Brearley K interview

[Anonymous]

Dear parents,

Has anyone had their Brearley interview for K yet? Who did you interview with and what kind of questions were asked? Would greatly appreciate it if you could share your experiences. Brearley has a new admission director this year. She used to be the admission director for middle and high school only.

Thank you so much!

A nervous mom

[Anonymous]

I can't speak to the K interview process specifically, but we interviewed with the new admissions director last year when she was still the middle/high school admissions director and she was lovely - probably the nicest interviewer we encountered across 9 different schools.

As I recall the interview itself was relatively open-ended - more of a wide-ranging conversation than a List Of Things To Fill Out On My Little Form - but obviously there's no reason to assume that the K one would be similar.

[Anonymous]

The situation is too competitive for a current applicant parent to respond.

[Anonymous]

Try Facebook Groups or Reddit where you can private message.

This forum is too open for someone to be comfortable to answer these questions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The situation is too competitive for a current applicant parent to respond.

That’s crazy. Makes sense why I’ve gotten little response when asking these type of questions. Same is true for Facebook and Reddit actually.

[Anonymous]

Why would anyone want your daughter to have an advantage over theirs by giving you the questions?? It is an absurd thing to ask.

[Anonymous]

My take on admissions advice is that anybody I'm sharing it with - even on an anonymous public forum - is more likely to be someone I'd get along with than a randomly selected applicant; I'm pretty sure that the average DCUM reader is both smarter and less wealthy than the average Brearley parent.

Hell, even the crazy ladies on Upper East Side Moms do at least live on the Upper East Side, and all other things being equal I'd probably rather have one of their kids as my kid's classmate than the child of an equally crazy lady from Westchester or New Jersey.

But basically I think it's a case of solidarity rather than competition; there's more than one spot and I'd rather your kid get it than someone else's, whether "you" are a friend or preschool classmate or even just a random forum reader who read my dumb post.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My take on admissions advice is that anybody I'm sharing it with - even on an anonymous public forum - is more likely to be someone I'd get along with than a randomly selected applicant; I'm pretty sure that the average DCUM reader is both smarter and less wealthy than the average Brearley parent.

Hell, even the crazy ladies on Upper East Side Moms do at least live on the Upper East Side, and all other things being equal I'd probably rather have one of their kids as my kid's classmate than the child of an equally crazy lady from Westchester or New Jersey.

But basically I think it's a case of solidarity rather than competition; there's more than one spot and I'd rather your kid get it than someone else's, whether "you" are a friend or preschool classmate or even just a random forum reader who read my dumb post.

Every once in a while on here I notice a nice person who shares my line of thinking.

Hi!

I, however, am not in NYC, and my kids are older teens.

My mom is an Ivy-educated early childhood development specialist and I was an artisanally-raised child. Although I only went to "good publics". I'm fascinated by the cultural weirdness of evaluating 5 year olds for elite kindergarten.

Best of luck to you all. I sincerely mean that. But don't be too sharp-elbowed. Your kids learn pro-social values from you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
But basically I think it's a case of solidarity rather than competition; there's more than one spot and I'd rather your kid get it than someone else's, whether "you" are a friend or preschool classmate or even just a random forum reader who read my dumb post.

In my opinion, the best person to ask is the nannies at your preschool (aware enough to know what is going on while being less emotionally invested in the outcome).

We decided early on not to pursue TT private school for K, otherwise we would have done TT preschool, Little Learning, mock interviews, and hired a consultant. I don't believe there is a specific set of interview questions but rather a broad set of skills and readiness.

[Anonymous]

Having been through this process in a past year, it's somewhat a black box process but usually includes some activity that may include writing their name, interaction with adults and other kids, "questions" featured at some schools but not so much at others. I think schools are looking for fit more than trying to rank the kids. Everyone wants the same thing - for the kids to end up at a school where they are happy and thrive. I know kids who "did badly" (separation issues/crying) who still got in, and kids who did well at top tier schools and didn't get great feedback from less competitive schools. I would say to trust your preschool and the process. 4 year olds are not cool actors - arming them with inside info is just as likely to backfire as give them an advantage.

[Anonymous]

Brearley has changed focus in the past five years and has had a lot of staff and faculty and admin turnover. It used to be a one woman shop in admissions, but she and her long term assistant left during admin turnover last year. It no longer is a traditional liberal arts curriculum and is one of the few schools that hasn’t walked back from 2020 but has instead dug down into reading articles instead of books, filling out worksheets about feelings, etc. The new head comes very much from this world, so just be aware and read the actual curriculum instead of listening to what the old guard says about itself. I will be glad when my daughter graduates in a year or two that we got out now. Have not been happy with the direction of the school — most parents aren’t either but no one says anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Brearley has changed focus in the past five years and has had a lot of staff and faculty and admin turnover. It used to be a one woman shop in admissions, but she and her long term assistant left during admin turnover last year. It no longer is a traditional liberal arts curriculum and is one of the few schools that hasn’t walked back from 2020 but has instead dug down into reading articles instead of books, filling out worksheets about feelings, etc. The new head comes very much from this world, so just be aware and read the actual curriculum instead of listening to what the old guard says about itself. I will be glad when my daughter graduates in a year or two that we got out now. Have not been happy with the direction of the school — most parents aren’t either but no one says anything.

Now this is super helpful information. Thank you B mom!
How's your DD's mental health? I've just heard horror stories about the stress and depression, but not sure the veracity

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
But basically I think it's a case of solidarity rather than competition; there's more than one spot and I'd rather your kid get it than someone else's, whether "you" are a friend or preschool classmate or even just a random forum reader who read my dumb post.

In my opinion, the best person to ask is the nannies at your preschool (aware enough to know what is going on while being less emotionally invested in the outcome).

We decided early on not to pursue TT private school for K, otherwise we would have done TT preschool, Little Learning, mock interviews, and hired a consultant. I don't believe there is a specific set of interview questions but rather a broad set of skills and readiness.

What does Little Learning do that isn't taught in a TT preschool? I follow them on facebook, but it just seems like the kids are tracing letters and making premade artwork. Just trying to learn more for my preschool kiddo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Brearley has changed focus in the past five years and has had a lot of staff and faculty and admin turnover. It used to be a one woman shop in admissions, but she and her long term assistant left during admin turnover last year. It no longer is a traditional liberal arts curriculum and is one of the few schools that hasn’t walked back from 2020 but has instead dug down into reading articles instead of books, filling out worksheets about feelings, etc. The new head comes very much from this world, so just be aware and read the actual curriculum instead of listening to what the old guard says about itself. I will be glad when my daughter graduates in a year or two that we got out now. Have not been happy with the direction of the school — most parents aren’t either but no one says anything.

Why did the long-standing admissions head leave?

[Anonymous]

Dont think she left, just a different role.