What if I don't go to the Open Houses?

[Anonymous]

So at the last minute I have decided to apply for admission to Kindergarten at some private schools in the area. We took the admission test a week or so ago and now I am filling out the applications. I am not all that vested in the process - meaning I will not need to post here to lament the way my child did or did not "perform" at the playdate, etc - and to be quite frank I have no desire to go to the Open Houses as we have tons of other stuff going on weekends and I don't have the time right now to take off of work. How bad is it not to attend these Open Houses? (I realize the Playdates are required.)

[Anonymous]

Open houses are optional. All schools require you to interview or tour or both as part of the application process. If you interview without the tour and the AD asks why you like the school you might find it hard to talk about the school in a concrete way. I'm not aware of any school that will just let you apply + playdate.

At Maret that was literally a line to shake hands and exchange pleasantries with the AD last year.

[Anonymous]

Beauvoir and Sidwell didn't have interviews back when we applied. We didn't go to open houses and our DC did just fine in the process. I think open houses are boring and you can get the info you need by doing a tour.

[Anonymous]

You need to tour before applying to Beauvoir (first come first served, unless you are very wealthy then suddently you get a call there is an opening - true story (later accepted and enrolled))

Sidwell will allow you to apply without attending an information session or getting an interview (first come first served).

[Anonymous]

Ok, thanks. I didn't realize we had to do a tour so I am going to have to go back and look at the schools and find out more info on that. The websites do a good job of covering the philosophies of the school and the school's virtues so I feel confident I could wing my way through a talk with an admissions director.

[Anonymous]

It's important to be there in person and walk around to experience the feel of the place. They can feel very different. Believe me, I've been to 10 open houses/tours.

If you're not really committed to the process, why are you doing it in the first place?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You need to tour before applying to Beauvoir (first come first served, unless you are very wealthy then suddently you get a call there is an opening - true story (later accepted and enrolled))

Sidwell will allow you to apply without attending an information session or getting an interview (first come first served).

So the interview is not required for Sidwell (kindergarten)? I thought it was a mandatory part of the process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you're not really committed to the process, why are you doing it in the first place?

You are misunderstanding. I am not as vested in this whole process as other parents. I found some schools that I thought offered some good programs and had good ratios so decided we might as well as good ahead and apply and see what happens; however, if it doesn't work out, I am ok with that and I do not think public school is a bad option.

[Anonymous]

You will be fine, I think they can be a waste of time. We did not do the open house for either of our schools. After the play date for the first school, the admissions director asked us to come in for a visit. She gave us a tour and then we sat down and I think she wanted to know how serious we were about the school. By that time we knew it was our first choice so we were able to convey that.

[Anonymous]

Some of them make you sign in. Which I suppose they wouldn't do unless they have some use for it. Either they are checking names off against applications, or they just want to know how many attend each session.

[Anonymous]

The definitely can be a waste of time, but I do not regret to what feels like MILLIONS of open houses b/c I rely heavily of the feeling I get from the school, not their info sheets or anything else. It is important for me to stand in some of the classrooms and "see" my kid there, and for a couple of schools, I was like "NO WAY." In that way, they are worth it, otherwise they are tedious and brain-numbing.

[Anonymous]

How much time is really spent in the classrooms on tours of these schools? Do they just take you around to different classrooms or do they let you observe? I would love to sit and observe a class or two but don't know if that is allowed. Has anyone done this?