Deciding When to Apply: Pros and Cons

I have found that most parents take one of three approaches—and each has its pros and cons. I will be exploring these options in the next few blogs.


Strategy One: The Whole Nine Yards

Apply your child as early as possible (in preschool or kindergarten) to the top prekindergarten or K–12 school on your list.

Pros:

1. The greatest benefit of applying your child at an early age is that there are fewer hoops to jump through; there are no SSATs, essays, or regulated testing at this age.

2. If your child gets in, he or she will be with the same children and the same staff for the next 13 years.

3. Many schools have the most spaces available and the fewest applicants at the kindergarten or preschool levels.

4. If your child is not accepted at the school of your choice, you can try again the next year they are taking applications.

5. If you selected a particular school because of its religious beliefs you know your child will have the same ideals and values throughout his education.


Cons:

1. The most obvious disadvantage to sending your child to a private school at preschool or kindergarten is that steep tuition bill. (Think 13 years x $15,000. That’s over $200,000 when you include books, uniforms, field trips, locker fees, etc! Yikes!) By waiting to enroll your child in a private school, you can save tens of thousands of dollars.

2. Many parents feel that the entire family will benefit from spending some time in their neighborhood elementary school. My own children (and their parents!) formed long-lasting friendships with children and adults in the community where they live—friendships that would not have been forged had we had shuttled them off to private school in kindergarten or preschool. My kids can ride their bikes through our neighborhood and know everyone!

3. In recent years, more and more children are being diagnosed with mild cases of ADHD, dyslexia, autism, and other learning differences. In many chil­dren, since the symptoms are not acute, the problem cannot be identified until a child is in first or second grade, and reading. When a bright, vibrant, five year old is accepted into a private school that does not have the testing capabilities to diagnose these differences, the child can suffer in school and be left behind.

4. Not all kids who get into fast-paced academic schools in kin­dergarten will be up to the task in sixth or ninth grade. I have heard from numerous parents whose children did fine in the lower grades, but in later grades, struggled with the workload and pressure of the heightened expectations. Many parents resorted to hiring outside tutors to keep up the pace.

5. Waiting until your child is older will allow you to find a school that is more in tune with your child’s needs. At four or five it is difficult to tell what your child will excel in. By the time he or she reaches fourth or fifth grade, you will have an idea what his or her passions are and you can cater to that.