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Preschool and Daycare Discussion
MASTER thread for NCRC PRESCHOOL admissions info
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Anonymous
| I agree. It is odd. Actually, I would have prefered to get a rejection letter than to learn that everyone not chosen was in the "waiting pool". It doesn't leave everyone hanging and everyone half-heartedly hanging on to other schools' acceptances (where NCRC is their first choice). I understand that schools don't want to wave off those interested in case openings do come up. However, you can still do that without keeping everyone in the pool (have a good sized waitlist of people who actually have a chance). I just don't think that the current process there is very humane. |
Anonymous
| I agree. It is also disheartening to hear that there were two types of responses. I can only assume that if we got a handritten note that we have a chance and no note means no chance...... |
Anonymous
| 17:06, I agree. We didn't get a note. |
Anonymous
| With the addition of this news and the apparent subtle tiering of waitlist letters I am just about done with this place. (I am the mother of the special needs child earlier in the thread.) I have been wholly unimpressed with the way the application process at NCRC is conducted -- everything after the initial tour has come across with thinly veiled arrogance, probably as a result of their vaunted position in this town (still not 100% sure where that comes from) and the overwhelming scarcity of spots. However, that does not absolve you from common professional courtesy to prospective parents. My husband and I have never been given the time of day by anyone in the administration -- always told that they were in meetings and that not even a classroom teacher could meet with us when we showed up to chat with someone about our child's situation and whether their environment would be appropriate. If they had been more responsive to us and evaluated our situation, maybe we could have avoided this emotional roller coaster by not applying to begin with. I just find it a ridiculous joke to say that this school is attuned to children with special needs when they certainly didn't show us that it was a situation they were sympathetic with. Sorry to vent. It has been a long day. Got rejected from St. Columba's today too. |
Anonymous
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No note here either. We're disappointed. Anyone else?
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Anonymous
| No note here either. And yes, 17:21, you deserve better. My sympathies. |
Anonymous
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Yes 17:21, my sympathies too. Good luck in finding a good place for your child.
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Anonymous
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[quote=Anonymous]I agree. It is odd. Actually, I would have prefered to get a rejection letter than to learn that everyone not chosen was in the "waiting pool". It doesn't leave everyone hanging and everyone half-heartedly hanging on to other schools' acceptances (where NCRC is their first choice). I understand that schools don't want to wave off those interested in case openings do come up. However, you can still do that without keeping everyone in the pool (have a good sized waitlist of people who actually have a chance). I just don't think that the current process there is very humane.[/quote]
Schools are really damned if they do and damned if they don't in these situations. Parents of ongoing school applicants in other threads have talked about how horrific it is to receive a "rejection" letter for a child and also talked about the same issue with regard to whether or not wait lists are "real" or not. It just doesn't feel good to not have your child accepted into a school. Period. There is no real way to make it feel better, imo. I imagine that - if in fact the notes versus no notes issue does reflect a tiering of the wait pool at NCRC - it is because it is the most humane strategy that they could come up with. |
Anonymous
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As someone who got the personal note, I was wondering if it was NOT handwritten. It seems like it might have been xeroxed? Plus, maybe they did the letters in two batches - or two people worked on them? Who knows?
I think it might be reading too much into the "personalized" note since several of us seem to have gotten the same exact wording. |
Anonymous
We also received a note (and have posted here previously). I wondered the same thing about ours - hence my saying "not sure if that means anything" about the note orignially. I agree - who knows? |
Anonymous
| Any idea how many applications this place receives? Just curious as to the ratio of applicants to potential spots....... |
Anonymous
| On the tour Ms. Vazquez said last year they got about 250-300 apps. |
Anonymous
| So they accept and process almost 300 applications - I imagine they have playdates for at least this much or maybe half this number. If they already have a sense of how many spots available - why bother? It must be someone's (or several people's ) fulltime job to handle these applications, schedule these playdates - and the playdate was very involved....I just don't get it! |
Anonymous
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What are they supposed to do? Deny people the opportunity to apply? Every child gets a play date. I believe, given the circumstances, they try their best to look at every child and every family. The process is frustrating (and, like the elite private schools, a little too focused on knowing and working the admissions process), but it is a nice school and lots of people want to go there. I think they handle the process pretty well.
And this is from someone whose child was wait listed two years in a row (with no special notes received or anything). I didn't think our odds were any better or worse there than anywhere else we applied in our neighborhood, NWDC. It was a pain and expensive. We got wait listed at 4 out of 5 schools to which we applied. Fortunately we got into our first choice -- based only on the fact that we live so close and they are about the only place in NWDC that truly gives preference to those in the surrounding neighborhood. But I am not going to bash NCRC for the terrible process. There simply isn't enough supply to meet demand, particularly at the places with the best quality facilities. At least people can't game the system there by joining a church, even if they are agnostic or a different religion. (We did not do that, but I have been appalled by the number of times it was suggested to us.) |
Anonymous
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Different poster here--
Yes, clearly supply outstrips demand in the DC preschool world. I do not think that they should turn people away from applying. This does no one any good, the schools or the applicants. However, if you have say 25 spots and 300 applications, give out the spots, have a nice sized waiting pool and reject the rest. Yes, people will be upset (no one likes rejection, particularly when their kids are involved), but they will move on. If NCRC was in fact your first choice, by knowing you do not have a chance, you come to grips with your other choices and become emotionally invested in the other school. This serves everyone's children and the entire preschool community better. In my opinion, the current system at NCRC (no rejections, and a two-tiered waiting pool) is not very respectful and serves no ones interests but their own. Everyone applying knows that the chances of accpetance are slim, but why falsely prop up people's hopes. |