Abacus Mom

Unprecedented Demand for NYC Private School Kindergarten Seats

In The New York Times today, Winnie Hu reports that supply of private school kindergarten seats is expanding due to unprecedented demand.  Her article prominently features one nursery school, Mandell, that has started an elementary school.  The kindergarten class starts this fall.

NYC Private School Entry Tougher for Siblings and Legacies

In a sign of increasingly competitive times, the private schools are being more and more inhospitable to siblings and legacies.  Schools are usually advising families to apply to a number of schools for Child #2 or #3 etc., even if parents have been very active with volunteering and donations.

More and more sibling and legacy families are hiring me for help with the process.

In my experience, it's all about the schools hedging their bets until they find out Child #2's ERB scores.  If the ERB scores are high enough (and they can be a little lower than Child #1's), the younger child will usually get in. 

While I understand that schools want to let new families have a chance, particularly as siblings are taking up more and more spots, it also seems reasonable to me that families should be able to educate their children together.  It's a shame that in the New York the pressure never lets up.