Just realized how competitive this process is...

[Anonymous]

I had talked to people at work about where their kids go to school and they all made it sound like they chose their kids' schools. So we checked out a few websites, picked a few schools, went to open houses (did notice some up tight people there but dismissed it as an after-work-needed-to-leave-work-early-get-home-before-baby-sitter-has-to-leave angst that we were feeling), applied to just 3 schools... which I now realise are extremely competitive, spent a long time deciding which one DD would go to, even fought over it.. hilarious now that I know better.

It really is too late to try to get more applications in... we haven't even done the playdates for those 3 schools yet!

What made us realize was that we went to the pre-visit at one of the schools and it was crammed! Then one colleague who went to Harvard, she is married to another Harvard and their 99% child did not get in to our preferred school. Kid is a great kid, shy but really a sweetie! Also just talked to a colleague who was talking about 'safety' schools. He applied to EIGHT for his kid.

I feel like I have let my kid down. (We are in-bounds for a pretty awful school... I guess we are moving).

[Anonymous]

There are people on here that only applied to one school and got in so you never know. Maybe you being somewhat naive to the whole process will help. It really is competitive but in what way nobody really knows because nobody knows how much weight is given to the different factors (WPPSI, References, PlayDate, etc). I would definelty go to the playdates, take the WPPSI and see what happens. We are all going through the same thing and that is why we are writing and looking at anonymous boards for advice, etc.

[Anonymous]

Yes, it has really gotten bad in the last few years, as more people with kids stay in DC. I've lived in DC 30 years, and it used to be that a lot of private schools now considered "elite" were for kids who had gotten kicked out their public school! Don't stress about it too much, your child may get in, and if he/she doesn't, there are other options --charters, out-of-boundary, less well-known schools that may accept later. You'll be OK.

[Anonymous]

This post gives me a real chuckle ... we were so like OP. We happened upon a school we really liked and so applied there and no where else ... imagine! I think just maybe our sincere interest in the one school and our sort of naivete during the admissions process might have helped us. Thankfully I only discovered DCUM a year later and boy was I shocked!

[Anonymous]

Wish I never came across DCUM because it makes me feel like we don't have a chance to get in anywhere but the local public school which in our case is SCARY because it is one of the worst in DC. Although I do check this site constantly while at work in the hopes that someone will say, hey my kid who had average WPPSI and no connections and no minority status just your average white kid got in to a great school". Never happens though.

[Anonymous]

9:00 to 11:43:

That is EXACTLY what happened to us. Keep the faith!

[Anonymous]

You, OP, may never recover from the terrible mothering (hah!), but I guarantee that your child will be FINE. Seriously, don't believe the hype.