Creative Play School Keeping Application Deposit

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That’s crappy. They need to ask people up front about birthdays when they first inquire and explain their system before cashing checks. $250 is a lot to spend if you don’t have a prayer of getting a spot.

I feel your pain. Another Alexandria preschool gave me a slot in a class and told me it would be no problem to move to my first choice, they just had to shift some things around. The other class time was less convenient. They ended up not letting us move and kept my $150. We went elsewhere. What a racket—these things are a moneymaker.

Yes it was expensive but I was desperate to get her enrolled. We did this last summer so I felt the timing was fine (14 months). $250 was a lot but it was the right school for us. A new school opened down the street and we signed up, so depending on the price I would probably not enroll her anyways, but it felt like they took my money without being upfront.

Did you ask them when you enrolled how they selected students? It seems odd that you just assumed it worked one way, and didn't actually ask.

[Anonymous]

They owe you the money. If you don’t get in they have to give it back.

They can only keep it if they offer you a spot and you turn it down.

By the way that place isn’t that great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They owe you the money. If you don’t get in they have to give it back.

They can only keep it if they offer you a spot and you turn it down.

By the way that place isn’t that great.

Based on what? Waitlist fees are generally nonrefundable, and it all depends on the specific contract language which OP hasn't shared.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They owe you the money. If you don’t get in they have to give it back.

They can only keep it if they offer you a spot and you turn it down.

By the way that place isn’t that great.

This has not been the case anywhere we got on the waitlist for - both daycares and preschools.

OP - can you explain the priority thing, please? Is it what PP said?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They owe you the money. If you don’t get in they have to give it back.

They can only keep it if they offer you a spot and you turn it down.

By the way that place isn’t that great.

[Anonymous]

I avoided Del Ray daycares solely based on bad online reviews. I'm sure they would refund your money if you told them you were going to add a new poor review.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand what you mean by "wouldn't be given priority." What priority did you expect to get?

OP here. I expected my turn would be based on when I submitted my application, not when DD birthday is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That’s crappy. They need to ask people up front about birthdays when they first inquire and explain their system before cashing checks. $250 is a lot to spend if you don’t have a prayer of getting a spot.

I feel your pain. Another Alexandria preschool gave me a slot in a class and told me it would be no problem to move to my first choice, they just had to shift some things around. The other class time was less convenient. They ended up not letting us move and kept my $150. We went elsewhere. What a racket—these things are a moneymaker.

Yes it was expensive but I was desperate to get her enrolled. We did this last summer so I felt the timing was fine (14 months). $250 was a lot but it was the right school for us. A new school opened down the street and we signed up, so depending on the price I would probably not enroll her anyways, but it felt like they took my money without being upfront.

Did you ask them when you enrolled how they selected students? It seems odd that you just assumed it worked one way, and didn't actually ask.

Yes she only mentioned that she likes to keep the boy and girl ratio the same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Give the school a bad review.

I think she just did.

Seriously, it's a smaller town than you think and keeping my money and not being transparent upfront will do more harm than good and cost you way more than 250$ in the end.

Post this on the local listserves too. That was very deceitful to take your money without informing you that you were low priority.

[Anonymous]

Daycares never go strictly by order of application for their waitlist because students are generally sorted into classes based on age, and so a two-year-old leaving the school doesn't make room for a four-year-old at the top of the waitlist. If, when you first submitted an application, she qualified for a lower-age class and then, while on the waitlist, she aged out of that class into the next class up, it would be standard for her to be placed at the end of that waitlist rather than her leapfrogging kids who have been on it longer, even if she was higher up on the old waitlist than on the new one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Give the school a bad review.

I think she just did.

Seriously, it's a smaller town than you think and keeping my money and not being transparent upfront will do more harm than good and cost you way more than 250$ in the end.

I a man sure she is quaking in her boots about your threat.

[Anonymous]

It might have been your unwillingness to start until September (which I could understand being related to her age) that hurt you more than her age itself. If you put in an application last year but wouldn't take a spot before September, they probably put everyone who submitted applications after yours but who was willing to take openings that came up before September ahead of you so they could pull from an active pool for any openings that came up earlier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Daycares never go strictly by order of application for their waitlist because students are generally sorted into classes based on age, and so a two-year-old leaving the school doesn't make room for a four-year-old at the top of the waitlist. If, when you first submitted an application, she qualified for a lower-age class and then, while on the waitlist, she aged out of that class into the next class up, it would be standard for her to be placed at the end of that waitlist rather than her leapfrogging kids who have been on it longer, even if she was higher up on the old waitlist than on the new one.

The school starts at 2. If I had known she would have been on lower priority, I would have put my name on other waitlists.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Give the school a bad review.

I think she just did.

Seriously, it's a smaller town than you think and keeping my money and not being transparent upfront will do more harm than good and cost you way more than 250$ in the end.

I a man sure she is quaking in her boots about your threat.

I have a lot of friends and word travels fast