re-applying for GH next year? I’d still like to try it. My husband is now more turned off on GH. (He felt our interview was a bit weird).
Thanks all. Hope everyone finds a good spot for their kiddos.
We got wait-listed at GH and Hockaday. I did not get that "feeling" at GH but really did rely a lot on the great posters here to supplement my knowledge and it was very high for us for that reason. I thought Hockaday was absolutely exceptional and where its reputation was absolutely deserved- again- these are just my experiences. We are not going to reapply to either as we are very happy with the places where we got accepted (ESD being one of them).
I know a family whose name is on the building at Alcuin, and two people that are on the board. I can safely say ESD is a better option than Alcuin. As others have said, it can get a little cliquey at ESD in older grades, and it is a lot more sports/football oriented in higher school. On the other had, the early years are fantastic at ESD, and the kids that are academically oriented do really well (you can look at college acceptances and test scores). It also does not hurt that the Perots, Hunts, Clarks and the Mary Kay family are big supporters. Their new LS building will be stunning. Congratulations- ESD is a great school and Alcuin is at the very least a very good option too.
Happy, resilient kids. That is what I want (even more than educated, connected, productive). I want productive (and believe in education a whole lot and connections with your friends are important even if for emotional support and crisis help...more than an investment banking job).
The helpful input by all has highlighted what we all know - the privates have been and continue to be more and more competitive because of more families who are willing to pay for private schools and demographics of our expanding economy here. I do believe that there are very few students who would be an excellent fit at every school (whether they are social butterflies, all 9 ISEEs, creative artists/performers, kind and empathetic, athletes, loving family members, legacies, and/or very hard worker).
Thank you Marble100 for the insight that GH (and other schools) are not about the scores only. I truly believe 3 or 6 or 10 years ago (absent something I am sure is not there), your daughter would sail into GH. That does not mean she would get into every school based on scores and personality and extracurriculars alone. There just are so few spots at these schools (even in expansion years) and even a statistical, amazing, super talented child like yours (I can't do the math - can someone tell me what the statistical probability of getting all 9's is)? I am going to do a quick post on my thoughts on this.
Palcipum - Did you get good news or WL? I hear that GH did not waitlist very many people this year. So a WL seems real. Same with many other schools. I know HP is a very strong public choice, but interested in how you are thinking about your journey. Thanks for your thoughts. As you can see from Marble100's experience - very few children "run the table". The schools are different and our children cannot be all things to all schools. Spots are so limited.
Marble100, unless you are set on GH or you think it would be a better fit (or you have other daughters who may want to go there and/or sons), it seems like Hockaday is definitely easy to choose and never look back. I have known a few kids who applied out of GH to Hockaday (particularly lifers who wanted a change in scenery), but generally Hockaday is so resource-rich and seems to help develop confident, educated girls. GH seems to do the same with girls (and boys) but in a way that says: we have community standards (high) on how we treat others and the world at large and beyond that (and high, high academics), you can be your own person and do not need to fit a template. To me it seems like GH is more individualized and Hockaday wants to make sure everyone has their tried and true curriculum and manner of presentation. Both are amazing! St. Mark's seems like it is more like Hockaday in classical education (less progressive); however, it is so competitive to get into nowadays, that they also have real superstars.
I can say that I know friends who chose ESD over GH and Hockaday (getting into all). I definitely have friends who chose GH over Hockaday or Hockaday over GH and GH over St. Mark's. I know many people who do not get into ESD who got into GH, etc. I know kids who did not get into Parish who did get into Hockaday or GH (no connections to any of the three schools). So I do think the schools have a feel for the fit and expectations of the families. In some ways, the schools cannot cater to be the best at everything. To differentiate, they have to provide a value proposition that certain families value. Co-ed. Single sex. Tight community. A community that does not make you feel left out if both parents are working. A community that does not make you feel bad if you are divorced. A community that does not make you feel bad if you have two gay parents. A community that is more accepting of new minorities or historic minorities. Etc. Etc. (A school that does not emphasize legacies over new families).
To the St. Marks/Jesuit 9th grade poster. Again all 9's. Wow! It is really disappointing (and surprising), and also somewhat eye opening to us all (there is no right fit for everyone). I have definitely heard these stories for years (one of my friend circle's kids got all 9s or at least 9988 etc. and does not get into all the more selective schools. I am certain your son will thrive at either school. He obviously is so capable (as are every person's kids who have listed ISEE scores - just amazing). I do understand why you may want to stay on the waitlist at St. Marks and just cross that bridge if it ever presents itself for losing your Jesuit deposit. That said, there is no saying at all if he would be happier and thrive more at St. Marks or Jesuit. He is going to do excellent either place - but the blessing in disguise may be that he goes and knocks it out of the park academically at Jesuit and has large group of new students to create peer/friend groups (which would not be the obvious situation at St. Mark's expansion year...it is available, but the numbers are less overall and many individuals have their friend groups established).
I hope everyone is healthy and happy with their choices. It seems like everyone has good ones to consider, even if it is saving a year or two of tuition and looking at whether this is what you want in the future. Bright Side.
Quick rabbit hole for mathematicians out there. I want to emphasize, I believe the ISEE is the hardest test I am aware of my community kids ever taking (before grad school tests). It is self-selected, super bright kids who want more than just to get into college.
