TO THE MARET ADMISSIONS OFFICE

[Anonymous]

Just a thought..do you think those that had a parent interview at Maret may have been the people with handwritten notes? As you know the interview is optional. We didn't do it and got W/L with no handwritten note. I would love to know our chances for the waitlist moving for 1st grade!

[Anonymous]

No, PP. We had an interview with the AD and our DS was waitlisted for 1st with no note. FWIW, we felt that our interview went real well, but in general I think the interview is more about recruiting than it is assessment, especially since it is optional as you note.

[Anonymous]

I think its so odd that some have the handwritten note! Do you think any of us will get off the waitlist for 1st grade? Or did anyone get a rejection for 1st grade?

[Anonymous]

Private School Monthly

"Parental Response to Handwritten Note on the Independent School Waitlist Letter"
by A. Farquhar

An experiment was set up to ascertain parental reaction to handwritten notes on the waitlist letter. Results found that parents were 45% more likely to follow up with the school if they received a note, and 83% more likely to enroll. Parents without a note demonstrated measurably higher anxiety in their less frequent contacts. Private school admission officers interested in increasing yields should consider adding such a note unless the officers are subject to time constraints or have additional teaching duties.

[Anonymous]

WOW! Thank you for putting my mind to rest : ) I didn't get the handwritten note and was concerned I was way down on the list. I did call the school and they basically said the same thing as the w/l letter..there is no rating system. Once they determine that a spot has opened they will re-evaulate all w/l candidates for that sex (boy or girl). It seems like alot of work if they already did a through screening the first time!

[Anonymous]

This sounds like a joke - a well intentioned one I'm sure.

[Anonymous]

PP, I'm 99% certain that 12:01 was joking around. I don't believe that there is a publication called "Private School Monthly." There is a quarterly magazine called "Independent School" published by NAIS, but that's all I'm aware of along those lines.

[Anonymous]

12:01 here. I was joking. And no disrespect was meant to Ms Farquhar even though she w/l my DC with no handwritten note.

[Anonymous]

LOL..I'm the person who thought you were serious...I think I'm a bit caught up in this whole insane process and believe everything I read on DCUM : )

[Anonymous]

I didn't find the Sidwell let harsh. One school's rejection letter went too far in the other direction for my taste. It read like a condolence card! This was several years ago.

[Anonymous]

I had a friend who taught in a private school in FL and the experiment he wanted to run involved misspelling the name of a parent on the first written communication from school to the applicant. He was convinced it would be a more efficient mechanism than the interview for identifying and rejecting the high-maintenance parents.

I'm looking forward to future issues of Private School Monthly -- should make for entertaining reading!