How much do admitted family events sway your decision?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, we were probably at the same event. I agree, it was underwhelming. But I know enough about the school that it hasn't affected our decision to accept the spot and turn down another school (highly sought after on this board). No school is perfect. You will not get a lot of flash at this school and perhaps that's what they were trying to convey? I did think the parents and staff we talked with were nice and welcoming and that's been my overall impression of the school throughout this process. Let your kid attend a shadow day (if they haven't already) and use that experience to guide your decision. Good luck!

NP, but we may have been at the same event. I was also underwhelmed, especially after comparing it to two other schools. But I appreciate they weren't trying to win me over with swag and photo opps. My kid had a great time and said they were able to connect with both current students and new admits. It was very informal, but of the three events I attended it did give the most opportunity to talk to current teachers and families, which is important. DC was sold at the end of it and asked me this morning if I had let the school know yet.

[Anonymous]

Last year we were really torn between WIS and another school and the admitted students event was helpful in us turning down WIS. The event was awesome but it was by talking to other parents about their investment in bilingual education that we realized it wasn’t the same priority for us. The event itself was wonderful and this isn’t a knock on the school, the event helped us realize that we weren’t a good fit. Very glad we went and talked to more people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, we were probably at the same event. I agree, it was underwhelming. But I know enough about the school that it hasn't affected our decision to accept the spot and turn down another school (highly sought after on this board). No school is perfect. You will not get a lot of flash at this school and perhaps that's what they were trying to convey? I did think the parents and staff we talked with were nice and welcoming and that's been my overall impression of the school throughout this process. Let your kid attend a shadow day (if they haven't already) and use that experience to guide your decision. Good luck!

NP, but we may have been at the same event. I was also underwhelmed, especially after comparing it to two other schools. But I appreciate they weren't trying to win me over with swag and photo opps. My kid had a great time and said they were able to connect with both current students and new admits. It was very informal, but of the three events I attended it did give the most opportunity to talk to current teachers and families, which is important. DC was sold at the end of it and asked me this morning if I had let the school know yet.

Sounds like the same event, yes. Felt like they had never done this before and that very little thought had gone into it (like, maybe speakers should introduce who they are?) Maybe it was just a misstep, but it raised concerns.

Kid shadow is most important, but it made me sad to leave with more concerns than I arrived with.

[Anonymous]

Didn't sway our opinion either way. But it was nice in that there was more opportunity to interact with actual teachers in their classrooms and to get a feel for other families who all seemed surprisingly open about which way they were leaning, etc.

Kid event was separate; my son didn't like how it was organized. The shadow day sold him, however, because he met kids his age, interacted with teachers, and felt he got a real feel for the school.

[Anonymous]

Not really, but I found it incredibly helpful to talk with current parents that the admissions team put me in touch with. Obviously, they aren't going to connect me with families who are disgruntled, but the people we spoke with came across as honest and gave us a better sense of the school, some things to get excited about and some things they wish were different. One school was very proactive about connect us with families, the other school needed a bit of prodding. Ultimately we chose the school where we spoke to multiple parents because we felt we had a better sense of who went there. We've been very happy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Accepted students events are great opportunities to talk to current parents. While the school is not likely to have families there that are disgruntled (and those families would likely not volunteer), as a parent who does volunteer - I try to be very honest. I think it's really important that parents know what they are getting into and determine that their values are in alignment with the school. Nobody wants a situation where a parent feels baited and switched.

When I was doing second visits a year ago, the Bullis show was extremely off putting to me. But there are some people who loved it. And I love that for them. The school is going to speak to their people - we were just not their people.

Could you please explain why? Thank you.

Maybe a different poster but we were really put off by the remarks by the Head of School. He seemed like it was all about him. We are looking for a school that is confident in what it offers. A too hard sell is just off putting. It feels like a car salesman.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Accepted students events are great opportunities to talk to current parents. While the school is not likely to have families there that are disgruntled (and those families would likely not volunteer), as a parent who does volunteer - I try to be very honest. I think it's really important that parents know what they are getting into and determine that their values are in alignment with the school. Nobody wants a situation where a parent feels baited and switched.

When I was doing second visits a year ago, the Bullis show was extremely off putting to me. But there are some people who loved it. And I love that for them. The school is going to speak to their people - we were just not their people.

Could you please explain why? Thank you.