That said, what would be a composite percentile for an all 9 kid? When kids take the SAT, I believe or ACT, there is a composite score. On ISEE there is not. So is all 9's, as a matter of math above 99%? If someone got 96, 96, 96, 96, what do the numbers folks think a composite percentile would be? What about 99, 98, 96, 96? I am fascinated with how rare all 9's are.
Does it have to be 98% minimum? And is it really more like 99.5 or 99.9% (1 in a thousand smart, motivated, privileged (meaning parents are driving them to the test etc), children who are applying to private schools that require the ISEE? I know it is likely that if a kid has one 9, it is far more likely than random (of course) that she has another 9. Yet, even at 96th percentile (lowest for a 9) and given the fact that some children are better at some areas than others -- what is the likely composite if they did publish it? The reason I do not think it is needed is that within bands of ISEE scores (7-9), there probably is not that much predictive power on how they will do at the school (except to say on PSATs, etc.). So, if someone is a 1 out of 100 type applicant, they are not clearly going to do "better" at the school (even grade-wise, let alone extracurriculars and sports and socio-emotional contribution, and spirit contribution) than 1 out of 30 (97%) or 1 out of 8 (88%) or 1 out of 4 (75%) kid. I am on a tangent, but I do want math folks to let me know what is a 5, 6, 7, 8 kid on a composite level? What about a 7,7,8,8. What about a 9,9,9,9. If you look beyond the scores and understand 1 out of 100 is so amazingly rare for all these competitive types, but understand that even that person is not going to do better at a school than a 1/4 person NECESSARILY, then we can move beyond scores. I know that UCLA has something like 120,000 applicants a year. They have to have cut off scores. Same with many private schools. But beyond that, I do think they are looking at how they help the potential student and how the potential student (and family) can contribute to the education of all the other students. Of course, NMSF potential is very valued. But it is not the only thing. And just as these colleges turn down valedictorians, straight 9s (even though super laudable and very, very impressive) are not the end of the story for any schools.
My two cents: I think a straight 6 kid can absolutely outperform a straight 9 kid in the private schools because of organization, having to work harder, more family structure, perhaps more family sacrifice that the child sees, etc. It seems to me the straight 9's person sees the world of testing easily and is super, super capable. That does not necessarily translate into grades or even challenging oneself. Sometimes such a smart person will zone out in class because they are able to do "well enough" because they can have built-in learned procrastination (things come so easy to them or they are coming from a less rigorous school) or by memorizing enough of what they do hear. That straight 9 student can be an A-/B+ student at the privates by not having to work as hard that is difficult to break, but you can have other students that are straight A students with far less test taking capability and often whose families are on financial aid (these families are sacrificing SO much for these opportunities). There are mixed blessings everywhere.
Sending good vibes to everyone out there. There is definitely elation when you find a perfect fit and/or your child gets into your (or their) first choice school. The private schools are expensive (as is simply raising a child in public school and giving them opportunities to travel or pursue extracurriculars), and except for very few families (we all want the very best for our kid), you do have to evaluate the value proposition in your circumstances. I hope the best for everyone in whatever school they choose. I am completely confident that these children are loved and will do great things because their parents want the best for them.
To put things in perspective, my children had 7, 6, 4, 4 and 6, 5, 5, 6 on their ISEEs and were accepted to two of the elites. Test prepped at home. No paid tutoring, no connections, no legacies, solid students (but not top of class), financial aid required. Our experience seems to reflect a holistic admissions process.
So my friend's kid who got 7-9 across the board probably got into GH. He was focused on the arts education that they provide relative to his public school. Not Booker T. :-)
My daughter got into Ursuline, ESD and Parish . She also got wait pooled at Hockaday . We are torn between Ursuline and ESD .... need insights, unless Hockaday happens
Our daughter applied to 3 schools for Kindergarten and got into Greenhill and Alcuin (waitlisted for Lamplighter). We are inclined towards Alcuin primarily to continue her in a Montessori program, given she is in a Montessori program today, smaller size, etc. But want to get additional perspectives. Greenhill seems ‘harder’ to get into and we want to make sure we are making the right decision by saying no.
Welcome any perspectives...Below is our thought process and what we have been able to gather (and the confusion):
The main questions I have are if we might have to go and try again for Greenhill (or other schools) after the Montessori program ends at Alcuin ( after grade 5)...not sure Alcuin 6-12 is better than other schools? Getting into schools at higher levels gets progressively harder...Alcuin was only till 8th grade till recently and this is the first year they extended and graduated ~20 kids from high school.
Also Greenhill has equal parts focus on Academics, Athletics and Arts. Alcuin is more focused on Montessori program - they have other things but not as much of a focus.
Getting into Greenhill seems much harder than getting into Alcuin (simply because not everyone wants to go for a Montessori program after age 6)... We want to make sure we don’t miss an opportunity...
Both campuses/ facilities are nice. But Greenhill has a 75 acre campus in the middle of the city which looks more like a university than a school. Alcuin is a bit low key...Alcuin has about half the size student body vs Greenhill (560 vs 1200) so it is a more intimate environment. But Alcuin is building a new high school building and will grow.
Greenhill is well established and Alcuin seems like a fast riser...
Thank you!!!
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Alcuin vs. Greenhill
