Pre-School and Daycare
supermom83
member
Lining up at 2am to register for preschool??!!
supermom83
member
I just went to all the open houses for preschools in my area (Northern Virginia) and getting in is SUPER competitive! One director told me that parents start lining up to register at 2am and registration opens at 7am. That's just crazy!
All the other places have 2-3 spots open and they're getting hundreds of applications and having a lottery. I put our name in 5 different preschools (each had a non-refundable deposit of $60-$85!) just to get my name in the lottery with no guarantee that we're getting in anywhere. I am really surprised by how crazy this process is, even though I shouldn't be because I know our area is competitive. Sigh.
Has anybody had to go through such craziness to register their kid in preschool?
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Re: Lining up at 2am to register for preschool??!!
I'm in Northern Va too. It is insane around here when it comes to preschools. There are some preschools around where I live that friends have camped out overnight to turn in applications. DD goes to one of the local high school's preschool program. The high school kids plan and teach the school under the supervision of a teacher. You should look into some of the high schools around you to see if any have a program like this. She absolutely loves it.
Wow, that's heavy-duty! I would expect the NYC area to be competitive and I was actually wondering about that and thinking how could it possibly get more competitive than lining up at 2am....haha. Yep, parent interviews and child playdates is waaay more intense!
High schools huh? I never heard of it. I'll have to look into that. Thanks for the heads up!
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I didn't encounter that at all when I was looking for a preschool nor have I heard of it in my area. I"m sure it exists in some small pockets but not on a wide scale. When we looked we encountered a few waitlists for preferred schedules but all teh schools we looked at were rolling admission once there was an opening.
I think part of it is that in our area, most families have two working parents in order to afford to live here so most kids have a full time care arrangment that isn't compatible with going to a stand alone part-time preschool. Maybe the ones that do exist are competitive but since we couldn't use them due to scheduling, I'll never know.
I am in Boston, and all the top private preschools are really competitive. DH and I have had to go on multiple parent interviews, and DS has gone on "playdates" or 1-on-1 assessment visits with the classroom teachers of each of the schools we looked at.
I had NO idea 6 months ago that it was like this. It really blindsided me. Some of the schools flat-out wanted to know what we (DH and I) could bring to the preschool to "enrich the community" (ahem, money, fame, fortune?). I think I failed that interview. Also, some of the applications are ridiculous. Pages long. It IS like applying for college.
We get our acceptance/rejection letters in March. At this point I am just hoping DS gets into ONE of the area schools. On the plus side, if we survive the application process, DC #2 will be automatically accepted.
I just registered my son for a 2 days a week 3 hour class at the school he goes to now. He is in a toddle class with other kids close to his age. Because I enrolled him in that 1 day a week class we are automatically first in line to register for preschool. It's a $50 non refundable deposit, and then it's $145 a month. I live in a smaller community and this is the only preschool in the area. I debated on not doing it this year since we'll be having a new baby in August. But then realized I'd get 3 hours to be just with the baby 2 days a week.
That's crazy that parents line up at 2 am. I can't even imagine, I just hope we don't move before he is set to start Pre K because we also already have a guaranteed spot in that class as well.