Wait list for Latin Cooper & 2nd Street-- what should we expect?

[melizabethj]

For those with a rising 5th grader waitlisted at Cooper and 2nd Street Latin Campuses, what should we expect with movement on the waitlist this year? Last year, Cooper accepted 41 off the waitlist, but each year the number of kids accepted off Cooper waitlist dropped by 10 (i.e. in 2023 they accepted 51, 2022 it was 61). Is that because of the temporary building? Would folks expect more families to accept a Cooper offer this year now that they are moving to a new building? What kind of waitlist numbers do you think would be promising? And for 2nd street, does anyone have a sense for why last year a larger number (36) came off waitlist vs previous years?

[Anonymous]

I don't have special insight to offer but, pretty clearly, unless your WL numbers are less than about #30 for Latin Cooper and 15 for Latin 2nd St, I wouldn't get my hopes up, OP.

I'd make a Plan B you can live with that doesn't involve either Latin.

[Anonymous]

I would expect Cooper to make fewer offers. The program is more established and there will be a nice new building. People at DCI feeders are less likely to give up seats because there are not enough seats for feeder schools. A handful of kids at our DCI feeder got seats and they are all taking them. Last year, a few turned down Latin seats because they were confident about DCI.

[Anonymous]

The other reason Cooper is making fewer offers is because there are siblings eligible for lots of the seats now and that was not a thing in the first 1-2 years.

[melizabethj]

Thanks! We are high 20s. Grateful for all of the super helpful feedback.

[Anonymous]

melizabethj wrote:Thanks! We are high 20s. Grateful for all of the super helpful feedback.

I think you definitely have a shot!

[Anonymous]

I think the Latins are going to be hard this year.

[Anonymous]

I think you have a better shot at 2nd street than Cooper.

[Anonymous]

I think it's pretty likely you'll still be on the waitlist when the school year begins, so you'll want to decide whether you're willing to move in case you get offered a spot in September.

[Anonymous]

It's always worth checking whether they offered the same number in the lottery in the years you are comparing. Some schools have increased the initial acceptance to account for ones that backout. That reduces the number that come off the waitlist later.

I don't think anyone knows yet whether the layoffs (and possibly the DC funding situation) are going to make this years movement different.

[Anonymous]

The number of lottery seats for the general population has shrunk substantially in the last couple years because Latin offers a lot of equitable access seats. About one quarter of its slots are now for equitable access.