High School Admission Specialists | Middle School Admissions

Marks Education > Counseling > Middle & Secondary School Admission

Finding and applying to independent middle & secondary schools can be complicated.

Marks Education’s counseling team guides families through the various stages of the school admission process.

For many parents, applying to independent schools can be an unfamiliar and confusing process, with numerous deadlines, plenty of paperwork, and a few unwritten rules. Marks Education’s counseling team can help you navigate through the school admission process.

We will support you and your child as you narrow a list of potential school choices, complete applications, and finally select a best-fit school. Based on our knowledge of local and boarding schools, we can help you identify programs and opportunities that may be the best fit for your child.

While one family might choose a single, hour-long session to get an overview and answers to some specific questions, another family might opt for a series of meetings or conference calls to discuss the various phases of the admission calendar from initial visits to a child’s enrollment. We can provide one-on-one advising tailored to your child’s and your family’s needs.

The admissions process at DC’s top schools is complex and competitive, requiring expertise. Our advice is not to give it a second thought: use Marks Education’s expert advice to help in your child’s educational career.

— Parent of a St. Albans student

How We Help Students Succeed

We help you find best-fit schools and highlight your child’s strengths.

Schools want students who will flourish and contribute to their communities. Based on our team’s knowledge of the independent school landscape, locally and nationally, we can help families assess fit and understand how school admission committees will view an application.

Experienced mentoring every step of the way.

You will work with a counselor experienced in the areas of admission, financial aid, and teaching experience. We provide families and students with clear feedback that keeps them on track as they navigate the school admission process.

Your child is unique; your child’s applications should be, too.

We enjoy getting to know your child. Based on our understanding of your child’s interests and strengths, we will provide tailored, strategic feedback on your child’s school list. You will determine how much or how little help you need.

The proof? Over 97% of families come back to us for work with their younger children.

We have an amazing track record. Yet the statistic that makes us most proud is proof of the way we help families and students. Over 97% of our clients with multiple children return to us to help their younger children through the college admission process.

Our Results

Marks Education students have been accepted to a variety of independent and parochial schools, both boarding and day schools, in the Washington, D.C. area and across the country. Most importantly, our students are flourishing in schools that both challenge and support them.

Our students have been accepted to a range of schools including:

Beauvoir, The National Cathedral Elementary School (DC)
Colorado Rocky Mountain School (CO)
Deerfield Academy (MA)
Emma Willard School (New York)
Episcopal High School (VA)
Georgetown Day School (DC)
Georgetown Preparatory School (MD)
Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School (DC)
Gonzaga College High School (DC)
Holton-Arms School (MD)
Maret School (DC)
Mercersburg Academy (PA)
National Cathedral School (DC)
Norwood School (MD)
Potomac School (VA)
Sidwell Friends School (DC)
St. Albans School (DC)
St. Andrew’s Episcopal School (MD)
St. Andrew’s School (DE)
St. Patrick’s Episcopal Day School (DC)
Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart (MD)
West Nottingham Academy (MD)

How Our Program Works

Step 1

Contact the Marks Education office to set up a free, introductory call.

In a complimentary 20-minute initial phone call, you can summarize your child’s academic profile and interests as well as admission aspirations. We will explain how we can help during the admission process. If you decide that you would like to pursue counseling, we will ask that you send us your child’s recent academic and testing data.

Step 2

In the first meeting, we will discuss in more detail your child’s learning style, successes and challenges, extracurricular interests, and family culture to help compile a list of schools to visit. Together, we will build an action plan that may include arranging for some test preparation. You will leave with a sense of the admission calendar and its various requirements and deadlines.

Step 3

Parents decide how much help they would like throughout the process, and we accommodate them by responding to emails, scheduling phone calls, or meeting in person. Clients leave our meetings feeling calm and confident, ready to move forward strategically.

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