Looking for input from parents who enrolled in a school that was not first choice

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To those whose DC did not get into their first or second choice but you went ahead with the school your DC did get into how did it work out? Were you happier than you expected with that school? Did it work out well and your DC thrived there for several years? Or did it never really work out? Did you reapply again to the desired school(s)?

I am mostly asking this of parents with young, but not very young, DCs... Asking about situations with kids in 3-7th grades. Ages where the parents are more/completely responsible for the school selection as opposed to high school when the DCs is vested and involved in the process.

It worked out great, we were happier than expected, yes DC thrived, no we never felt a desire to reapply.

In fact so much so that we have practically forgotten that the current school wasn't our first choice all along.

We actually found that we were happier than parents whose kids got into the most selective schools. It's like anything else, how the service provider treats you is largely a product of how much they value you. Many of the top schools know that they can instantly replace any kid who leaves, so they aren't as determined to give your child a great learning experience as some of the other schools are.

If you find a good school that appreciates what your child brings to the table, that's gold. You might decide it was a blessing in disguise not to get in to your first choice. We did.

ITA. Seeing this even in the acceptance process. Accepted by 2nd and 3rd choice. 3rd really appears to want DC as opposed to 2nd which is a big 3.

Just a quick second on this. We experienced the same thing with our first choice and our second choice. Second choice was so excited about our child, went out of their way to call, connect us with other parents etc. Have to admit it turned our heads and we ended up going with her second choice.

[Anonymous]

Our first choice was Beauvoir, but DC was wait listed there, so we accepted at St. Patricks, which was our second choice. Long story short, St. Pats was a disappointment on every front, and ended up applying DC #2 to Beauvoir, who was accepted. Beauvoir has been absolutely outstanding and has superseded our expectations at every level. I only wish DC #1 had been accepted at Beauvoir the first time so we could have spared DC the St. Pats experience.

[Anonymous]

Even if you get into your first choice, you can find that its not the right choice. You don't know till you get there.

[Anonymous]

19:18. What was it about St. Pats that made you unhappy? Similarly, what made Beauvoir great? Genuinely interested...

[Anonymous]

Accepted a few years ago at 2nd choice. Very happy, especially when we compare it to the only true alternative we had - public. Count your blessings if you were lucky enough to get your child into a great school.