San Francisco Private Admissions Letters 2013

[7x7mom]

The day we've been waiting for since the whole admissions process began is finally almost here. Both the private schools and public schools will be sending out their admissions and assignment offer letters this week. Are you ready? Please share where your child got into!!

Good luck everybody!

I'm creating a separate thread for Public Schools since this one is already pretty long.

[astoll75]

I am counting down the hours and it is going sooooooo slow. Friday can't get here fast enough!!

[sfmomsfmom]

Anyone else losing sleep over this? TWO MORE DAYS!

[7x7mom]

Anyone else losing sleep over this? TWO MORE DAYS!

I'm definitely having a tough time sleeping myself. It'll either be a great start to the weekend or an anxiety ridden week getting off a waitlist.

[omooner]

Well, about 24 more hours to go in this months-long process. Good luck everybody!

[astoll75]

Today's the day!!! I'm nervous, I'm excited, I don't know what I am right now.

[mommysf]

When does everyone's mail come? Ours usually arrives around noon, just a few more hours to go... stressed out!

[tmacnam]

ours doesn't get here until later in the day. trying to keep myself out of the house so i'm not so stressed out.

[katiemh70]

tick tock tick tock - killing me. btw, has your preschool director tipped her hand at whether your dc got in anywhere? I think the schools should have already told them.

[boydaddy]

yes at SFDS, no at SFFS ...

[boydaddy]

I mean yes at SFDS, waitlist at SFFS (which I believe may be the same as a no).

[sfmomsfmom]

4 acceptances, have not heard from our 5th (MCDS). We are thrilled (and exhausted). Good luck everyone.

[omooner]

4 acceptances, have not heard from our 5th (MCDS). We are thrilled (and exhausted). Good luck everyone.

Wow sfmomsfmom, congratulations. You must be so thrilled? Any idea which one you're leaning towards?

We got yes from Alta Vista and Friends but waitlist for SF Day, Live Oak and Synergy. Ecstatic to have an option!

[7x7mom]

Yes on Town and SFDS but haven't heard from MCDS. Is it true MCDS didn't mail their letters until today?

[sfmomsfmom]

Wow sfmomsfmom, congratulations. You must be so thrilled? Any idea which one you're leaning towards?

We got yes from Alta Vista and Friends but waitlist for SF Day, Live Oak and Synergy. Ecstatic to have an option!

We really like SFDS, though they are all great schools. We have a tough decision to make this weekend.

[daddydrama]

We really like SFDS, though they are all great schools. We have a tough decision to make this weekend.

Congrats sfmomsfmom! You should be proud of yourself and your daughter! It's wonderful to have a choice but also stressful deciding which is the "best" school for your family, if there's such a thing as "best". We were in similar situation two years ago so let me know if I can help.

[mommysmojo]

Got in to two of the girls schools but not the one I really really want. Kind of happy but also kind of bummed. Waiting to hear from MCDS as well.

[sfmomsfmom]

Yes on Town and SFDS but haven't heard from MCDS. Is it true MCDS didn't mail their letters until today?

I've heard some people say they were accepted at MCDS but sounds like others got all letters except from MCDS like us. We would prioritize SFDS over MCDS so we aren't nervous about it, but not sure if it is an issue with mail in different neighborhoods or just means if you didn't get a MCDS letter today you did not get in...

[sfmomsfmom]

Thank you daddydrama! Will definitely reach out if we have questions. Right now we are just letting out a big breath and feeling proud of our daughter (though she doesn't yet know)!

[katiemh70]

You guys are killing me! I'm stuck here at work still and can't wait to get home to open the mail.

[mamainsf]

We received acceptance letters from SFDS, Nueva, Hamlin, and Burke's, and are waiting for MCDS. Sounds like that will arrive tomorrow.

We are most likely going to release the single sex school spots and decide between SFDS and Nueva.

[boydaddy]

Any thoughts on Cathedral vs. SFDS for a boy? We are thrilled to have a choice but also confused and have much thinking to do tonight. Our goal is to release the other spot quickly for another family to have.

[daddydrama]

Any thoughts on Cathedral vs. SFDS for a boy? We are thrilled to have a choice but also confused and have much thinking to do tonight. Our goal is to release the other spot quickly for another family to have.

boydaddy, congratulations on the two offers!!! You should be proud of your son! As you know, both Cathedral and SFDS are wonderful schools, which makes the decision that much tougher. But it is a good problem to have.

There is no such thing as a "best" school so think about which is better for your son and your family. Some of the things I would think about are:
- which environment do you think will be better at helping your son thrive, academically and socially?
- which school does a better job promoting the values that you care about, whether that's diversity, social awareness, etc?
- which head of school articulates a vision that you identify with more?
- which school environment do you feel more comfortable with as a family? This is important to a certain extent since you will be spending a lot of time with other parents.

It's not easy answering all those questions from the outside looking in so definitely call up some of the current parents the schools included in your admissions packet. They will be more than happy to answer any of your questions. Hope this long-winded answer was somewhat helpful.

[sfmomsfmom]

Any thoughts on Cathedral vs. SFDS for a boy? We are thrilled to have a choice but also confused and have much thinking to do tonight. Our goal is to release the other spot quickly for another family to have.

Well said, daddydrama. We really liked SFDS and it is one of our top choices. If you do a search on this forum you will find several posts from myself and bbrbla articulating the reasons why. We have a girl, so we did not tour Cathedral, but I have heard wonderful things about that school as well.

