2014 private school wait lists (Atlanta, Roswell: appointed, home, middle school)

[clementine123]

My older one started there in 4th grade and from the beginning - it has been great. The structure and the uniforms have given shape to her life and help organization and decision making easier. She doesn't mind the long days or the bus ride and can't imagine herself anywhere else. Our public high school is a good one and we asked her about moving for next year (she going to high school in the fall) and she looked at us like we were crazy. My middle child hates the bus rides, hates the long days and the uniforms. She likes the teachers and the classes and the school part and academically is doing great but socially has not found it that easy to find her people. She is a quirky kid and one that does to conform to social expectations. We were hoping that a school like Galloway would be a better fit for her personality wise

[amslonewolf]

My 3 yr old got rejected at Paideia.

However along with the rejection letter, Paideia sent a card asking if we would like to remain under consideration for the 2014-2015 school year.

Is this some sort of a waitlist or just a false hope/pity card? Any experiences or insights would be greatly appreciated.

[LovelySummer]

Sorry to hear that. I think that is for a wait list. The word on this board is that you are supposed to communicate to the school, immediately, probably verbally and in writing, that the school is your first choice and you would definitely enroll there if your daughter was offered admission. This is apparently helpful towards any hope of getting off the wait list. At least that is the recommendation from members on this Board. Good luck.

Originally Posted by amslonewolf

My 3 yr old got rejected at Paideia.

However along with the rejection letter, Paideia sent a card asking if we would like to remain under consideration for the 2014-2015 school year.

Is this some sort of a waitlist or just a false hope/pity card? Any experiences or insights would be greatly appreciated.

[chabang]

We were wait listed mostly (Pace, Westminster, Trinity, Paideia) although Lovett rejected my kid. Woodward was our only acceptance. I thought of playing the waiting game until the last possible day (Paideia was our top choice but Woodward was a very close second) but decided our daughter should go to the school that first accepted her. Plus I can't WAIT for this to be over. We're really ready to embrace our new school and will put the deposit down at Woodward tomorrow. I heard applications were up quite a bit at all of the top tier private schools.

[snsh5713]

Originally Posted by chabang

We were wait listed mostly (Pace, Westminster, Trinity, Paideia) although Lovett rejected my kid. Woodward was our only acceptance. I thought of playing the waiting game until the last possible day (Paideia was our top choice but Woodward was a very close second) but decided our daughter should go to the school that first accepted her. Plus I can't WAIT for this to be over. We're really ready to embrace our new school and will put the deposit down at Woodward tomorrow. I heard applications were up quite a bit at all of the top tier private schools.

Chabang....what grade level were you applying for? WAs it an expansion year?

[chabang]

No, we applied for 2nd grade for our daughter so not an expansion year. Westminster sent their average movement off their wait list to those of us that were wait listed. I realize that Westminster probably has the least movement off of their wait list since most people that apply to Westminster rank it #1. It seems that with older kids (at least 5th grade) there probably is a decent shot at getting off a waitlist but younger than that, I don't think so.

WESTMINSTER # OF STUDENTS ADMITTED OFF THE WAITLIST

'09 '10 '11 '12 '13 5 Year Average

PF 7 5 0 3 5 4
1st 2 2 2 1 4 2.2
2nd 3 1 1 1 3 1.8
3rd 1 1 0 1 2 1
4th 1 2 0 1 1 1
5th 5 7 5 5 5 5.4

6th 7 2 0 2 7 3.6
7th 7 4 0 1 4 3.2
8th 0 1 2 0 1 0.8

9th 4 2 5 4 4 3.8
10th 0 1 0 2 4 1.4
11th 4 2 2 1 2 2.2
12th 1 0 0 0 0 0.2

[1Mom2Boys]

Chabang - thanks for providing. Those numbers certainly evidence how little movement there is off of Westminster's waitlist - even in expansion years. Would be interesting to compare to the other schools. Did the other schools provide similar data to their waitlisted families?

[sabrosina]

We're waitlisted at Paideia, but accepted at Galloway, Friends School of Atlanta, and High Meadows in Roswell--for a rising 6th grade boy. Any chance of getting in to Paideia or should we choose from the other three options? I'm not convinced that Paideia is our first choice, but wondered if we should include it in our discussions or write it off completely.

We're moving in to the area, are not familiar with how the wait lists work, and are trying to make the best decision for our family as a whole, which includes the school our son will attend. Any help is appreciated.

[LovelySummer]

Well it would actually seem to depend on how many are waitlisted. If we are talking 10-20 waitlisted, 2 or 5 off the waitlist would mean a better chance than if 50 or 100 are waitlisted. Accordingly, the numbers Given by the school are not nearly as useful as they might appear without more info.

Originally Posted by 1Mom2Boys

Chabang - thanks for providing. Those numbers certainly evidence how little movement there is off of Westminster's waitlist - even in expansion years. Would be interesting to compare to the other schools. Did the other schools provide similar data to their waitlisted families?

[LovelySummer]

What IS your first choice then? That would probably be the first thing I'd try to gain clarity on. What is your son's first choice? He's almost a pre-teen so he probably has some idea.

Originally Posted by sabrosina

We're waitlisted at Paideia, but accepted at Galloway, Friends School of Atlanta, and High Meadows in Roswell--for a rising 6th grade boy. Any chance of getting in to Paideia or should we choose from the other three options? I'm not convinced that Paideia is our first choice, but wondered if we should include it in our discussions or write it off completely.

We're moving in to the area, are not familiar with how the wait lists work, and are trying to make the best decision for our family as a whole, which includes the school our son will attend. Any help is appreciated.