Hello everyone! 

We hope you all had fantastic spring breaks and were able to narrow down your college picks!

This past week, we had a great opportunity to team up with The Mommie Series and The Motherhood Center to bring awareness to private school admissions. If you weren’t able to attend the event, we thought it’d be great to recap the highlights in this week’s blog.

Our event was led by President Ibrahim Firat and panelists Beth Schneider (The Regis School of the Sacred Heart), Vivian Blum (The Post Oak School), and Carol Wasden (Episcopal High School). The panelists provide the most diverse representation of private schools in the Houston area.

 

Their main objective was to tackle what to do if you were waitlisted, denied, or accepted into multiple schools. But it was also an opportunity for those that attended the event to have an in-depth highly interactive discussion with the panelists about finding the best fit school and more.

Each of the panelists were asked, “What do I do if I am denied? If I am waitlisted?”

The panelists agreed that parents should hug their child. They also said to take a step back. Once they receive their decisions, they should take a day or two to themselves. Then, come back to it with an open and positive mind.

Beth added that parents should reach out to their top picks and try to see why the decision was not in their favor.

Carol suggested the child or parent write a letter to the school if they were placed in the wait pool or list expressing their interest in that school.

And Vivian explained that anything can happen. In July, they will all be filling spots due to some unforeseen events.

We had someone in the audience with a 3 year old. She asked… “My child is only 3… and now- I am little worried. Should I be doing something now? How competitive is it?”

“Be prepared… it’s a long commitment. You’re essentially choosing the school where your child will be potentially study until high school or college.”

“Get informed… do your homework like you’re doing now. If it’s too much, use your resources. Use Ibrahim. Consult with him, he can help.”

After the discussion, we opened the floor to parents if they had specific questions to ask.

 

Q: I have twins! How’s that going to work?

A: Applications are on an individual basis. It depends on the fit of that child. Sometimes they need to go to different schools. It depends on the fit.

Q: My child is on a waitpool  for kindergarten. What do I do? What can I do?

A: Don’t stress. There are openings at school. Visit Houston private schools.org to see other potential options. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Have backups.

Q: How do you decide who to accept?

A: Depends on the grade level… High School there are a lot of factors but for toddlers- I’m parent commitment. Parent commitment is a partnership  with the school to assist in your child’s education.

Q: Does reapplying to the same school again and again help their chances?

A: Not necessarily help their chances. But we start fresh.

Q: The million dollar question for me is how do I figure out what school is the right fit? I can’t really tell based on the open house and website.

A: On Firat Education’s new website, there will an online assessment that will measure your child’s personality and character and at the end will give you a scorecard with possible schools. Another is the newest edition of The Firat Guide. It dives in the process and how to determine the best fit considering multiple factors such religion, academics, athletics, etc.

We are so happy to have been able help parents, and we hope this blog helps you as well.

Please Watch The Highlights of the Event Below: