Anonymous
Post 04/16/2026 13:39     Subject: Better to reapply to K from nursery or another K?
besuzllygehp wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I’d apply from preschool. It’s what they do- help families get into kindergarten.


I agree with this. Especially if you are dead set on the private school track. Your preschool director will be the person speaking on your behalf to ongoing schools, and working with you to get your child in to the right school for them. This isn't the case if they are in public.

We stuck it out in preschool for another year (our child is a September bday, so past the private school cut off date) and my child got in to our top choice school for her.

She can read, write, do basic math etc. So she didn't lose any steam by not going right in to public K. Kids start to even out come 3rd grade.


Thanks, this is really helpful. I have a few follow-up questions. If a preschool keeps a student for an extra year, will independent schools still consider them even if they are technically past the cutoff? Also, have you heard of any schools that actually prefer applicants coming from an existing K program?


So my child is a late August birthday (a week before the cut off), we went ahead and applied to schools last year for 2025026 K admissions. We were told by all schools (but one) she was "too young" and to apply again next year. She stayed in PreK for one more year (with many kids her age/ summer bdays) and we got in to our top choice school.

So although Private schools say their cut off is September 1st, many times it really is May 31st. They will rarely take June/July/August birthdays unless it's a sibling or legacy (this is true for most of the TT schools, T2 and T3 can be different).

In terms of coming from an existing K program, I am guessing you mean another private? I would say that is frowned upon. I do know some children who did K in public school and then applied again for K in private, and got in. But I do not know many who were K in one private and got in to K in another private.
Anonymous
Post 04/15/2026 19:01     Subject: Better to reapply to K from nursery or another K?
I know a family that went to a K program and then immediately applied out, in search of more prestige. It didn't work out that way for them. It's a bad look, unless there are extenuating circumstances.

In my child's preschool class, the birthdays should have been September of one year to August of the next year. There were plenty of kids (almost all siblings and legacies, though) who were up to six months older than that range. In my child's school, the same distribution tracks - instead of a September through August spread, we have kids born as early as May or June.
Anonymous
Post 04/14/2026 15:09     Subject: Better to reapply to K from nursery or another K?
Anonymous wrote:
besuzllygehp wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I’d apply from preschool. It’s what they do- help families get into kindergarten.

Thanks. Aside from whether there is an exmissions support, do schools prefer applicants coming from a K program since they may already be more academically prepared?


Maybe coming from public k you’re more prepared. I’d venture to guess that if you’re not happy with your k placement in independent school, it’s not going to be more academically amazing than a solid 5s program in a good preschool— otherwise why would you be trying to transfer out?

Play it out. Imagine starting in a new school in September. Immediately you’re pulling your child out to go out play dates at other schools (because they like to see older applicants first). By October you’re asking your kindergarten to fill out an ISAAGNY report for the new schools... for kindergarten. You’re raising a big flag to the schools you’re applying to that you’re not an easy family. You’re definitely signally the current kindergarten that you’re unhappy or they’re not good enough. What happens if you don’t get in and you have to stay in that school?

Or you could just stay in preschool where you wouldn’t raise any flags applying to kindergarten, have any trouble getting paperwork filled out, get feedback on how the process is going, and they care about the process because *everyone has to leave for kindergarten.*

Which scenario sounds easier to manage? To get the outcome you desire?

100% agree with this. We were in a very similar position and heard consistently that this approach is frowned upon. The independent school world is small, and admissions teams do communicate. If you enroll in a K program this fall, you should be prepared to stay for at least a few years. Anecdotally, I only know two families who made a move like this. Both had substantive reasons beyond prestige, and neither saw a meaningful “tier jump” once results came out.
Anonymous
Post 04/13/2026 23:47     Subject: Better to reapply to K from nursery or another K?
besuzllygehp wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I’d apply from preschool. It’s what they do- help families get into kindergarten.

Thanks. Aside from whether there is an exmissions support, do schools prefer applicants coming from a K program since they may already be more academically prepared?


Maybe coming from public k you’re more prepared. I’d venture to guess that if you’re not happy with your k placement in independent school, it’s not going to be more academically amazing than a solid 5s program in a good preschool— otherwise why would you be trying to transfer out?

Play it out. Imagine starting in a new school in September. Immediately you’re pulling your child out to go out play dates at other schools (because they like to see older applicants first). By October you’re asking your kindergarten to fill out an ISAAGNY report for the new schools... for kindergarten. You’re raising a big flag to the schools you’re applying to that you’re not an easy family. You’re definitely signally the current kindergarten that you’re unhappy or they’re not good enough. What happens if you don’t get in and you have to stay in that school?

