Anonymous wrote:How do schools know they’re your first choice school if you’re not from a preschool that knows nothing about the private school scene?

“Love letters”? When do you write them

Our preschool has connections and got feedback, so we got clear signals when and where to send the first choice letter. Our friend was working with a consultant and also got clear signals. I can't really advise on what to do if your preschool doesn't have that information.
We got clear feedback soon after the child interview and then again after the parent interview. We were pushed to make a decision. We sent the letter in December.
I do hope to add that we also got an offer from a TT single-sex school without sending any love letter or getting any feedback (or maybe our preschool director just didn't share the feedback with us), so I think the practice varies among schools.

To another comment's question on whether you can send the first choice letter to more than one school: what I heard is that the school admission offices talk with each other, so it's not advisable to send multiple first choice letter. Instead, you could just send love letters.

I'd also like to know this, as we're applying to middle schools and not working with a consultant - do you literally just send the admissions office a letter saying they're your first choice? How do they know you aren't sending one of them to every school?

How do schools know they’re your first choice school if you’re not from a preschool that knows nothing about the private school scene?

“Love letters”? When do you write them

Anonymous wrote:It seems completely unlikely that you would ever have a choice. You will be lucky to get into one of B,C,S and go to the one you get into.

The mechanism of someone usually not getting into more than one of the three is I think Spence and Brearley usually hope to know they are your top choice before they’ll give you an offer. And your preschool director usually manages the feedback so that most of her outgoing students are getting at least one good offer, avoiding “winner takes all”.
That being said, I do know people getting 2, 3 or even 4 TT offers.

Brearley is - FWICT - significantly harder to get into than the other two, and also akin to HM and Trinity in terms of crazy academic rigor.

That's one take. Another is that if your DS is sharp enough to get one of those schools, she's sharp enough to get into the others. And may as well. It happens.

It seems completely unlikely that you would ever have a choice. You will be lucky to get into one of B,C,S and go to the one you get into.

OP, have you considered Brearley?

Anonymous wrote:Sacred Heart is definitely the most conservative of the girls schools.

100%. One lasting school tradition is that the elementary school girls curtsey to the HOS every morning...

Spence and Chapin have both mostly grown out of their old stereotypes and are very similar these days. Chapin perhaps just a touch more WASPY and Spence a touch more Jewish, but again - there's plenty of all types at both. College admissions are slightly better at Spence.

Sacred Heart is definitely the most conservative of the girls schools.

We heard this fall that Chapin operates much more through a social justice perspective. Can anyone confirm? Also heard that Sacred Heart has gotten very conservative. Interested in all of the girls schools and their feel!

There was a thread about the SS all girls schools a few months back on Moms of the UES facebook group. A bunch of Spence and Chapin parents responded anonymously about their experiences ,good and bad. It may be worth a read for you.

Very similar families at this point. Historically Chapin may have been more WASPy and Spence may have been more flashy, but they are more alike than different these days.

We are at Chapin. Lots of overlap. You go where you get in. Successful students at both.

What kind of families/kids attend each?