Maybe a different poster but we were really put off by the remarks by the Head of School. He seemed like it was all about him. We are looking for a school that is confident in what it offers. A too hard sell is just off putting. It feels like a car salesman.

Huh. My husband, daughter, and I attended last night and we didn't feel like that at all. It seemed it was all about the kids and the teachers? And academics while not burning the kids out. You're certainly entitled to your opinion, but that's not how we felt. We also spoke with the Head of school briefly at the reception, and he seemed very approachable and open, asked our daughter some nice questions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Accepted students events are great opportunities to talk to current parents. While the school is not likely to have families there that are disgruntled (and those families would likely not volunteer), as a parent who does volunteer - I try to be very honest. I think it's really important that parents know what they are getting into and determine that their values are in alignment with the school. Nobody wants a situation where a parent feels baited and switched.

When I was doing second visits a year ago, the Bullis show was extremely off putting to me. But there are some people who loved it. And I love that for them. The school is going to speak to their people - we were just not their people.

Could you please explain why? Thank you.

Maybe a different poster but we were really put off by the remarks by the Head of School. He seemed like it was all about him. We are looking for a school that is confident in what it offers. A too hard sell is just off putting. It feels like a car salesman.

What did he say?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We've been to one so far for K. It made me do a 180 in my thinking so we'll see how the next one balances

In which direction?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Accepted students events are great opportunities to talk to current parents. While the school is not likely to have families there that are disgruntled (and those families would likely not volunteer), as a parent who does volunteer - I try to be very honest. I think it's really important that parents know what they are getting into and determine that their values are in alignment with the school. Nobody wants a situation where a parent feels baited and switched.

When I was doing second visits a year ago, the Bullis show was extremely off putting to me. But there are some people who loved it. And I love that for them. The school is going to speak to their people - we were just not their people.

You seem nice, and cool, and I like you! (Signed, someone who did like the Bullis show but love that people can just disagree like normal humans and realize we can all find our own paths for our families without judging!)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We've been to one so far for K. It made me do a 180 in my thinking so we'll see how the next one balances

Which one (School's) admitted night did you attend that made you do a 180?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I find it hard to separate the marketing and sales pitch of some places from the actual education and school environment. It provides a glimpse but is a packaged version of things.

For some perspective - we applied to schools for our younger child this year and whenever we went to the school our older child attends, it was eye opening to see the presentations of the school and how different they were to our experience there as parents/child.

Be sure to reach out to others in the community and ask questions. Ask questions that pertain to your child and factors that are important to you. Try to find people you know and who know you and who will be honest. That's not always possible though.

Also, I know there is a lot of back and for on DCUM from parents complaining or pushing back on complaints....and it can get out of hand. But some of these voices have truth so when you talk to people be sure to consider the DCUM aired dirty laundry and how it might affect your child. Then find a tactful way to ask about relevant items with the people you speak with.

Example - we saw something here about a school's plans for future on topic X. It seemed strange to me that it was never being mentioned at the school events, it seemed too big to hide. So, I pulled aside a person from the school at an admitted student event and asked a broad question on that topic. It turned out to be that the topic was tangentially true - but not at all in the way it was presented here. But I got my answer and feel more comfortable now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not a lot. What sways my opinion is the shadow day and talking to current parents.

These are far more valuable data points....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We were torn between two schools last year and the admitted student/family events gave us more opportunities to talk to parents, students, and staff to help us make that decision.

My favorite anecdote is actually that friends of ours were really split between two different schools. Mom leaned one way, Dad leaned the other, and kid wasn’t sure and had friends going to both. We were at a parent get-together and one mom introduced herself to me and then said she had two children at two different school—and they happened to be the exact schools my friend’s family was torn between. I introduced them and they had a great conversation about both schools. Even though we were at an event for just one of them, the mom didn’t have a bias toward either school and was a great resource for my friend.

That’s just one example, but yeah, we found the events helpful.

This is how it should work...nice example.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, we were probably at the same event. I agree, it was underwhelming. But I know enough about the school that it hasn't affected our decision to accept the spot and turn down another school (highly sought after on this board). No school is perfect. You will not get a lot of flash at this school and perhaps that's what they were trying to convey? I did think the parents and staff we talked with were nice and welcoming and that's been my overall impression of the school throughout this process. Let your kid attend a shadow day (if they haven't already) and use that experience to guide your decision. Good luck!

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