Abacus Mom

Top 3 Mistakes in Choosing NYC Private Schools

It's May, and families in the know are already working on compiling their NYC private schools lists for applying this fall.  Whether you're looking at private schools in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Riverdale, or Westchester, for your child's sake, don't fall into these common traps:

1. Considering only schools that your preschool or exmissions director recommends.  Remember, she has her own agenda which may not be the same as yours.  You want to place your child into the best possible private school.   She wants to place all her students.
2. Considering only schools that your mother, neighbor, or best friend recommends.  Chances are they don't know the whole New York landscape, and their information could well be thirty years out of date.
3. Considering only Dalton, Trinity and Collegiate (boy) or Dalton, Trinity, and Chapin (girl).  While admission into one of these schools would certainly be dreamy, there are thousands of NYC parents with the exact same idea.  It's more strategic to expand your list and learn about other desirable options.

All season, I have been helping Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Westchester families make strategic and savvy school choices.  If you need help with any aspect of the private school admissions process, email me now at eglickman(at)abacusguide.com or call 212-712-2228 to discuss. 

NYC's Most Experienced Private School Educational Consultants?

Many thanks to Miriam Kreinin Souccar for her article in this week's Crain's New York Business, Gotham Gigs:  Emily Glickman Helps Parents Make the Grade.

Packer is on the Up and Up

As a former Packer student, I was very interested in Jenny Anderson's Times article today about Packer:  As a Private School in Brooklyn Raises Its Profile, Questions of Identity Arise

To sum up, as NYC private school admission generally has become more competitive, Packer has become more competitive, with more students applying and more money spent on improved facilities. 

In my day, many of the best students left Packer in middle or high school, going on to specialized NYC public and top Brooklyn high schools like Hunter, Stuyvesant and Midwood, or to Manhattan private schools.  Anderson notes:

J. Geoffrey Pierson, who was the head of school immediately before Mr. Dennis, worked to improve its <Packer's>  academic profile and entice more students to stay through high school, rather than leave for better-known schools after the eighth grade.

I have noticed in the past few years that more and more of my clients applying to top private Manhattan and Brooklyn high schools and middle schools have included Packer on their lists.  The school has long been a favorite for Brooklyn kindergarteners.  With Brooklyn's increased population of young families, all the better Brooklyn private schools have seen application increases.

If You Give Up Your NYC Private School Spot, Will You Lose a Year's Tuition?

The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal both weigh in today about what happens when families who sign a contract for Manhattan private school then back out, often because the child has been admitted to a top public school.  A number of schools, including Mandell, Friends, York Prep, and Little Red, have sued parents for a year's tuition.

One private school administrator claims that holding New Yorkers liable for tuition money is necessary because the school will not necessarily be able to refill the spot.  I think that in this admissions climate--this was the hardest year ever for kindergarten admission--that is not true at the more desirable schools at typical admissions years such as kindergarten and 6th grade.  Only at the less competitive schools, particularly at off years, would this be an issue.

Obviously rather than asking the NYC Department of Education to adjust their G&T notification calendar, as another private school administrator blithely suggests, private schools should adjust their kindergarten contract schedules.  Naturally most haven't because it's a sellers' market.

Educational Records Bureau (ERB) Has a Request For You

I was surprised yesterday when I opened my email to find that the the non-profit Educational Records Bureau has hired a web marketing firm.  They are doing a lot of marketing work over there.  Last year they changed their web address from erbtest.org to the more palatable and PC erblearn.org.   Now the ERB is apparently working on its SEO.

Given the rise in ERB test-takers recently reported in the Times, business is good at the ERB, as well as at the test prep companies.  The search term "ERB test prep" is increasingly competitive.

Here's what the web marketer wrote me:

My name is <  > and I am contacting you in regards to a blog post that you posted on your site, http://www.abacusmom.com/abacus_mom/erb-prep/ . I noticed that this post on your site is dedicated to the ERB Comprehensive Testing Program for admission into private school. I wanted to reach out to you because I currently work for a small marketing agency and the Educational Records Bureau (ERB) is a client of mine. On behalf of ERB, I was wondering if it would be possible to build connection by placing a link to http://erblearn.org on this page of your web site where ERB is mentioned. The purpose of the link is to show support for the ERB program and to provide the readers of your site with a resource in case they would like to learn more about the testing program. As a representative of ERB, it is my job to get in touch with the schools, organizations, facilities, etc. who have implemented the program or support it. 

ERB appreciates your support and since you already mention it on your site, I was hoping we could build a connection. I would greatly appreciate it if you would talk with your webmaster and see if it would be possible to place a link. 

ERB, thank you for your request.  I'll be glad to trade links.