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TO THE MARET ADMISSIONS OFFICE
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Anonymous
That's complete hogwash -- to reveal the secret mark, you need to hold the letter over a heat source so that the invisible ink reacts. |
Anonymous
LOL |
Anonymous
| No, no NO -- its coded. And you need to get a computer science professor from either MIT or Cal tech to interpret the code for you. Duh. |
Anonymous
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Sorry, I didn't mean to make a joke at the expense of people who are understandably taking this very serious. Just trying to get everyone to loosen up alittle. This too shall past. Just by seeing how driven some parents are tells you that the kids will do well. At the end of the day, it's how they are raised, and not the school, that is far more important.
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Anonymous
| If young children have a first choice school they are being given too much information. Knowing how many applicants these schools receive why set your child up for disappointment. They go to visit a school for a playdate or whatever but they should not be involved in the admissions process and stress of waiting to see if they get chosen. Heck they have enough stress getting picked at recess and hoping not to be last on the team. |
Anonymous
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9:39 and others: It's not whether anyone moves off the Maret waitlist, of course sometimes they do. Rather the question is why does any school pad its waitlist and reject almost no one or so few students. That's the percerption about Maret. GDS apparently does this, too.
What is the point of thais practice? If someone could explain why it makes sense to waitlist far more students than a school would ever take, we could get the reasoning. I don't follow the reasoning. 12:08 You jest, but that's precisely what people do when they get the handwritten note. They tried to read the ink blots. |
Anonymous
I have no idea whether any school oversubscribes its waitlist or gives secret clues about how high up its waitlist a student may sit. But I could imagine some school taking the view that it's really harsh to "reject" a 3-year-old, and would rather soften the blow with a WL. That may be the wimpy way out, and not the way I'd go if I were queen, but I could understand the reasoning. |
Anonymous
| I actually like being waitlisted even if it is soft rejection. We are W/L at Maret and outright rejected at Sidwell. The letter seemed very cold and it hurt. The Maret letter really was nice by stating that they just didn't have space for all QUALIFIED candidates and if felt like when they stated that they hope a space becomes available, that they really meant it. I felt with Sidwell that we were basically being told your kid isn't qualifed. WPPSI was in the 90's, good recs, playdates, diversity. |
Anonymous
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Seriously, we just got a Sidwell rejection letter and it was a cold let down, especially knowing our MS candidate is highly qualified (superb SSAT scores, good grades, etc.) Would really have appreciate a softer waitlist letter, even if we really understand that there would not be a chance to get off.
Parents just have to be realistic that only a small number will get off the waitlist, handwritten note or not. The schools do not owe anyone an explanation on this board, on this or any other topic that we have questions about throughout the admissions process. If you really want an answer, call the office. I really know how OP feels since we have been there before, nice handwritten hand and all. Yes, for too long we thought it would happen but eventually, we got over it and found a good alternative. Good luck OP! |
Anonymous
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I think fake waitlist letters give false hope. Waitlists with tiers of fakeness (handwritten note! hidden invisible seals!) are especially obnoxious, more junior high cheerleading squad than east coast top tier private.
Sidwell's rejection letter is particularly harsh. Not in line with the benevolent elite image. They need to work on that; there is no need to be abrasive. But I like that they reject people outright. |
Anonymous
I don't see anybody here who said the kids had a first choice. I wrote a post that said that Maret knew it was our first choice for both of our children, neither of which were admitted. I certainly hope nobody on these boards is so insane that young kids know there is any application process at all. Our kids think they went to look at some schoools, and Mommy and Daddy asked them what they thought, but Mommy and Daddy will decide and we will be thinking about it a long time. Funnily enough, Mommy and Daddy just happened to make up their minds this past weekend. I suspect once the kids are looking at applying in third or foruth grade you may not be able to get away with that, but I can tell you it works for K and Pre-K. |
Anonymous
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21:22 Yes but not for older children. You absolutely cannot get away with it Fourth Grade.
19:22 Precisely! |
Anonymous
That's at least three people now that have described the Sidwell rejection letter as harsh, cold, etc. I'm really curious now about what it says. Would someone mind posting the exact text? What makes it so harsh and cold? How would you want a "nice rejection" to sound? TIA |
Anonymous
| 19:22 - you cannot get away with having your child like all schools equally when applying for 3rd grade, as we learned. There was a hands-down favorite for our child. She did well at keeping her spirits high when visiting other schools, but she confided in me her favorite (and noted issues at the other schools that were, frankly, spot on reasons that those schools would not be as good for her as her first choice). We had a frank discussion that this process is difficult, that all the schools are very good and it is hard to get in any of them, that everything would be just fine if she didn't get in, and that there are many random reasons that she might not get in including that there could be brothers and sisters that needed a spot etc. I am still glad we were admitted to our first choice (not Maret, Sidwell, etc.), and I think the admission was a reflection that it really is a great school for our child -- others, though perhaps more "prestigious" would not be right for her. |
Anonymous
| Has anyone gotten an answer to the infamous handwritten note question this week? Too bad Maret chose not to provide a simple response here. |