Notification vent

[Anonymous]

OP, sometimes things get delayed because of school closures, someone on the committee gets sick, or other various snafus that can potentially slow things down. Rather than come out and say, "You will be notified on March 1st" and then at the last minute not be able to do so, it's easier for schools to plan internally that they will notify on March 1, but tell applicants "early March". KWIM?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Two of our schools say by "Mid March" -- I wonder if that is in case an accepted child does not accept them back, they can quickly send out an acceptance letter to the next child on the list? Or is that never the way it works? We had two schools clearly tell us March 2 and March 7 via mail - which I appreciated.

Nope. It never works that way.

[Anonymous]

I would guess many schools will notify on Thursday or Friday (2/26/27) based upon previous years. The 1st is a Sunday.

[Anonymous]

Last year, the last week of February, Maret emailed and said that they would email a decision on March 1, which was a Saturday. That Saturday morning, pretty early, we had the notification in our inbox.

[Anonymous]

Personally I would prefer to get the notification via traditional US mail. Nothing like opening the mailbox, staring at the envelope, then opening it with anticipation. Email doesn't have quite the same romantic appeal.

[Anonymous]

Don't expect anything in Feb unless your school states that. Most schools agree on a notification date and that's March 1. Or March 2 which is the first business day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Given how stressful the notification process is, why can't each school clearly explain when and how they are planning to notify folks with admissions decisions. How hard is it to put a note on the admissions page of the website saying "Thank you for applying to Big 3. We plan to notify applicants by email on March 1st and mail admissions decision on March 2nd" Or send an email after an application is complete with this same information. At this point in the process the schools should know how and when they will notify and no parent wants to pester them with calls about it.

BOY, entitled a bit aren't we AND your DC has not even been accepted yet.

Here is a healthy bit of advice that I bet you ar not accustomed to getting ( I'll bill you):

A school's purpose is the educate your child along with other children as part of a community.

That school's purpose is NOT to cater to your unbalanced emotional state, neediness or sense of entitlement.

If you hope for DC to be admitted , get that into your head.

It is NOT about you . Not today, not from now until end of admissions process and NOT after they are admitted.

[Anonymous]

OP, why would you call? Why would you "pester"them with calls? They will notify you when they notify you. Calling doesn't change that, it just makes you a PITA. Trust me, you aren't going to miss the letter (or email). You don;t need to know the exact moment when it arrives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here again. I just think the schools could make a stressful process a bit less stressful by clearly communicating this information to applicants. Sidwell and St. Albans seem to do a great job of it. For the rest of the schools it is a bit of a treasure hunt to find the information and is a bit vague.

You may not have the stamina to be a private school parent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - but none of those sites say whether they will also send an email. Why?

" hard copy Letter" translation: USPS, not email.

You seem to be telling the school that they SHOULD be sending decision letters via email and the reason?

Because then you would not have to manage as much patience.

That you presume to tell the school how the might "improve" their notice system to suit your needs ( while not even having been admitted) should be a red flag to them

Hopefully you waved it in the parent interview as well

[Anonymous]

Op here - maybe I'm mistaken, but I always took the word vent to mean an expression of frustration over something you can't do anything about. I'm certainly not trying to tell the schools how they should of anything, rather airing my frustration about why they don't just say when and how they will notify.

[Anonymous]

I think people are aware of what the OP was trying to say and can sympathize. There appears to be just one unpleasant respondent who is trying to stir the pot. It is a frustrating time for everyone -- both parents and admissions officers as well most likely.