More non-sibling slots in pre-K or K?

[Anonymous]

In a typical year at the leading DC private schools (not necessarily just Beauvoir, Sidwell, GDS)?

[Anonymous]

I am not a school AD, so this input is just hearsay, but I have been told that there are more non-sibling slots in pre-K than K. People with sibling preference know that they can save one year of outrageous tuition and still have excellent chance to go to school of choice (assuming they want all their kids at the same school). K is the year when the actual academic program of the school starts, so their child won't be left behind the others if they attend pre-K elsewhere, so long as they are getting proper socialization opportunities, learning the alphabet and basic letter sounds, can count to at least 10, and are potty trained! So all else equal, pre-K admission is "easier" at the good schools than K.

The other thing to remember is that even though there are more slots available at K (usually), most of those pre-k kids move up to fill half the K slots, then the sibling preferences take a big chunk of slots, and not too many remain for new applicants.

So if there is ONE school that you have your heart set on, I recommend you apply for pre-k. If you don't get in, you will get a second chance to apply for K. But the best advice I ever got regarding private school is to NOT set your heart on just one school, because that makes a stressful application season completely INSANE!!