Does anyone know when wait lists will start to move?

[Anonymous]

(If they start to move?)

[Anonymous]

April 4th was the deadline for submitting our contract and deposit for preschool. So anytime up to and shortly after that for preschools. Not sure about ongoings.

[Anonymous]

the school we are waitlisted for never returns our calls...is that a sign that they are just not interested?? i think it is really rude. it makes me wonder if i am still interested in them.

[Anonymous]

would that be either Maret or Beauvoir? They have yet to return my call from a few weeks ago. we are getting the message though.

[Anonymous]

A couple of things to keep in mind about the waitlist and returned emails/phone calls:

1. Most schools have been on spring break. Administration won't be back in the office until today (for some schools) or tomorrow (for our child's school). With the exception of Sidwell, there are dozens of (if not a hundred) children on each waitlist. Imagine how many emails and telephone calls the two or three people working in admissions must field....on top of the questions they are getting from admitted families (the priority at this point in the process, by the way) who are trying to gather additional information before they have to make a decision. Think about how long it would take you to answer that many phone calls and emails.

2. At this point there's not much that the administration can tell you beyond what was already expressed in your letter. Contracts aren't due for most schools until this week. It takes quite a while to get through the contracts (for your child's grade and all other grades as well). That's the priority right now...determining what the enrollment looks like for each class and fielding questions from admitted families.

3. Once enrollment for those who have accepted has been determined, the schools look at who didn't accept (i.e., caucasian boy spring birthday introvert, asian girl summer birthday, african american girl winter birthday extrovert, etc.) and try to find a suitable replacement from the waitlist. As you can tell, this takes a lot of time to make sure that the classes are balanced. It may take a few iterations to get this right. Given that, it's very difficult for the administration to tell you where your child is on the waitlist, when you might hear some different information about your status, etc.

4. In general, don't expect a lot of movement. Any movement will start to occur over the next week or so and go well into May and June (prior to the July 1 tuition liability date). Keep in mind that not many turn down Beauvoir, Maret, GDS or Sidwell. Those that do are among those who were fortunate enough to get multiple offers.

[Anonymous]

Talking about Maret, even if somebody answers your call don't expect many details about selection outcomes and waitlists. When we contacted the school to have an idea of our DC's performance and options, the DA only gave short standard answers that clearly showed she did not have our DC's situation in mind. Really a caring school community...

[Anonymous]

The deadline for several schools is coming up this week. Today and Wednesday are two that I know of. You should find out if there is movement this week on the waitlists.

For others that called and didn't have a response, perhaps you should call again. Several school had spring break over the past week...that is what I was told when I tried to contact an office last week.

[Anonymous]

11:33, thank you, that is very helpful.

[Anonymous]

11:33 post should be standard reading for first-time applicants. Thank you!

[Anonymous]

11:33 post is a GODSEND....thank you, thank you thank you!

[Anonymous]

3. Once enrollment for those who have accepted has been determined, the schools look at who didn't accept (i.e., caucasian boy spring birthday introvert, asian girl summer birthday, african american girl winter birthday extrovert, etc.) and try to find a suitable replacement from the waitlist. As you can tell, this takes a lot of time to make sure that the classes are balanced. It may take a few iterations to get this right. Given that, it's very difficult for the administration to tell you where your child is on the waitlist, when you might hear some different information about your status, etc.

WOW! It sounds like you are definitely an "insider" as far as your knowledge of the process.........does it really get as specific as this? I guess they certainly could not say to a waitlisted family: "hmmm, let's see your daughter is caucasian with a summer birthday so we will call you if the other caucasian girl with a summer birthday declines.." WOW

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A couple of things to keep in mind about the waitlist and returned emails/phone calls:

1. Most schools have been on spring break. Administration won't be back in the office until today (for some schools) or tomorrow (for our child's school). With the exception of Sidwell, there are dozens of (if not a hundred) children on each waitlist. Imagine how many emails and telephone calls the two or three people working in admissions must field....on top of the questions they are getting from admitted families (the priority at this point in the process, by the way) who are trying to gather additional information before they have to make a decision. Think about how long it would take you to answer that many phone calls and emails.

2. At this point there's not much that the administration can tell you beyond what was already expressed in your letter. Contracts aren't due for most schools until this week. It takes quite a while to get through the contracts (for your child's grade and all other grades as well). That's the priority right now...determining what the enrollment looks like for each class and fielding questions from admitted families.

3. Once enrollment for those who have accepted has been determined, the schools look at who didn't accept (i.e., caucasian boy spring birthday introvert, asian girl summer birthday, african american girl winter birthday extrovert, etc.) and try to find a suitable replacement from the waitlist. As you can tell, this takes a lot of time to make sure that the classes are balanced. It may take a few iterations to get this right. Given that, it's very difficult for the administration to tell you where your child is on the waitlist, when you might hear some different information about your status, etc.

4. In general, don't expect a lot of movement. Any movement will start to occur over the next week or so and go well into May and June (prior to the July 1 tuition liability date). Keep in mind that not many turn down Beauvoir, Maret, GDS or Sidwell. Those that do are among those who were fortunate enough to get multiple offers.

Good stuff!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

3. Once enrollment for those who have accepted has been determined, the schools look at who didn't accept (i.e., caucasian boy spring birthday introvert, asian girl summer birthday, african american girl winter birthday extrovert, etc.) and try to find a suitable replacement from the waitlist. As you can tell, this takes a lot of time to make sure that the classes are balanced. It may take a few iterations to get this right. Given that, it's very difficult for the administration to tell you where your child is on the waitlist, when you might hear some different information about your status, etc.

WOW! It sounds like you are definitely an "insider" as far as your knowledge of the process.........does it really get as specific as this? I guess they certainly could not say to a waitlisted family: "hmmm, let's see your daughter is caucasian with a summer birthday so we will call you if the other caucasian girl with a summer birthday declines.." WOW

Yes, they really do balance gender, ethnicity, perhaps not as much on birthdays, but yes. And many of the schools have sufficient applications to do this.