Private School Admissions - 2019 (Dallas, Plano: 2013, income, quality of life)

[numbersguy100]

Originally Posted by palciparum

How many spots are there for 5th grade at Hockaday and Greenhill school and how many applicants?

Don't both school list number of spots on their website? No clue on the acceptance rate at that age level. I know it gets incredibly competitive at high school but not sure about middle school.

[walker1977]

Originally Posted by numbersguy100

Don't both school list number of spots on their website? No clue on the acceptance rate at that age level. I know it gets incredibly competitive at high school but not sure about middle school.

Greenhill has around 15 spots for 5th
Hock around 20-25 I believe

[palciparum]

Originally Posted by numbersguy100

Meaning will do well in terms of speaking to the adults doing the interview, plays well with other kids, well spoken for their ages. My oldest daughter is quite shy and was to a debilitating degree when she was very young (around ages 2-4). There was no way any sort of interview/process that involved talking to new adults or interacting with kids she didn't know well would have worked for her at those ages. Most kids will grow out of anxieties like that (or they will with involved and well off parents who can afford to work on the issue), but schools would prefer to fill their seats with kids who are ready to thrive rather than those who still need work in that department.

Thanks for the reply

[palciparum]

Originally Posted by walker1977

Greenhill has around 15 spots for 5th
Hock around 20-25 I believe

Thanks

How does one find out number of applicants?

[Stringzs]

I think the schools are the only ones that know that. I do wonder if the overall acceptance rate is 20% for a school, how does that rate vary across different entry points. For example, for Greenhill with a hypothetical 25% acceptance rate, is the rate for entry years (Pre-K and K) closer to 30%. And does Hockaday's acceptance rate of 17% overall imply an acceptance rate of 25% for Pre-K (entry year). Would love to know the answer.

[TexasTeacher3]

Originally Posted by numbersguy100

I would be willing to bet it's more competitive than that. At the elite school where my wife works, their applications are up across the board. Most applications they've ever received for 5th grade, for example. I don't know how many spaces there are at SMS, but I personally know 3 people applying to 1st grade who are legacies, whose kids go to the right feeder schools, did well on tests, well adjusted socially, etc etc, and I am just one person with one social circle.

Well, gosh! I believe they are taking 32. I’m just a regular teacher blessed with a beautifully bright young man; woefully, UNconnected! Obviously, I hope they saw what I see in my sweet boy, but know we’ll be okay if he’s not chosen this go around!

[stan4]

Originally Posted by Stringzs

I think the schools are the only ones that know that. I do wonder if the overall acceptance rate is 20% for a school, how does that rate vary across different entry points. For example, for Greenhill with a hypothetical 25% acceptance rate, is the rate for entry years (Pre-K and K) closer to 30%. And does Hockaday's acceptance rate of 17% overall imply an acceptance rate of 25% for Pre-K (entry year). Would love to know the answer.

Based on the numbers we DO know, it seems, for instance, the GH pre-k acceptance rate is 20%...so I wonder if the posted acceptance rates are only for the big expansion years where we know the numbers.

I don't think we can extrapolate out...and a few % points in either direction (15 vs 17% at Hockaday) isn't gonna make much difference in one's chances.

[debtex]

Originally Posted by Stringzs

I think the schools are the only ones that know that. I do wonder if the overall acceptance rate is 20% for a school, how does that rate vary across different entry points. For example, for Greenhill with a hypothetical 25% acceptance rate, is the rate for entry years (Pre-K and K) closer to 30%. And does Hockaday's acceptance rate of 17% overall imply an acceptance rate of 25% for Pre-K (entry year). Would love to know the answer.

Admissions directors will tell you there's not a meaningful difference between the acceptance rates by grade. They get significantly more applications for big entry years (5th & 9th, for example) but there are more spots to fill...

[Waterdragon8212]

Originally Posted by debtex

Admissions directors will tell you there's not a meaningful difference between the acceptance rates by grade. They get significantly more applications for big entry years (5th & 9th, for example) but there are more spots to fill...

That may be true, but when there are 8 people applying for one 2nd grade slot or 5 people applying for zero 3rd grade slots, the 20% acceptance rate is deceptive at best.

On a side note, I have no idea what they do in cases where there is no attrition in a grade. Do they tell people ahead of time? Our re-enrollment contracts were due this week, so theoretically, they wouldn't even know if slots were available in non-expansion years until less than a month before decisions are mailed. I wonder whether they tell applicants for those grades that have zero available slots before the March deadline. Perhaps not, since anything can happen, but it seems cruel to have people holding out hope for a slot that doesn't exist...

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by Waterdragon8212

That may be true, but when there are 8 people applying for one 2nd grade slot or 5 people applying for zero 3rd grade slots, the 20% acceptance rate is deceptive at best.

On a side note, I have no idea what they do in cases where there is no attrition in a grade. Do they tell people ahead of time? Our re-enrollment contracts were due this week, so theoretically, they wouldn't even know if slots were available in non-expansion years until less than a month before decisions are mailed. I wonder whether they tell applicants for those grades that have zero available slots before the March deadline. Perhaps not, since anything can happen, but it seems cruel to have people holding out hope for a slot that doesn't exist...

It's also germane to point out that all of these schools are pretty great about gently/kindly limiting their respective applicant pools.