High School Admissions in 2025:
A Conversation with Our Executive Director, Sasha DeWind
Our Executive Director, Sasha DeWind, has worked with families for years to help them navigate every aspect of the high school admissions process. Below are the questions she is most frequently asked, and her responses!
As a parent, what is my job in this process?
As your family sets out to apply to middle or high school, your role really is different than it was in pre-school/Kindergarten! This time around, your child is the star of the show, and parents need to understand that their role is to know their child, support their child, help create a list of schools in which their child can thrive, and keep them organized during a busy season.
In other words, your child’s interview is the one that truly counts–yours is background noise (unless it isn’t, and that’s a problem!). I always say a parent can’t get their child into a school, but I’ve certainly seen them keep their child out of one.
Why do parents hire private counselors? Do parents with children at K-8 schools need admissions support?
Parents who have children in K-12 schools or public schools often need a private counselor because they don’t (and won’t) have support built-in at school. In my admissions work, I am in close contact with admissions offices and can get feedback that a placement director normally gets.
That being said, every year I work with a handful of K-8 students because they benefit from the same things my other students do: customized and in-depth support on essays and interviews, personalized organizational tools to help juggle deadlines, and advice geared at helping each child find a number of acceptances at schools where they’ll thrive. I am close with placement directors who do superb work for their students, but they have a lot of kids to balance and are excited to work together to get the best result for any of their students.
How do you figure out if a school might be a good fit for my child?
Fit is everything when it comes to finding the right high school: I want kids to find schools where they are thriving socially, emotionally, and academically. Lots of parents are focused on college admissions too, and I find that finding the right fit optimizes those results too.
Finding the right fit starts with a deeper conversation about where your child is now and where you hope they’ll go, as well as a conversation with your child. We consider everything from rigor to school culture to commute when putting together a preliminary list, and then open houses and tours help a child get a deeper understanding of a school.
At the end of the process, revisit days for admitted students and conversations with current parents and students help in making final decisions.
What are admissions offices looking for in an applicant?
The specifics absolutely vary from school to school. Trinity is looking for one type of kid, and Packer may have other priorities. Certainly the boarding schools have their own values when it comes to what kinds of kids will thrive on their campuses.
All of them are going to look at the same things, though: grades, SSAT or ISEE scores (usually!), recommendations, essays, and interviews (student & parent).
Does it help to have someone already at a school vouch for my child there?
That depends! We spend a lot of time come January discussing what helps (and what could hurt) when it comes to conversations with admissions. As with everything, you need good advice from someone who understands the process, and each situation is different.
These are only a few of the questions parents have about applying for middle or high school, and we are always here to talk more about your child's specific profile. Book a free consultation to get started!
