How do Admissions evaluate applications

[Anonymous]

I am genuinely curious. With so many applicants per place, how does the admissions team review and decide on who to admit? I am sure there is variation from school to school. One school we are looking at doesn't even require essays, it's just transcripts and teacher references and a short 15 minute talk with the applicant as part of the shadow day. And this is probably the most sought after school we are applying to, so I am wondering how the heck do they know who to admit over others. Other schools do have essays and student / parent interviews, which is expected, but even then they are probably looking at multiple applications per spot. Doesn't it get overwhelming to remember who is who? How do they decide?

[Anonymous]

Anyone who knows the answer isn't posting it here. Anyone who answers here is just guessing.

[Anonymous]

What grades are you looking into? Admissions criteria varies tremendously between K and 9th grade for example

[Anonymous]

Kindergarten

[Anonymous]

OP. We are applying to 9th. A poster on another thread commented that she read essays for admissions. I am not looking for excuses to hate the process, but just genuinely curious how the achools make their decisions. Is it a case of we have 30 available spots but 5 set aside for legacies, 5 for siblings, etc and put applicants in their respective piles and evaluate separately against the rest of the pile rather than the entire pool. Do they look at teacher feedback from shadow days? Or it really is all over the place?

[Anonymous]

I used to assist with admissions at a local K-8. You’d be surprised how many kids are a “no” after their shadow day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I used to assist with admissions at a local K-8. You’d be surprised how many kids are a “no” after their shadow day.

Was it because of behavior or attitudes? Or just a general "not good enough" even if nice and well behaved?

[Anonymous]

There are two different and parallel admissions processes. Just be clear with bucket you are in and play your cards accordingly. If you have to ask these questions, you are probably in the general, unhooked bucket. In that bucket, grades, test scores, recommendations, and support from your sending school matter. You are competing with other people in this bucket. Nothing about your kid will move him or her into the bucket for people with connections. They have to compete against each other on different grounds.

[Anonymous]

Op if you are coming from a private k-8, most HOS and/or another representative will meet with the schools where your DC is applying (after having worked with you to determine a list of possible schools). They will be able to give the school a sense of what your child and your family would bring to the school. They can also say that this school is the family’s number one choice if you’ve told them that. Obviously the other data points matter, but IMO this is a very important part of the process.

If you are coming from public, you will be evaluated on the basis of your application and any interactions you have directly with the school.

If you have connections to the school, your application will be weighed against others with connections. Schools handle this differently, but most give preference to siblings, legacies, and, of course, famous or big donors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I used to assist with admissions at a local K-8. You’d be surprised how many kids are a “no” after their shadow day.

Me too. You’d be surprised how many great kids are a “no” because of their parents.

[Anonymous]

Having been through this process before and have numerous friends who’ve been through it as well, kindergarten admissions at competitive privates boils down to 2 things:

- how well connected and wealthy is your family
- how well behaved your child is during the play date.

Private schools don’t have the resources to deal with kids who are too far out on the edges of the bell shaped curve.
I remember that at the time my son was applying for kindergarten many years ago , some schools still required the WPSSI Test ( some sort of an IQ test) , I was naive enough to think that with his 99.8 percentile score, he’d be a shoe in anywhere. It was actually more of a negative than a positive. Because he was very smart, he was also very inquisitive and must have driven the teachers crazy asking questions during the play date. One admissions officer even told me that’s the reason he was waitlisted !

He ended up at a very good private ( not Big 3/5) and is thriving at an Ivy now. All goes to say that if your child doesn’t get into a top school in kindergarten, it’s not the end of the world.
Best of luck to you!

[Anonymous]

Admissions officer in my southern city explained to us that for kindergarten they first determine who is 'admissible'. Then from this group the first take all of the 'admissible' siblings, followed by all of the 'admissible' legacies, followed by the faculty kids, and then they need to round out the class with some diversity, and after that there just aren't many spots in today's climate. Another parent said that a handful of the siblings/legacies are counseled out after 1st grade to the local school that has programs for 'learning differences' so the criteria for 'admissible' is pretty generous for those tranches.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Admissions officer in my southern city explained to us that for kindergarten they first determine who is 'admissible'. Then from this group the first take all of the 'admissible' siblings, followed by all of the 'admissible' legacies, followed by the faculty kids, and then they need to round out the class with some diversity, and after that there just aren't many spots in today's climate. Another parent said that a handful of the siblings/legacies are counseled out after 1st grade to the local school that has programs for 'learning differences' so the criteria for 'admissible' is pretty generous for those tranches.

This is how it’s done

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I used to assist with admissions at a local K-8. You’d be surprised how many kids are a “no” after their shadow day.

Can you elaborate? Because they are badly behaved? What about an introvert and shy kid?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Admissions officer in my southern city explained to us that for kindergarten they first determine who is 'admissible'. Then from this group the first take all of the 'admissible' siblings, followed by all of the 'admissible' legacies, followed by the faculty kids, and then they need to round out the class with some diversity, and after that there just aren't many spots in today's climate. Another parent said that a handful of the siblings/legacies are counseled out after 1st grade to the local school that has programs for 'learning differences' so the criteria for 'admissible' is pretty generous for those tranches.

That means, Rich Full Pay parents who have knowledge about the system has the huge advantage than the people who started thinking of privates in any later grade than PreK? That is super unfair.