I think in the end you have to spend this weekend thinking not about "the best school," but envisioning the future for your child and your family. In which school can you see your child thriving? In which parent community do you feel most comfortable and would want to be active in? After the hard work of getting a spot at both schools, we are now at the point where it comes down to that gut feeling. It is a tough exercise for us, personally speaking, as we tend to be quite rational and analytical, but we are going through that now to decide where we ultimately end up. Speaking with lots of current families is helpful, as is thinking back to all of the events you have attended at these schools and which ones gave you that "happy to be there feeling".

Good luck!

[boydaddy]

Thanks sfmomsfmom and daddydrama for the great advice!

[tmacnam]

I'm happy for all of you who received acceptances but I'm in a funk myself as we got all waitlists so far. Definitely not the way I wanted to start my weekend. I'm scrambling right now hoping that we get off the waitlist and confused what the schools are looking for.

[Cupcake1]

tmacnam, just wanted to wish you good luck this week. Don't make yourself too crazy over what the schools are looking for, they are evaluating 4 and 5 year olds and sometimes it comes down to a birthday. Or they just have too many rambunctious kids (or timid kids or whatever) in the sibling pool and they need a different "type" to balance out the energy in the classroom. It sucks though if you are on the receiving end of only waitlists (or rejections) and I empathize. I have been in that place before, and have good friends who are GREAT with great kids who also have been in that position. But it's the beginning of the week - the waitlists do move, right on up to the last minute of next week, and even beyond, when the next big check is due over the summer. And there are some great publics out there. I know people who got into highly regarded privates (just not the one they had their heart set on) and they kept a spot at one almost all through the summer and then decided to go public in like August. (And by the way, they love the public! And the person who got their spot at the private is probably also very happy. Most of us are lucky to have great choices either way...and if you're on this board, your kid is already probably really lucky and would thrive anywhere...though that is, I know, hard to feel when the letters are freshly arrived.)

Anyway, keep your head up, have some wine (or tequila maybe), talk to your preschool director, and call all the schools on Monday. Were there any handwritten notes on your letters? Sometimes those might be ones you have a better chance at...your preschool director can hopefully give you some guidance. We got in to a school on Monday night. Incidentally, a few years later now, our kid (of course ;)) is awesome, talented, fun and academically very advanced. In 8th grade, it will probably be a totally different story and many schools will want our child. At least they'll have something to go on! But evaluating my kid as a 4 year old - who KNOWS what that decision process was like?

[cmcgroom]

tmacnam, hang in there. I've definitely been there! The process really is unfortunately a numbers game where the ratio of applicants to spots can be more than 10 to 1. I didn't enjoy being on the wrong side when the letters first came out but a spot did free up eventually for us. As Cupcake1 suggested, be persistent. Talk to your preschool director - she can usually get a sense from the admissions directors where the chances are highest for your child to get off a waitlist. And spots do open up even as late as over the summer.

[momofone]

Need some advice for a friend going through decision... it's down to Burkes or Convent. Any advice? Any current parents? Reasons why you chose one?

[overwhelmedsf]

We're at Burkes and are very happy with the school and the teachers. We love the openness of the Burkes campus as well as how the teachers have challenged our daughter. They really know what she needs.

I can't tell you much about Convent beyond what our friends have told us and what we saw on the tours. Convent obviously has a religious component and a brother school. If your friend has a son, that's one less thing to worry about down the road. Maybe it's just me but I do feel that Burkes and Hamlin really think carefully about what single sex girl education and empowerment mean.

[astoll75]

We got accepts at Stuart Hall and Town. I thought I had posted already but realized in my excitement that I didn't.

[tmacnam]

Thanks for the encouragement Cupcake1! We got a decent public school assignment so that makes me feel a little better. I'd still like to get off one of the waitlists though. When do the waitlists start to move? It seems like you got off a waitlist yourself. Do you mind me asking where you finally got in and when that happened?

[cmcgroom]

Waitlists should start to move today or tomorrow as the schools hear back from people releasing the spots. Some of the schools overaccept based on their typical yield number so just because one spot is released doesn't mean they automatically go to the waitpool. But things do start to move soon. GL!!!

[7x7mom]

We released our spot at SF Day today and went with Town. Very relieved and excited to have made a decision. Good luck to those of you still on waitlists!

[Windowcling]

Congrats on your decision! Can I ask why you went with Town over SFDay? We are struggling with this choice.


We released our spot at SF Day today and went with Town. Very relieved and excited to have made a decision. Good luck to those of you still on waitlists!

[7x7mom]

Congrats on your decision! Can I ask why you went with Town over SFDay? We are struggling with this choice.

It was a hard decision as both are wonderful schools. I personally really like Dr. Jackson but I think the single sex education maybe grabbed me a little more. I liked the way the boys interacted with each other in class and thought that that would be great for us.

[boydaddy]

We accepted our spot at SFDS and relinquished our spot at Cathedral earlier today - good luck everyone!

[omooner]

We went with Friends and released our spot at Alta Vista yesterday. I'm thinking about you tmacnam, good luck!

[mamainsf]

We accepted our spot at SFDS and could not be more excited. Sounds like there will be quite a few incoming SFDS K students on this board! Has anyone heard of the Dolphin soccer camp in June, and is anyone planning to enroll their incoming Kindergartener? I don't have much insight into how it works but would love for my daughter to meet some students in her class prior to September.

[boydaddy]

Mamainsf - I didn't know about the Dolphin soccer camp in June but it sounds like a great way for the K class to meet. Is it just for new K students? We don't have any members of our preschool going on to Day, so I'm definitely interested.

[mamainsf]

Boydaddy, you must have received the Dolphin camp flier from Homa by now. I hear it is quite popular so we will be signing up. Looking forward to meeting the new families there!