It’s that time of year when public and private high schools will soon be informing applicants of their enrollment decisions. Among all the top schools, seats are limited and stiff competition is an unpleasant reality.
What happens when that letter arrives and it isn’t giving you the news you wanted to read? It means it’s time to sit down and do some homework. There are a lot of schools that will continue to have openings and you need to spend time researching the best ones for your specific needs.
Private high school admissions can be a year-round endeavor for a number of schools. Just as New York City has a constant influx of people, those people also have children that need to be placed in school and finding a seat may not be as difficult as you think. Yes, NYC high school admissions to the best schools in the public school system probably won’t be an option, but with some Internet investigating on your home computer, you should be able to identify a suitable private school that is a better alternative than the offer you received from the Board of Education.
Even if you only applied to private schools and weren’t accepted at places you wanted to attend, there are options within the private school community that will surprise you with the quality of their staff and the level of their teaching. Try Googling “rolling admissions,” “open enrollment,” or “year-round admissions” to see which schools accept students outside of the traditional admissions calendar.
Once you’ve identified a list of schools that will accept students throughout the year, comb their websites to learn the specifics of each school’s program. Could this be a close match? Make an appointment to visit the school and learn first-hand if this is a possible good fit. As with most things in life, be prepared to compromise a little; there is rarely a perfect match. Prioritize the factors that are most important to you and with that, choose the school that comes the closest.
Your next obstacle is paying the tuition. Look for other blogs I’ve written on scholarships and financial aid. Hopefully, with some concentrated effort you’ll be able to find a school for next year that everyone can embrace.