Or you could just stay in preschool where you wouldn’t raise any flags applying to kindergarten, have any trouble getting paperwork filled out, get feedback on how the process is going, and they care about the process because *everyone has to leave for kindergarten.*

Which scenario sounds easier to manage? To get the outcome you desire?
besuzllygehp
Post 04/13/2026 19:48     Subject: Better to reapply to K from nursery or another K?
Anonymous wrote:It’s generally discouraged to enroll in a private K-8 or K-12 program with the intention of leaving after a year to repeat K at a more selective school. In most cases, it’s cleaner to either remain in nursery school for an additional year or attend public K as a bridge year, both of which are common for children with summer or fall birthdays.

Thanks. Is that mainly because more selective schools may be less inclined to take a student coming from another private school, in order to avoid straining relationships between schools? Or is it more about potentially harming the family’s relationship with the current school?
besuzllygehp
Post 04/13/2026 19:45     Subject: Better to reapply to K from nursery or another K?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I’d apply from preschool. It’s what they do- help families get into kindergarten.


I agree with this. Especially if you are dead set on the private school track. Your preschool director will be the person speaking on your behalf to ongoing schools, and working with you to get your child in to the right school for them. This isn't the case if they are in public.

We stuck it out in preschool for another year (our child is a September bday, so past the private school cut off date) and my child got in to our top choice school for her.

She can read, write, do basic math etc. So she didn't lose any steam by not going right in to public K. Kids start to even out come 3rd grade.


Thanks, this is really helpful. I have a few follow-up questions. If a preschool keeps a student for an extra year, will independent schools still consider them even if they are technically past the cutoff? Also, have you heard of any schools that actually prefer applicants coming from an existing K program?
besuzllygehp
Post 04/13/2026 19:40     Subject: Better to reapply to K from nursery or another K?
Anonymous wrote:I’d apply from preschool. It’s what they do- help families get into kindergarten.

Thanks. Aside from whether there is an exmissions support, do schools prefer applicants coming from a K program since they may already be more academically prepared?
besuzllygehp
Post 04/13/2026 19:37     Subject: Better to reapply to K from nursery or another K?
Anonymous wrote:Having a kid repeat K (or even PK) merely because you didn't get into your first choice school is a bad idea. When is their birthday? Do you think they are academically and socially ready for kindergarten?

I feel that she may not be ready yet. This doesn't seem like a developmental concern, but rather a difference in her developmental timeline.
besuzllygehp
Post 04/13/2026 19:34     Subject: Better to reapply to K from nursery or another K?
Anonymous wrote:The second piece depends on the school, but we ended up moving to a prek-12 school that just wasn’t a good fit for a child and because they did not have exmissions It was actually pretty difficult because they did not allow classroom visits or would be willing to speak to other schools.

Thanks for sharing your experience. Did you later move from K to another K, and does the other K prefer an existing K student since it's more academically ready?
Anonymous
Post 04/13/2026 14:51     Subject: Better to reapply to K from nursery or another K?
It’s generally discouraged to enroll in a private K-8 or K-12 program with the intention of leaving after a year to repeat K at a more selective school. In most cases, it’s cleaner to either remain in nursery school for an additional year or attend public K as a bridge year, both of which are common for children with summer or fall birthdays.
Anonymous
Post 04/13/2026 13:36     Subject: Better to reapply to K from nursery or another K?
Anonymous wrote:I’d apply from preschool. It’s what they do- help families get into kindergarten.


I agree with this. Especially if you are dead set on the private school track. Your preschool director will be the person speaking on your behalf to ongoing schools, and working with you to get your child in to the right school for them. This isn't the case if they are in public.

We stuck it out in preschool for another year (our child is a September bday, so past the private school cut off date) and my child got in to our top choice school for her.

She can read, write, do basic math etc. So she didn't lose any steam by not going right in to public K. Kids start to even out come 3rd grade.
Anonymous
Post 04/12/2026 14:10     Subject: Better to reapply to K from nursery or another K?
I’d apply from preschool. It’s what they do- help families get into kindergarten.
Anonymous
Post 04/12/2026 09:22     Subject: Better to reapply to K from nursery or another K?
Having a kid repeat K (or even PK) merely because you didn't get into your first choice school is a bad idea. When is their birthday? Do you think they are academically and socially ready for kindergarten?
Anonymous
Post 04/12/2026 09:20     Subject: Better to reapply to K from nursery or another K?
The second piece depends on the school, but we ended up moving to a prek-12 school that just wasn’t a good fit for a child and because they did not have exmissions It was actually pretty difficult because they did not allow classroom visits or would be willing to speak to other schools.
besuzllygehp
Post 04/12/2026 01:20     Subject: Better to reapply to K from nursery or another K?
We're trying to decide whether to keep our child in nursery for one more year or start a K program this fall and then reapply to a K program we like but didn’t get into this year. Is it generally better to reapply from nursery as an older K applicant or from another K program, and do K programs typically consider applicants whoever remain in nursery for an extra year even if they’re older for the grade?