Admissions

By Frances Ramberg

The Girls' School is approaching the end of its seventh year; I'm finishing my fifth year here. During my first year, the Kindergarten had two students and the 8th grade had three. Next year's Kindergarten class, like this year's, will be full at 15 as well as grades 1-4. We will graduate six 8th graders this year—all of whom have been here since 5th grade, at least—and ten 8th graders next year. Clearly, we are a growing institution, and this growth has expanded and enriched our community.

In the Admissions Office, this growth presents advantages and challenges. On the plus side, of course, is the fact that we often have many qualified candidates for available spots, especially in the lower grades. Our current families regularly refer friends and acquaintances to us, and the recommendation of our families often indicates a good match with our values and goals. In the past, when we had fewer students and a less formal admissions process, a referral from a current family virtually guaranteed admission.

These days, as a result of our growth, the situation is quite different. With few, if any, spaces available at most grade levels we're in the position of denying admission to your friends' daughters far more frequently than we would like. These are girls who would be a good fit in our classrooms and families who would be an asset to our community, but we simply don't have the space in our classes to accommodate all of the applicants.

As GSA grows we will maintain our reliance on your referrals as one of our most trusted sources of new students. It's important to remember, though, the constraints of our current facility and the increasing selectivity of our admissions process. Growth is a balancing act, one that will continue to present us with both advantages and challenges.