WSJ Article on NYC preschool admissions

[Anonymous]

At least there's someone crazier than we are ....
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703786804576138623534521408.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

[Anonymous]

Another confirmation of what we've all known all along in New York as well as D.C.: entrance into prestigious, elite private primary schools is all about connections -- siblings, legacy and money donors. It's not about WPSSI, play dates and "Rhodes Scholar" well roundedness. It's ultimately about the zip code you live in!

[Anonymous]

Um, how much Rhodes Scholar well-roundedness do you expect from a 4 year old?

[Anonymous]

Not much...which is why I find it amusing that parents and families need educational consultants to advise and prepare the application to pre K and K including prepping for tests, parent interviews, play dates, preparing the application and writing parent essays. Fascinating many Rhodes Scholars don't require this much expensive assistance!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another confirmation of what we've all known all along in New York as well as D.C.: entrance into prestigious, elite private primary schools is all about connections -- siblings, legacy and money donors. It's not about WPSSI, play dates and "Rhodes Scholar" well roundedness. It's ultimately about the zip code you live in!

That's nice to say, but I don't see anything in the article suggesting those things. Moreover, I live in a pretty hum-drum zip code, and my child was admitted with no siblings, legacy, or money potential. So how does that square with your theory?

[Anonymous]

Are we talking elite and prestigious like Beauvoir, Sidwell or GDS? ... or are you a member of another less prestigious private institution?

If you are at Beauvoir, Sidwell or GDS do most of the other parents come from your "hum-drum" zip code?

[Anonymous]

Most of the people at the schools mentioned in 22:35 are regular, run-of-the-mill families and neighborhoods.

There are only a handful of super rich or "noteworthy" families enrolled.

[Anonymous]

Most of the people at the schools mentioned in 22:35 are regular, run-of-the-mill families and neighborhoods.

There are only a handful of super rich or "noteworthy" families enrolled.

You have not answered any of the above questions; simply veered to discuss "people" at the 3 schools you are not a member of. Where is the evidence or data for your assertions? Can you tell us what percentage of the entering classes are made up of siblings, legacy and money donors?

There are some area private schools with empty seats they would gladly fill with anyone off the "hum-drum" streets that will pay their fees. My remarks do not apply to such institutions.

I rest my case.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:... entrance into prestigious, elite private primary schools is all about connections -- siblings, legacy and money donors. It's not about WPSSI, play dates and "Rhodes Scholar" well roundedness. It's ultimately about the zip code you live in!

Most of the people at the schools mentioned in 22:35 are regular, run-of-the-mill families and neighborhoods. There are only a handful of super rich or "noteworthy" families enrolled.

You have not answered any of the above questions; simply veered to discuss "people" at the 3 schools you are not a member of. Where is the evidence or data for your assertions? Can you tell us what percentage of the entering classes are made up of siblings, legacy and money donors?

I'm hum-drum zip code from 22:30, but not the other poster responding to you. Yes, my children attend one of those three schools. I can't speak for other schools, but PP from 22:38 is correct that the majority of families from my children's school are similarly situated. So in my experience, your claim that admissions is "all about connections" is simply false.

[Anonymous]

DC is not NYC. Not comparable in terms of preschool admissions or much else.

[Anonymous]

I think this issue has been discussed a gazilion times here before. Of course there are "normal" families in the top schools. The difference is, they had to overcome much higher odds to get in, competing against all those other normal families. Whereas, your chance of admission (odds) is much lower if you have wealth or connections.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most of the people at the schools mentioned in 22:35 are regular, run-of-the-mill families and neighborhoods.

There are only a handful of super rich or "noteworthy" families enrolled.

But what does "regular, run-of-the-mill families" mean? From my observations, it means a wealthy NW DC neighborhood, or maybe a wealthy Bethesda neighborhood. It does not mean what the rest of the country calls "middle class," i.e. an income of around $50,000. I've also noticed that government-worker families are actually a small minority at the top schools, because 2-govt-worker families are unlikely to be able to spare $30K or $60K, and yet they won't qualify for financial aid. We're talking about fairly wealthy -- by the standards of the rest of the country -- people competing against each other for school slots.

[Anonymous]

I agree that NYC and DC are really not comparable because many of the applicants to pretigious schools in this area have good publics as a fallback, particularly those applying from MD and VA. But even in some areas of DC, the publics might not be a first choice but they are no where near as bad as inner city NYC schools. So the desperation level is different.

Nothing new in the article ... all adults know that some kids are "luckier" than others, yet plenty of kids with no connections still get accepted. This is just a crazy time of year for the folks who really, really want a particular school outcome for their kids. It is helpful for one's sanity to feel like there are other options and hopefully that is the case for most.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most of the people at the schools mentioned in 22:35 are regular, run-of-the-mill families and neighborhoods.

There are only a handful of super rich or "noteworthy" families enrolled.

But what does "regular, run-of-the-mill families" mean? From my observations, it means a wealthy NW DC neighborhood, or maybe a wealthy Bethesda neighborhood. It does not mean what the rest of the country calls "middle class," i.e. an income of around $50,000. I've also noticed that government-worker families are actually a small minority at the top schools, because 2-govt-worker families are unlikely to be able to spare $30K or $60K, and yet they won't qualify for financial aid. We're talking about fairly wealthy -- by the standards of the rest of the country -- people competing against each other for school slots.

""regular, run-of-the-mill" families in DC private schools still have incomes around 400K and 2 professional parents. We're not talking about the kids of one government lawyer. "Regular" does not mean middle class, it means not famous, not VIPs.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like the "run of the mill" millionaire Congressmen

Pre K and K admission to top D.C. schools is based on zip code, legacy, sibling, financial donors and celebraties. The rest of us (not "run of the mill" dual professional income families) compete for the few remaining seats.